This was my first time at the Korean Cultural Center. Aside from seeing a brief timeline of history and some of the artifacts from Korean Culture, I was shocked by the size of the museum that was dedicated to K-Pop. We are talking about close to 50% of the overall center. From the music video station, to the Karaoke booth, and the cardboard cut outs of many of the pop stars, it all just surprised me. I enjoyed hanging out by the music video station and watching videos from the boy bands and the group Girls’ Generation among many others. One figure that really doesn’t fit the same mold is Psy. I can’t believe with his popularity I have never watched his music video all the way through until just yesterday. He does not have the same physical appeal at the rest of the groups, however I can see how the gimmicky film production and the visually entertaining backdrops can gain a cult following. From the lectures we have had in regard to the K-Wave and K-Pop I knew the movement was big, but I guess this summer course and visiting the cultural center has really put the popularity into perspective for me. I really think it is true that the first introduction many people have in regard to Korean culture is through K-Pop.
In addition to the K-Pop aspect, I really enjoyed hearing about the customs of Korean Culture at the beginning of the visit. I felt the traditions for marriage were really interesting, that a husband will buy a home and it is the duty of the wife and family to fill the home with furniture. I also thought it was funny that Koreans ask for your age and bloodtype. At first I thought that was a joke about the bloodtype, but it is really interesting that Korean culture views bloodtype almost like we may view zodiac signs.
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