[Hilda Dixon]

Cultures are shaped by their environmental, historical, neighboring cultures and their own culture values.  In order to create more collective acceptance of culture diversity it is important to introduce to students different cultures around the world. One way, is to follow a recipe, listening to a folktale, do some art and craft project or listening to music.  If a culture has a written system that is different, it is recommendable to introduce it to young students so that they can acknowledge that there are differences between effective written systems around the world as a way of communication. Cultures around the world are similar as they have differences between them. While exposing students to different culture, it is important to build and maintain a positive and supportive classroom community that is open to clarify and answer questions openly.

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[Hilda Dixon]

This is my second time joining a USC China forum. What I appreciate about these forums is that information is presented openly and with transparency. Learning about the Two Koreas was an enriching experience for me because I got to read different texts that tell the story about the Two Koreas from different lenses and perspectives. In this way, I can have a more solid idea about what have been for these two countries after the Korean war.  Most importantly, I got to understand and appreciate the humanity behind their history, culture, and values.

One interesting thing that I have learned during this forum is the influence and worldwide awareness of the South Korean culture through its soft power.  Through Kdrama, Kpop, food and technology, South Korea has been able to influence and attract other cultures positively. In fact, in 2020, the South Korean film, “Parasite,” won four Oscar Awards including best picture which has been the first time that a foreign movie gets this type of award. Through hard work South Korea has positioned its place on the map for others to see, and South Korea keeps working to maintain or to increase its worldwide influence.  It seems for me that South Korea seems youthful and energetic, so I think South Korea will be spreading it wings even more broadly in the near future.  

Given these points, more than anything, I am thankful that I was able to participate and learn from Professor Jennifer Jung-Kim who is always open and welcomes questions. Learning about the two Koreas was a Journey that is worth taking. I think I now have more tools that I can use when teaching my students about North and South Korea in order to let my students explore these cultures while staying engaged. 

[Hilda Dixon]

Juana Evink, what is worrisome is that after 20+ plus years of malnutrition, North Koreans are 5 inches shorter compared with South Koreans. The lack of good food has also impacted their cognitive abilities, too.  I just wonder what the Kim monarchy has done in order to preserve the legitimacy of its existence. A good leader wants that their citizens grow in all the different human domains. Instead, we see many of the socialization scenarios where the Kim monarchy has persistently embedded through different collective experiences and activities that loyalty to the Kim family should be first and should be perceived as the greater virtue. The propaganda is first to “guide” the entire society in all its elements.  

 

[Hilda Dixon]

Laura Huffman, I have read your posts and all of them are very reflective. Thank you for sharing your views. I think that you beautifully crafted how outsiders might view North Koreans. During this course, I have really enjoyed that we have made use of our background knowledge along with our critical thinking skills to come up with an educated guest of what it is happening on the inside of NK, as we were Sherlock Holmes. What I have enjoyed of what we are reading is that we now see NK from a more humanistic perspective. If we all humans would have the same face, we could not see the uniqueness of each culture. Differences in each culture make us appreciate the strengths and weakness of each culture. It could also inspire us to learn from other cultures. Given these points, I think regarding NK mature or elderly people would be harder for them to make it outside NK because by now they are fully indoctrinated.  Hyeonseo Lee says that after she went through all the trouble to get her mom out of North Korea in order to show the beautiful word around them, her mother still cries because she left meaningful memories behind her. Even though from our foreigner perspective, we see NK as a harsh country. Lees’ mother longs for NK.  Lee’s mother sees NK as a place where she belongs, a place where her loves ones and true friends are. In this sense for the NK mature and elderly population, they might be happier there sharing themselves with the people they feel comfortable with.  Lee’s mother after she has witnessed a cosmopolitan and sophisticated society such as South Korea, where there is plenty to eat, but she still misses her intimate relationships and friends are still more important to her.  Hyeonseo Lee cannot make a country to her as her own yet after more than 10 years living in exile. What I am trying to say is how hard it would be for defectors to adapt to a totally different country with a new set of social and cultural norms. Lee’s say that SK gets around 150 defectors per week. I think that something very harsh must have them pushed out of their comfort zone which is NK to go and live in another country. How scary, how determined, and how brave they need to be.

