[Kara Schwartz]

This PSY video is loads of fun. I really like the western motif too https://youtu.be/8dJyRm2jJ-U

 

The book I am reading suggested Dean and Rico. Wow both are great

 

 

And the dancing of NCT 127 is amazing. So fluid https://youtu.be/2OvyA2__Eas This video is in particular. I think an example of glocalization. References to Bruce Lee and Sam Jackson

 

Final thoughts on KPop. I learned KPop encompasses various musical styles. And even if KPop stars do not often play instruments or write their songs, their talent and amazing peformances make those songs their own. I have so much more respect for KPop now. And it is much more diverse in terms of style of music and style of the stars. I do think that many stars have little freedom. Similar to pop stars everywhere. And there is a still an impossible beauty standard that is strived for in KPop, but despite that issue, I love it now!

[Kara Schwartz]

THank you so much. I enjoyed River of Tears. Everything about the song and performance were amazing. I got chills! There is much more to Pop than fun and glitz. Does anyone know if the snow and the singer's white clothing signify? Death ?

[Kara Schwartz]

I really liked your comment about how Hallyu helped your self esteem. I have to say what I loved about both Mother and Miss Granny as a 51 year old woman. I felt that I will be seen when I am an even older woman. The entire movie Mother the camera is focused on an older woman! You never see that. I think BEING seen in movies and television might even help fight racism and ethnocentrism.

[Kara Schwartz]

Lyla Lee's Young Adult book I'll be the one (I am currently reading this one) is very interesting. It is about a "fuller" figured Korean American girl who tries out for a KPop show. She mentions the star who enters the room who is from a chaebol family. She mentions that her family watches Korean TV from Korea, and she really wants to be on the KPop show. At her audition she mentions that on Korean TV especially for KPop the "standard" makes no room for fuller figured people. And that they are made fun of! This is not shocking, but I find it really interesting that a YA book which is part love story reveals so much about KPop and the body standards in Korean media. The lead character states that  anyone over a size two is the foil to the "pretty girl." I find it interesting that pop in this context adheres to conformity. If pop culture is soft power; what role does KPop serve? Is it possible that most of KPop does not serve the same purpose as much of pop culture. Does anyone know any KPop bands that rebel or offer a counterpoint to the conformity of body standards in KPop? I hope this makes sense. Or does Pop culture serve to in some cases affirm the status quo as much as it is a force to buck the status quo?

 

By the way I really liked the Indie music from Hyukoh. The lecture was really interesting this week. I also enjoyed the Rap artist. She was fantastic.

What I also find a bit concerning yet interesting is the double edged sword of money making pop bands. On the one hand, KPop gets the world curious about Korean culture. My teenage niece wants to learn more about Korea because of KPop and Korean TV. But at the same time many KPop stars are pressured into getting nose jobs and eye surgeries. This is very similar to American stars. For example, I noticed in the States if there is an actress or artist who might be brunette and full figured or have certain facial features that are not "uber" Anglo that all changes. Jennifer Lopez is beautiful, but as she got more famous her hair got lighter, her lips thinner, and her nose thinner. The Anglo standard seems to permeate world culture. Any thoughts? Does global acceptance mean "looking Anglo?"

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/the-k-pop-plastic-surgery-obsession/276215/

Sorry, I am thinking a lot today. I am thinking about this question from the Fuhr article

What does K-Pop tell us about the dynamics of globalization and entangled questions of cultural

identity, politics, technology, and mobility?

[Kara Schwartz]

You are so right about films from Korea make viewers want to visit Korea!

I saw Miss Granny last night. One word: Epic. And yes, I would love to explore and discuss things I may have missed regarding Korean Culture. I liked it because it reminded me of Romantic Musicals from the Amercian 50s. The times of the big technicolor films. Also, it was so touching. I laughed and cried. I think I might want to save this for my review. But I highly recommned this film. And there is a KPop element as well. The lead Shim Eun-Kyung is also a KPop star. I will be watching this one again. And You are right everything is in one place. Go NETFLIX!

 

[Kara Schwartz]

In both Attorney Woo the series, and in Squid Game, I noticed the role color plays. I find the colors in Attorney Woo soothing. From the food she eats to her clothing; the colors relax me.

But, in Squid Game, I found the use of color jarring and it worked for the edginess of the series.

 

In KPop I have noticed color plays an important role as well.
 

Is the use of color; a big part of Korean culture? Or should I say does what role does color play in Korean culture, Korean Pop Culture, and do certain colors carry certain meanings?  I know in many other films color is used as a way to communicate in film. Most notably, recently Wes Anderson and in the past even in the Sixth Sense when red appears only when there are ghosts.

[Kara Schwartz]

Greetings everyone! I am a librarian and a teacher. I work in an high school, and I co-taught an Asian Studies class last year. I am taking this seminar because I need to learn more about Korea, and I love learning year round. I have been taking classes with the Five Colleges for a few years. I loved the Korean movie Burning, and I could watch it again. I like cooking Asian food. My other interests are reading Young Adult literature with a focus on young adults world wide. I love to swim! And bird watch. Also, I am interested in discusses Korean film and pop culture. I am currently watching The Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix. I just got back from a trip to Boston with the Ties that Bind class at the Five Colleges. We traced connections between American History and Asian History, and I loved it. Stay cool in the heat all! Oh and I live in Maine. I have 3 dogs and a husband

[Author]

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