[BurkotEmily]

What I found most interesting in the first article was the idea that PC Bang (internet cafes) were so important to early e-sports in Korea because Korean gamers prefer to play against someone in the same place as them vs. playing against someone via a game server.  This reminded me of last week when we talked about how many Koreans do not like to eat alone, and may even queue up a Mukband video to not feel like they are eating alone.  The article also discusses the importance of an audience to e-sports and it made me think about how different having an in-person audience would be compared to having a digital audience through something like Twitch.  However, Korea has also developed channels specifically for airing e-sports tournaments, which feels a little one sided compared to the lively audience in a Twitch streamer's chat.

[BurkotEmily]

Something I have been considering this week is how much of Korean Pop culture is very stylized.  Whether it is the bright colors of Squid Game or the almost cartoonish speech bubbles and graphics in Korean reality TV, The "flower men" and incredibly precise dance steps in K-pop, or the step-by-step process of a K-Beauty skin ritual, it is often unmistakable as anything else.  I wonder, is this a concious decision to stand out?  Is this sort of stylization a historically Korean trait, or more of a modern decision to appeal to Koreans with a contrast to western pop culture?  I can't think of a style I associate with primarily western culture.  

I will also say that I'm impressed in the amount of beauty products that I use that I didn't realize were Korean companies!  There's a Tonymoly pumpkin jar sitting on my bathroom sink right now! 

[BurkotEmily]

I was ready to talk about Squid Game and then read the article on "Aspirational Paternity".  I think this is actually something that could be really useful with students, especially when incorporating media literacy into classes.  What messages are being sent by "reality TV"?  That is, if what is presented in a "reality" tv show is assumed to be based in the "real world", what is being promoted?  What is being excused or not excused?  Television shows like The Bachelor or Real Housewives may not be airing govermnent messages, but they are certainly saying something to their audience.  What is it?  Comparing shows like that to "Dad! Where are we going?" and "The Return of Superman" could be an interesting exercise in critically comparing and contrasting two similar shows. 

The idea of "asperational paternity" and the messaging being sent through these Korean shows reminds me of a video I saw a few weeks ago on Instagram.  A young man tells his father that he "has to babysit the kids this weekend" and the older man replies "That isn't 'babysitting', that's parenting.  That is literally the least you can do."  What the article talked about that I found most interesting was the sometimes muddled messaging found within the show.  The shows attempt to show men that they can be involved fathers by highlighting celebrity fathers, but celebrities will have a much different experience parenting than a regular person.  They may often be traveling away from their families, and have less opportunity to spend time with their kids.  The article mentions that from the women's perspective, they know that the fathers responsibility for the children may fade after the mother returns, and then she will have full-time responsibility again.  Additionally, if the shows are attempting to show that fathers can be more involved in their children's lives, showing footage of them "bumbling" would probably not instill confidence in their abilities.  The article suggests that this is supposed to be endearing, and perhaps this comes across as more funny in the actual show, but as a piece of propaganda, it seems to lack clear messaging.  

[BurkotEmily]

As someone who was into Jpop in the time before Youtube, I am particularly interested in seeing how Kpop has traveled across the world before today's golden age of access.  In the Koo and Sung article, they discuss traveling musical troupes performing for Korean immigrants in other countries, which limits the spread of music to just countries with Korean communities.  Then we see another example of something Korean that has been remade repeatedly for a foreign audience (according to the article, the Korean song 'Arirang" has been recorded for Japanese audiences over 50 times!).  I don't think that recording a Korean folk song has the same benefits for Korean artists as say remaking "Miss Granny" would (for example, no licensing) but that still speaks to the universality of the art. I find it interesting as well that OSTs are so popular, the article suggesting that the music reminds viewers of Korean Drama and Film of memorable scenes.  Comparing that to what is common here, I think the vast majority of movie soundtracks are licensed songs, with any instrumental music at the end of the album or released in a totally different package (I can think of a couple of big exceptions to this- anything by John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore).

[BurkotEmily]

Something I found very interesting in the discussion of Miss Granny was the number of remakes for foreign markets.  I feel like the Hollywood attitude is that everyone will watch our films just as they are (maybe with a dubbed audio track if they're lucky), and can't imagine a studio like Disney allowing multiple remakes of a title unless they are doing it themselves!  Is the choice to allow these remakes a strategic one? 

[BurkotEmily]

Hello everyone!  

My name is Emily Burkot and I am an Upper School (9-12) librarian in Richmond,VA.  I do a lot of collaboration with Literature and History classes, and enjoy bringing different cultures and different perspectives into my lessons.  I am very much looking forward to this class!

 

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