 

[Hilda Dixon]

Maria Cardenas, and Deborah Whetstone, I did not know that the members of the Moranbong Band were put on a diet in a country where there is a scarcity of food. As I listened to the catchy tune, I read the lyrics of one of the songs. It is called, “Let’s Study.” What I found interesting was that some of the sentences of the lyrics say, “Let’s study, for the benefit of our country. Let’s study for our future to build a wonderland that is our own way.” These sentences reinforce what we have learned about putting the country of the leader first. Therefore, one can infer that studying should first be for the benefit of the country, and then, for personal benefit.  Another key point is that although the members of the band wore cute dresses above the knee, the dresses resembles dresses for the 90s. The choreography resembles dance moves from past times, too which correlates with what we have learned that North Korean people do not have much contact with the outside world.

 

[Hilda Dixon]

In the short story, “Flowers of Fire,” Hwang Suwon describes how a friendship of two boys is tested right after the Korean war.  I think this friendship is a metaphor of what happened to Korea after the Korean war. There was one organic Korea and all of a sudden people were placed on different bands of history. People were now supposed to considered themselves not as family, friends or neighbors anymore because the political and geographical enforcement made it the new law. These two boys found themselves right after the war in an awkward position where Tokchae is a criminal because he is vice-chairman of the Communist League, and Songsam is a trusted citizen. Songsam volunteered himself to take his friend Tokchae to get sentenced to  the Chongdam  area.  During the expedition the friendship gradually started to gradually flourish again through communication exchanges. The friendship was questioned by Tochae when Songsam asked him if they could stop to go on a crane hunt as they did in the past. Tokchae questioned at first because his friend is now in a dominant position, and he feels vulnerable. Then, he realizes that the friendship is stronger than the new societal norms. This history is a metaphor because people were sharply divided. The ties of friendship and family were stronger than the enforced separation and the new ideologies.  True connections can last and stay on people’s hearts for a lifetime as is in the case of the majority of mature Koreans who still believe in one Korea. They wished to be reunited in due time.

[Hilda Dixon]

Indeed,  Alyssa Yff  regarding your comment about Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, Demick’s states that In North Korea, people are not encouraged to use critical thinking to question, wonder and generalize ideas, instead students are encouraged to learn by heart. In fact these statements are supported by Lee Hyeonseo, a NK defector who says that in NK students assume more of a passive role regarding learning because students are not allowed to analyze or discuss with others their views and ideas. Given these points, it is easier to understand  from an outsider point of view that this might be a reason for NK not to question basic psychological needs such thirst, hunger, cold or hot especially within the NK mature or elderly population.  As Demick says that the most important pedagogical role is to keep the propagandistic ideas by keeping the regime lie alive. Therefore, the heroic life of Admiral Yi Sun-sin must come in second or third place because nobody has been more heroic a benefactor as Kim Jong Un and his family. Lee mentioned that the Mass game practices require continued practice until attained perfection.  Many students were given a set of colored cards and through synchronous card display sequence, students were able to create giant images that produce awe from the spectators. During the ceremony at the Hyesan Stadium, students were apprehensive because one single wrong slip could ruin the entire display. Indeed on TV , I have watched the NK parade when soldiers march synchronously with an absolute perfection regarding the execution of every step. Lee says that even one of her favorite books, The Count of  Montecristo had some glued pages that could not be taken apart.

 

[Hilda Dixon]

It is so interesting that in spite of the fact that South Korea is a society that is devoted towards education and that SK women have since centuries ago had a lot of say in whatever happens inside a home or family, only a very small percentage of women are occupying corporate tops job such as CEO. SK women are highly well educated, and still, they make only a small percentage of the work force. If compared with other Asian countries, South Korean women do not engage in research studies as much as women from Philippines or Thailand. In the same token, SK women are encouraged to wear heels at work because it is considered appropriate and necessary. Given these points, I think that in spite of the fact SK is a sophisticated society, it is pretty much a paternalist society.

