I post updates with thoughts and feelings about what I experience as an American in South Korea. I recently received a master's degree in Korean Studies from Yonsei University, having taken classes on Korea's history, social issues, and pop culture. In my free time, I like to explore Korean literature and the underground arts scene. If you're curious about my journey navigating how to live in and love Korea well, read on!
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October 2019 "Redemption Songs"
I'm currently writing this during my 20 minute break from a 1 hour 40 minute study session... my third of the day... and I plan for at least one more before bed. Even so mounds of unread articles and unwritten papers remain. I've been trying to devote 7 hours to study each day, like a full time job, but that's proven difficult since I still prioritize things like making my own meals, meeting friends, and going to the gym. Or just walking. Some days I go to classes and straight back to my room to study, totaling a meager 1,500 steps. If I didn't find time to go to the gym I'd just become a big blob.
Went back to studying again. Since I wrote the above paragraphs I'm over 50 journal article pages smarter on the topic of Confucianism. Wahoo.
So now you can see why this update came late. I personally mind when I don't make the time to organize my thoughts each month, but I'm afraid I'll either need to change my blog format to something shorter or write every TWO months rather than one. We'll see what happens with time.
What I'm Thinking The good news is with all this busyness I've had lots of new things to chew on and share!
I recently had a 1 1/2 HOUR long presentation on the broad topic of "Asian Popular Music." It was supposed to be based on the week's readings but those ranged from discussing the Asian American movement of the 1970s (when the term "Asian American" was created) to expressions of "gendered performances" in which female artists both expand and limit what identities women are allowed in society through performance.
My partner and I organized everything around major themes and our own interests, such as what "Asian music" looks like today or will look like in the future. I was most interested in how difficult it's become to define music by its locality or cultural origin . Music is constantly shared and styles appropriated to create new genres, which are then shared and appropriated again. I found a small example of this in Chinese-Reggae.
We had a great discussion in class over whether incorporation of reggae by Chinese artists is cultural appropriation. The author of Redemption Songs writes, "Their product of fusion is not a rootless appropriation but a reinterpretation of reggae’s soul." Yet in another interview the lead singer, Lao Hei, of the China-based reggae band, Kawa, said, “I take the soul penetrating sounds of the Yunnan (province in Southern China) ethnic minorities’ traditional music and fuse it together with world music. When they (the two styles) collide they create an awe-inspiring spacey, dreamlike style of music.”
Lao Hei of the band KAWA
Hei's pretty much said he uses reggae because it sounds good when mixed with indigenous music, contradicting the argument he adopts the music style within it's social and cultural framework, but is that really a bad thing? Is there truly some original quality to reggae Hei must adhere to for it not to be considered appropriation?
Putting that argument aside, however, we can simply see this as an example of how cultural dialogue creates musical fusion. Or maybe we should just call it... music. Debates about whether this or other aspects of culture should be referenced or whether they can be considered authentic all takes place within the reality that it's currently happening and arguably has always been happening. Besides, if society insisted every culture retain their unique traits without any fusion, what a static world that would make.
P.S. Reggae music also exists in Korea. I mentioned a song byBrown Tiggera couple months ago, and here's another if you're interested.
P.P.S. Here's my summary of the presentation.Analysis of Asian Pop Music (link)(I'm pretty proud of this summary actually because I was able to articulate much of how I feel about the kpop industry.)
Found this in my YouTube recommendations and wow so glad I clicked it. Both of these guys participated in a show called Super Band where unknown musicians form groups and rock their hearts out. (Shoutout to Shanon for telling me about it!). This song is so comforting, even if you don't understand the lyrics. (Though you can find them in the first comment.)
Something unique about kpop is its focus on dancing. Like, really REALLY good dancing. Often dance practice videos are just as popular as the music video for the song they're promoting, but slick moves haven't always been so important. In the 90s boy and girls groups used moves reminiscent of the backstreet boys (not that they weren't good dancers, I don't want to start a fight), but they quickly surpassed them as the years progressed. NCT has got to be one of the best dance groups out there, and it's even more impressive when you realize they're dancing to their own songs.
