Surgeries given to the children of elite families so that their children can have an American advantage. How insane to me—for English, or the American language to be held up on so high a pedestal that one would surgically change their child with the forethought that it puts their child one step ahead of another child. Is it because America sets itself on so high a pedestal and has caused others to believe the hype? Or is it a pedestal that other countries have created for America on their own? Aren’t Americans being taught that they need to learn other languages in order to get ahead? Why the inconsistency?

After the two Korean professors' lectures, I am ready to pack my bags. I was moved by the Korean tourism video-- how silly is that? Well, tourism department, it worked. I'm completely embarrassed to say that I even teared up at the footage of the military demarcation zone. What a beautiful place with such beautiful countryside.

I always thought of North & South Korea in very late 20th century American terms-- they are two separate countries who shared a heritage but are now diametrically opposed through their ideology. True in a way, but it seems that both sides want to reconcile, and it seems heart-breaking to me that the people cannot reunite. It makes me almost wish horrible things on the Kim "dynasty" (that still makes me chuckle, but I guess it's appropriate!), hoping that maybe with new leadership, Korea can reunite after all this time. And yeah, then North Korea can get some electricity so they can watch Rain and Big Mama videos...

Maybe Jong-il and Park's daughter should have a dance-off via DDR, and the victor's ideology reigns supreme.

For those of you who liked the Big Mama video, I found this movie: 200 Pounds Beauty

I haven't watched it yet, but add it to your list of must-see Korean movies! Don't forget Old Boy!
http://www.moviecritic.com.au/images/oldboy-hammer-fight-corridor-scene1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:3L2oYy7cbrQ1tM:http://www.moviecritic.com.au/images/oldboy-hammer-fight-corridor-scene1.jpg [Edit by="kwilliamskorbel on Aug 6, 9:38:30 PM"][/Edit]

In pre-modern Korea, a man and woman would have an arranged marriage, have sex (presumably for procreation sake), and eventually they would come to care for – and maybe even love – each other. As I do not know anyone who has had an arranged marriage, I must defer to the great scholars, Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick, and Jerry Bock. I am reminded of Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof when he asks Golde “Do you Love me?” and they decide that, after living together for 25 years and going though all the trials and tribulations life brings, they do in fact love one another. This is a beautiful moment in the musical, and I was happy to learn that arranged marriages really could end in a caring for the other person.

As time went on, however, society changed and so did the values of marriage and the order in which these three basic elements occur. Men, according to Prof. Jung-Kim, responded in a survey that they fall in love, have sex, and then get married. Women, too, started with love, but then reported it was only after marriage that they had sex. Hmm. Something is rotten in the state of Korea. I would take a wild guess and say that the order is as the men stated: love --> sex --> marry. (I might even contest the order of love and sex, but let us keep this a focused response.) Why, then, would women change the order? I think it goes back to pre-modern society when a virtuous and desirable female was one who was a virgin. The ideal is so ingrained in their value system that a “good woman” is a virgin that these Korean women even feel the need to prove that they are virtuous in an anonymous survey.

And of course this is not exclusively Korean. We saw the same issue this morning when discussing the trafficking of women, and we see it today in America. Even if a couple has been living together for years, at a wedding many women still feel the need to wear white and use a veil. What for? The white dress was a sign that the bride was pure – a virgin – and the veil was there to keep the identity secret. Time may have passed, technology may have advanced, but there are some traditions and values that have not left us.
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It is hard to resist my Barstow friends' invitation to go to Korea town after today's lecture. We had Korean BBQ ribs, hot tofu soup with raw egg, and all kinds of Korean kimchi and delicacies. Yes, that was really good. Thank you, Mary, for driving.

I love Professor Jung Kim's top 10 presentation. It was very entertaining and yet full of information. Korean pop culture is indeed very powerful. I was born and raised in Korea. I still keep in touch with my old friends. Some of them moved to Taiwan. According to one of my friend, he complained on the website, "When I get home from work, I see my wife was watching Korean soap opera. She did not even bother to look at me. She ordered me to get something from the refrigerator. She glued to TV for the last two hours and she planed to watch another three for the next three hours (a different soap opera for each hour) . Yes, my marriage is in danger because I became a Korean Soap Opera widow!" He was joking, but Korean pop culture indeed is a very powerful trend in East Asia. Korean soap operas are carefully translated and dubbed into Chinese. Many people, including myself, were drawn into them. Many Chinese started to buy Korean furniture such as short tables that were meant to have people sat directly on the floor, cook Korean cuisine, and adopt their way of life. Another friend told me that when he visited his mom, his mom's whole eating utensils all became Korean style. I guess that was a good example of illustration of "Hallyu" or "Hanliu (韩流）“by Professor Jung Kim. [Edit by="vchiu on Aug 6, 11:13:55 PM"][/Edit]

Korean pop culture is apparently permeating into so many other countries. Prof. Jun-Kim's presentation of it was so helpful in cementing ideas about the Korean culture in general. The Rain excerpts, although not based on empirical research, was very exciting on a student level. I have several Korean students who I'm certain will be quite impressed with my knowledge of him.

A compilation of popular dancing videos from various countries would be an amazing way to show students that "it's a small world after all" (sorry!) I've had great success with my EL students with a favorite song assignment. They each bring their favorite primary language song to share with the class, we listen to it, and then discuss what we found similar with other shared songs. They all enjoyed each other's music because, while the language was different, the beat was the same and they could move to it. It works as a great community building strategy. [Edit by="lculp on Aug 7, 12:45:30 AM"][/Edit]
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I thought Professor Jung-Kim's top-ten list was excellent. I think as a teacher that those types of things work well for any age group. Also, I thought the dance-off between Rain and Colbert was second to none and I would love to visit Korea sooner than later too. Before this seminar I did not even think of Korea. Now, I think of it often and consider it in relation to China and Korea, rather than it being "a little mini-country with no great place in history or the world". The previous quotes are my previous ignorance that I try to hide. Anyway, I though Professor Jung-Kim provided us a wealth of information about many subjects that pertain to Korea. I thought the insight regarding marriage and gender roles in Korea was particularly interesting.