Food for Thought
Added 2022-06-16 21:52:51 +0000 UTCInteresting article on K-commodification and what entertainment resonates in the West vs within South Korea…
Comments
South Korea has few natural resources (NK has most of what is on the peninsula) please spend money on kdrama, kpop, k beauty, etc. you are literally saving lives. All the hallyu fosters tourism and jobs in Korea. Most of my relatives in Korea are super proud and amazed that Korea is having such success globally.
Eunice Choi
2022-06-18 00:38:48 +0000 UTCI was in the UK for three years for grad school, and it changed my perspective on sooo much. Interesting to hear that it felt so different to you. Do you feel like it became less of a charicature because of time? Or some other factors? I grew up visiting so I was always pretty familiar with it. I'm American but my parents met and got married in London, so we visited the UK often. My boyfriend now is not well traveled and he truly struggles to adapt to culturally unfamiliar situations. I was definitely made fun of for sounding and writing very American at first, I think it took about 6mo for me to feel like I had gotten it somewhat. When I came home people asked me where I was from even though days before a Brit had said I sounded so American still. I actually wanted to study interactions of discreet culture groups in the material record. Did the late bronze age Aegean for my MA and as yet have not done the PhD. Maybe in retirement, haha. But this halleu wave situation also interests me academically because of that background.
Alice
2022-06-18 00:21:01 +0000 UTCWhether you profit monetarily from something is definitely a factor. I agree with your assessment of consumer vs producer of something. Really hoping some anthropologist will illuminate why this media is speaking to certain demographics and nationalities so strongly.
Alice
2022-06-18 00:12:46 +0000 UTCThis is so thoughtful. Also, props to Alys for using what you know to make more fermented beverages! I haven't felt that enjoying kdramas or kpop or kbeauty is cultural appropriation because I knew from jump that kpop and kbeauty we're designed for international commodification - I was a business student when these were still niche topics and before every Rite Aid had snail serum. With kdramas though...it never felt like appropriation, because I was just a passive viewer, but it did make me wonder what exactly was speaking to me about them. And author's questioning of the differentiation between what is made for Koreans vs what's made by Koreans actually makes me wonder even more. I've got to listen to this podcast.
Hannah
2022-06-17 16:28:46 +0000 UTCThe Korea deconstructed podcast is so interesting, there are a lot of great interviews to expand our understanding of Korea, it was recommended on this patreon page some time ago, i don't remember who it was but thank you!! Like Alys, I have these thoughts too, and the article was interesting to read. It's easy to fabricate a fake image of a country through what they export. I have a previous experience of that as a teenager, with british culture, TV and music. I learned the language and had a plan to study in the UK for a year, which I did. Over there I had a lot of "this isn't like TV" moments, because of course Doctor Who isn't real life 😅. So, with Korean entertainment I keep this thought in mind : this isn't like TV.
Lisa H
2022-06-17 05:59:19 +0000 UTCSo, I have to shout out the Korea Deconstructed pod that they mention in this article, it is really wonderful and I super recommend it. It's very academic and I have learned a ton from it. I definitely have some thoughts about this topic in relation to cultural appropriation. I'm white and live in a majority black city in the coastal southeast US. Racism is very alive here and it was a shock to realize. It has made me self conscious of privilege, and I also used to do fusion tribal dance which I stopped because I didn't feel l could do it respectfully. Kdramas are somewhat different because I'm not out there creating them, but I'm consuming a lot of what is available to me. I'm wondering how much collective orientalism is at work, and how much of it is because Korea actually chooses to export their art and music and actively seeks international audiences. I decided I wanted to make some more effort to understand Korea so I am slowly learning the alphabet and I'm learning about some of the food. I want to try to make yakju or makgeolli, because I learned how to do food fermentation during lockdown and it was a nice meeting of interests. But I am still wondering if I am commodifying this situation, and if that is right and fair. Ok that was long. Thanks to anyone who read all of this. I appreciate having a place to get these thoughts out of my head.
Alice
2022-06-17 00:39:11 +0000 UTC