This is the FIRST drama I've seen that's not set in one of the big cities of Seoul or Busan, which doesn't mean there aren't any but they sure are hard to find. It's a dramady about a pretty single mother and the country bumpkin who falls for her. It's light and sweet like most other dramas, and you'll be able to see a different part of Korea. The setting and clothing style is accurate to what I experienced during my time in the countryside as well. It's available on Netflix so try it out!
So I already told you about the quiet day-in-the-life vlogs I like to watch, now I'll tell you about the quiet cafe vlogs I like to watch. π€£ I've subscribed to three of these already. It's just baristas making coffee, slushies, cakes, and the like for about 10 minutes and it's everything I need after a day learning about heavy topics such as religious syncretism or international relations. If you like coffee and calming videos these are for you!
What I'm Up to
Didn't celebrate Halloween much outside these horrifyingly healthy banana ghosts. All of which are experts at doing the Cha Cha Slide.
Just LOOK at this sweet baby I'll see in 40 days!!!!
Western food in Korea is... weird. It'll always be sweeter than you expect and with surprise ingredients that'll make you feel like it's western food from a parallel universe.
Pretty campus yay!
Korea doesn't really celebrate Halloween but there are still plenty of themed sweets and store fronts. However, once a holiday passes in Korea it's truly GONE. The very next day, no less. No Halloween candy sales for you, no sir.
My third time at Jebi Dabang to introduce a friend to underground music. We got there late and had to stand, but I still enjoyed it. It's always fun to be so close to the artists!
Recently helped out at a homeless outreach. The atmosphere there was so different from the US. Everyone was quiet and no one spoke as they ate their meals (So I was told, since I was washing dishes the whole time.) I hear it's a big deal to be homeless in Korea because they associate it with failure and are filled with a shame that keeps them from opening up to others. A new thing to pray about.
What I'm reading for my Confucianism class.
????????
Best not to read when sleepy or else there is NO sense to be made here.
Now I gotta get back to the studying so I can do the paper writing and the presenting and the succeeding in getting the masters thing.
GAH! I AM SO SORRY I AM SO LATE TO THIS READING THIS POST!!! LESLIE!!!!! I am so thrilled you loved Isaac Hong and Kevin Oh!!! THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!! And all of their music is so so so so so so so so so good.
Also. When you mention Western foods tasting like they were from a parallel unviverse--do you have some examples you can think of off the top of your head???
The first thing I think is if it’s fancy western food it means pasta, which usually uses a sweeter sauce than I expect, and pizza sometimes has weird toppings like sweet potato and korean beef. They’re hybrids more than anything else, and come with side dishes like kimchi. It’s not usually bad but there’s always something a bit “Korean” about foreign food!
And no worries about being “late” to read the post! I’m just so happy you read it!