[Hilda Dixon]

I think that the fact that there is a lot of pressure regarding the right physical appearance, that there are some women that are rebelling against these high standards of beauty by shaving their heads, and not wearing make-up. In my opinion these groups of people are opening the door to create a dialogue where standards can become more realistic and more importantly, where people can naturally display themselves in a more authentic way without being stigmatized by not conforming to the societal rules. Personally, I do not like that as a society we are over focusing on the exterior and forget about spirituality, compassion, and human character.

[Hilda Dixon]

Indeed, South Korea has become an international trend. This is why SK is becoming a famous country through its Pop music.  In 2012, I noticed South Korean power to the music and video of Park Jae-Sang (PSY) with the song “Gangnam Style, ” which makes refence to  an affluent district in Seoul by the Han River. PSY’s video got more than one billion views on YouTube. This was something unthinkable back then.  Currently, BTS and Blackpink overpassed these number of viewers. In fact, BTS is being compared with the legendary Beatles because BTS has sold three number one albums in less than a year and in 2018 Time magazine has described BTS as the most influential group. Talk about soft power that even the Hyundai foundation found out that many tourists are now deciding to visit South Korea.

 

 

[Hilda Dixon]

For this learning session, we learned that currently in South Korea there is a lot of competitiveness and a strong pursuit of youth appearance. In fact, some of our reading described South Koreans as “obsessed with their appearance.” Undoubtedly, In SK, plastic surgery is seemed favorable and as an investment in ones’ body. In order to acquire the right face and body, South Koreans would voluntarily alter their bodies through the help of aesthetic plastic surgery along with dieting to gain social acceptance. Due to the fact there is societal pressure to look “right,” there is also a sense of insecurity when SK perceive they don’t have the right facial features. Therefore, cosmetic surgery is the right vehicle to get a job, secure a partner or to gain admiration. One of our text says, “that 80% of recruitment executives considered the physical appearance of a candidate important.”  Professor, Jennifer Jung-Kim also mentioned that cosmetic surgery is prevalent in South Korea. I went and checked the following website https://www.statista.com/statistics/789337/south-korea-suicide-death-rate/ to understand if these high social expectations could have some negative effect. I found out that SK is the fourth highest country in the world with the highest suicidal percentages according to the World Health Organization. According to this website, “about one-third of the respondents said they had a mental health disorder such as depression, work-related stress or social anxiety. Studying hard to get into a prestigious university is already very hard and lays a lot of pressures on one’s shoulders, and in addition to this, to add the aesthetical physical appearance pressure. My concern is that even the government confabulates with the “right face expectations” by allowing South Koreans to claim tax credit for the cost of cosmetic surgery. In this way, people are going to be more incentivized to invest in plastic surgery.

[Hilda Dixon]

Jane Hannon, I totally agree with you. Our world current situation is not the same that the one that his father and grandfather experienced where they both were able to stay their ground.  I think the currently ideology might need to adaptions in order to adapt to our current global economy where countries are engaging in more exchanges of all sort than ever before. The isolation policy might end hurting him more Kim Jong-Un because NK’s economy is very fragile.

 

[Hilda Dixon]

Kim Jong-un is genuinely charismatic, and is ready to shake hands with everyone. In this sense, he is following his grandfather’s steps by visiting different places such as schools, supermarkets, and construction sites and listening to his people. He also has a clearer perspective of what is going on outside of NK because he studied in Europe and knows some European languages. He also has a young charismatic wife whose simple elegancy gives a fresh personality that does not resemble a person who is from a totalitarian regime. Through the 2018 summit and the meetings with other leaders at the DMZ, Kim Jong Un has shown that he has educated social manners and that he is willing to cooperate with other countries such as USA and South Korea. In this sense, he has proved that he is worthy as a leader.  Totalitarian leaders usually do not agree and sign cooperation agreements, and Kim signed an agreement with Trump to commit to a complete denuclearization of the North Korean peninsula. Still the work ahead is not easy for Kim Jong Un because he does not seem to want to stop his military’s nuclear power because he might be afraid that without the military leverage others can subsequently have more influence over NK, and in this way his regime might end.