Somewhere in Seoul μ§κΈ νλ€μ§? μκ³ νμ΄ μ€λλ. (soo-go-hay-so oh-neul-do. "These days it's hard, right? You did well today".) Soo-go-hay-so oh-neul-do (Literally, "You made an effort today as well.") is a commonly used phrase between friends to reassure one another that each did all they could for the day, just like every other day. The word, μκ³ νμ΄ (soo-go-hay-so), implies not only that one did a good job but that they expended much effort and energy to complete that job. As such the receiver feels recognized and reassured that their work endeavors were not in vain. This phrase also serves as an automatic greeting between office workers after a long day, and customers give a variation of the phrase to employees at the end of an interaction (soo-go-ha-say-yo "Keep making an effort"). It's kind of like saying "Have a nice day." An artist created a cute song around the idea of μκ³ νμ΄ μ€λλ, which I listened to after excellently failing the Korean langua
What I'm Up To Gave myself a blogging break this past semester because these posts take more than a day to complete, and I wasn't interested in adding undue stress. I also had to spend time writing for NOVAsia , my grad school's magazine. This semester I published 2 articles, one about the relationship between K-pop and the Black Lives Matter movement , and one about Korea's "slow" consumption . I also participated in 2 podcasts covering the US presidential election and discussing Navajo culture with an exchange student from the Navajo nation . (I'm a novice so be kind in your criticisms, please.) I have another article about COVID-inspired street art that's currently going through its first round of editing, and I'll add a linkπ once it's complete. π If you're interested, I do hope you'll take a look! (Link now added!) Let's see, what else? One of the artists that inspired my article goes by the alias, Mr. Tongue. After notic
K-dramaland Nostalgia With (a cardboard cutout of) the male lead of Boys Over Flowers in 2016. Even in Korea— Watching the cherry blossoms bloom— I long for Korea.* I've lived in Korea almost 4 years, yet I often find myself wishing I lived in Korea. This being the Korea I envisioned 8 years ago when I was first introduced to the country's pop culture. My then steady diet of K-drama, K-pop, and variety shows, the most accessible entertainment options for overseas audiences, shaped my vision of Korea into a fun, romantic, and sexy country. "Korea feels like Hogwarts, a fantasy land," I'd told my friends. I knew the country was much more than that in principal, but I couldn't remove the emerald glasses I'd donned. Sometimes me and other K-culture fans would whisper about the 'dark side of Korea.' "The school system is so intense! Did you know they all wake up at 5 and sleep at midnight?" "K-pop stars are hardly allowed to eat! And th
How I'm Doing Annyeonghaseyo! Is it raining where you are? Korea's experiencing its monsoon season at the moment and I'm growing gills. My hair's unmanageable, I sweat just by walking outside, and I keep getting alerts about rising waters and even a landslide. Hope nothing gets as bad as what happened to the Kim family's home in Parasite... Even though humidity reaches 90% saturation and every day experiences heavy rainfall there are still lots of people out and about. Nearly every store sets their umbrellas out front so no one will be caught without and buildings set out stations with umbrella-shaped plastic bags so water doesn't leak all over the floors. Thanks to these conveniences the rainy season doesn't feel very inconvenient, just physically uncomfortable. During these days it's best just to enjoy the rain from indoors with a cup of coffee. Kinda what monsoon season feels like Quick update on June: papers papers papers Glad we got tha
What I'm Up to *Sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas* ♪ In the month of December my studies asked of me~ 5+ boxes to pack 4 AM bedtime 3 long papers 2 demanding finals and a Con~fucian presentation~~~♪ I had a pretty packed last couple weeks at school, but complaining about that isn't really what I want this blog to be about. I'll just say it took about 1 1/2 weeks after coming back to the US to recover from the not-so-healthy way I treated myself during finals week and from the jetlag. Finally my headache's gone, my neck isn't sore, and I don't wake up at 2 AM hungry for a bowl of cereal anymore. I've also been able to do the things I haven't in 16 months, like bother my cat (with looove ), bake, drink proper black coffee, and receive some much needed mommy hugs. Now that I'm feeling healthy again and the busy holidays are over I'm settling in for the next 45-ish days until I return to Korea. When my family came to meet me at th
General Update I've been in Missouri the entire month of January, but that doesn't mean I have nothing Korean-related to write about! On the contrary I've had loads of time to finish some assigned readings I was too busy for during the semester, study language, watch dramas and music videos, and overall keep up with Korea happenings. I've also had time for some silly things , like lip-syncing to Korean songs. It may not sound like a worthwhile activity but it helps with language learning and pretending to rap is just too darn fun. π I love recreating artists' facial expressions as I try to keep up with the lyrics, but I rarely indulged in lip-syncing while living in a dorm because I was afraid my roommate would walk in unexpectantly and recognize me for the embarrassment I a m. π³ But now that I'm home and there's usually no one but the cat to judge me, I embrace the opportunity to look a fool. The song Miroh by Stray Kids (link) is the song I'm
Titles from articles that emerged after the October 29th crowd crush disaster. (links at bottom of page) Sometime during the pandemic, I found myself wishing to enter a "broad place," like the broad places mentioned in the Bible: "You have set my feet in a broad place; You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way; He induced you away from the mouth of distress, And instead of it, a broad place with no constraint." I took a photo of the park on top of a hill, cut out the buildings below, and wrote, "If you angle the camera just right you can almost believe it's not the middle of the city." I told a friend I wanted to visit a broad place once, and he took me to a cafe in Bukhansan. Windows covered the walls from top to bottom to show the green mountain outside. I could easily appreciate the trees, and when we walked the path outside the air smelled like rain. YONHAP/Reuters When I left my school's dorm, I first lived in a
To See with Eyes Unclouded by Hate This quote comes from the Studio Ghibli film, Princess Mononoke. Lots of viewers remember these words because they matter, and they matter because they speak to every situation. Why are you in Korea? To see with eyes unclouded by hate. Why are you listening to music you don't even understand? To see with eyes unclouded by hate. Why are you marching in the gay pride parade when you're not gay? To see with eyes unclouded by hate. Why are you participating in racial protests when you're white? To see with eyes unclouded by hate. I find I hate less when I'm sharing the same space and looking at the same things. This is why I came to Korea. I knew almost nothing about the peninsula until college, but then I began listening to Korean music, watching Korean shows, and eating Korean food. Meanwhile I never listened to black music, never watched films with a majority of black actors, and rarely shared meals with black people. This is how I le
How I'm Doing I think some higher power might be trying to discourage me from being in Korea. 10 days before my scheduled flight my dermatologist decided she needed to test one of moles to see if anything serious was up, then the day before I left she wanted to get the whole thing removed. So, yeah, that's how I ended up getting a minor surgery the day before a 13 hour flight. Not only did I have this health concern to think about but due to the growing corona virus threat Yonsei decided to postpone the beginning of classes 2 weeks, and they notified us that dorms would house quarantined students from Asian countries. This presented a problem since I was due to move into the dorms, so I frantically began searching for a new place to call home. I'd already bought a flight ticket for a couple days before I reached the 60 day limit my scholarship allows me to stay in another country, so even if I had no where to return to I was still required to return . The school la
Updates on Korea's COVID Situation It got better; so much better that Ko rea was down to 9 transmissions a day and I became bolder going out. Buuuut then it got worse again and we're up to 200-400 transmissions a day. With most cases located in Seoul I've had to forgo planned get-togethers and am currently preparing for another isolating couple of weeks. (Let's not talk about why the numbers rose again; just know that the virus issue has been mixed with political and religious issues in more places than the US.) The government raised the physical distancing level to 2.5, which means 1) everyone must wear a mask in public places, 2) after 9 PM restaurants can only offer takeout, 3) franchise cafes can't offer seating, 4) churches, academies, and gyms MUST close, and 5) all my classes will, once again, meet online until midterms. (Please get better by then! π) From the KCDC Website . As you can see the number of confirmed cases (blue) was pretty low for a couple mon
GAH! I AM SO SORRY I AM SO LATE TO THIS READING THIS POST!!! LESLIE!!!!! I am so thrilled you loved Isaac Hong and Kevin Oh!!! THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!! And all of their music is so so so so so so so so so good.
ReplyDeleteAlso. When you mention Western foods tasting like they were from a parallel unviverse--do you have some examples you can think of off the top of your head???
The first thing I think is if it’s fancy western food it means pasta, which usually uses a sweeter sauce than I expect, and pizza sometimes has weird toppings like sweet potato and korean beef. They’re hybrids more than anything else, and come with side dishes like kimchi. It’s not usually bad but there’s always something a bit “Korean” about foreign food!
ReplyDeleteAnd no worries about being “late” to read the post! I’m just so happy you read it!