 

 

[Hilda Dixon]

Kimberly, With everything that is going on in the world, especially in USA such as Trump, coronavirus and reelections, I think the peace and prosperity agreement might fade for now. If Biden becomes the new president, I think he might be more persistent and elaborate a more detailed tactical strategy towards a denuclearization plan that might not be in accordance with Kim Jong Un. However, Kim Jong Un should continue diplomatic negotiations with the president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in in order to get economic and food assistance in NK.  Otherwise, famine, and a fragile North Korean economy might lead the NK people to question openly his regime and eventually a collapse because a regime can only survive if it has a sustainable economy. The “jangmadang,” underground economy, can assist the current economy but cannot rescue all NK economy.

 

[Hilda Dixon]

I think that at the beginning when he undertook his position as the next leader of NK, the world in general did not know much about Kim Jong-Un as it was the case of his dad. He was perceived young and maybe as someone that did not have enough experience working in the government or the Korean Workers’ party. One of the first things that he did is to create his image as a strong leader in spite of young age. I think that one of his goals was to gain the acknowledgement of the world as a leader and  that other countries could recognize him as a strong leader who could continue with the legacy of the Kim family. One way to do it, was and is to continue the military exercises as usual. In January of 2017, Kim Jong-Un said, that his country was on the “last stage” to test an inter-continental ballistic missile. The American president, Trump, responded by saying that would not happen. Due to the fact that Kim Jong-Un continued with his military exercises and showed that he was not afraid, Trump threatened him by saying, North Korean would be “met with fire and fury,” if he would not stop his military exercise intentions. At that time, I remember there was a worldwide concern about Trump’s lack of diplomacy and Trump’s comments and tweets could lead to a possible war. It seemed that the whole world was watching how this confrontation was unfolding. Tweets intensified the already hot atmosphere between the two countries. Trump called Kim Jong-un, “Rocket Man.” Kim Jong-Un did not hesitate in labelling Trump as “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.” Not many leaders have the boldness to respond in this manner to an American president. On the same token,  it was also important to Kim Jong-Un to show that he could work cooperatively with others and that he was capable to maneuver well peace negotiations with south Korean president, Moon Jae-in who has wanted to improve relationships with North Korea. For instance, in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics North and South Korea participated jointly as one.  In 2018, there was another historic summit between South and North Korea leaders who also met at the DMZ to stretched out hands and smiled at each other because it was the first time since 1953 that a north Korean president went to the DMZ.

However, the most important meetings were the ones between President Trump and Kim Jong-Un. On June 2019, President Trump and Kim Jong-un met in the DMZ to shake hands. This act was important because it was the first time that an American president visited the DMZ. This act was very significant because President Trump turns to be a leader that can handle difficult foreign affairs with diplomacy. Kim Yong Un is recognized as a leader that can handle affairs in north Korea.

 

 Now that Kim Jong Un is recognized, he needs to work towards the lifting of the economic sanctions and place North Korea as a country that is willing to trade with other countries. This is not easy because he needs to give up its military nuclear power in order to gain some economic aid and embargo lifting. I think it would be hard to continue with the Kim dynasty as how the constitution is right now.  One key point for Kim Jong Un is to improve the current NK’s economy and to provide more open information of what it is going on inside of NK. The younger generations are not as easy to be controlled as how it was done in the past because younger generations are more aware of what is happening elsewhere through the underground economy that provides movies, news and technology in general. They are more likely to rebel against the government because as we read in our texts they don’t feel as though they’ve received much of value from their government, they do not believe in the official ideology and they mistrust the government.

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