[Maria Cardenas]

What are society and culture like in South Korea today?

                  Society and culture has changed from how it was in the past. In the article by Palmer and Park, South Koreans Learn to Love the Other—Foreign Policy 2018, states “most South Koreans have gone from holding a narrow, racial concept of nationality to embracing the idea that immigrants of Chinese, Nigerian, Vietnamese, or North American descent can be as Korean as anyone else.” South Koreans are a bit more accepting of differences and ethnicity instead of the concept of “purity of Korean bloodlines.” But only because they have become a bit more accepting it doesn’t mean children bully mixed-race classmates. They are a bit more accepting of multiracial families. The article also stated, “The data also showed that many Koreans associated foreigners with crime, job losses, or a greater tax burden.” This reminds me of what some Americans think of when they talk about illegal immigrants.

                  Women are fighting against the abuse they have received, the beauty standards, and gender gap in South Korea’s patriarchy. Just like in other parts of the world Korean women have protested with the #METOO movement. A few years ago women could be ignored or retaliated for accusing men, now things are taken more serious. Teachers, politicians, and K-Pop stars are being punished for the actions they have taken. The world is looking at South Korea because of the Korean Wave and how wide people like groups like BTS. Women are rejecting Korean’s standard beauty expectations with the “Escape the Corset” movement. This include being skinny, having long hair, wearing lots of make-up, etc. They are fighting against the inequality having Patriarchy society consists of. Troy Stangarone’s article about Gender Inequality Makes South Korea Poorer, states, “In South Korea, women regularly face questions about their marriage status and plans for having children when applying for a job, or suggestions that jobs in fields such as sales aren’t appropriate for women.” This wouldn’t be acceptable in other countries and even though the article states that its illegal to asks those type of questions but firms only face a minimal fines for discrimination against women. The consequence for discriminating against a women isn’t big so I am assuming owners don’t mind doing it. The questions asked isn’t the only thing women have to face in South Korea but also the pay gap. Living in a patriarchal country that still believes men can do whatever they want women face pressure to leave the workforce when they start having kids.

                  The Korean culture and society was brought to other countries because of K-pop and K-dramas. Women are being exploited because people in power like artists are the ones committing these crimes. For example, Seungri from Big Bang was accused of a prostitution ring occurring with his nightclubs. Last I heard he wasn’t convicted for any of his crimes. Seungri isn’t the only artist that is being accused of crimes against women. This has shown a darker side of the Korean industry. The Nth Room is another issue against women and children; were people had to pay to watch women and children perform sexual explicit acts on camera. “South Korea's court system is notorious for the lenient sentences given to convicted sex offenders” (Kelly Kasulis). The Nth Room case has prompted laws to be passed to make digital sex crimes easier to persecute.

                  Another aspect of Korean society and culture is the problem with the elderly. In the article of Jenna Gibson it states, “the proportion of elderly Koreans who live in poverty was 43.8 percent as of 2017.” The percentage of elderly who are poor is almost 50%, which is pretty high. The elderly also have high risks of being infected with the Coronavirus. The South Korean Society has low reproducing % so their population is aging.  

[Maria Cardenas]

Hello,

Since I was curious about how North Korea was doing during this pandemic I went to look for answers. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/world/asia/north-korea-sanctions-coronavirus.html

This article from the New York Times states how North Korea stated they had zero Covid-19 cases in April. North Korea has shut down since the third week of January or so. They are getting affected economically because they are very dependent of China and they are trying to do a lot of things at home now. But they would require the materials from China. If you guys have time go look at the article it's pretty interesting how it talks about the virus, how North Korea was affected in the 1990s famine, how Kim Jong Un was trying to "survive" the sanctions, and how the virus is affecting North Korea economically.

[Maria Cardenas]

Hey Heather and Juana,

I am also curious to know how are the numbers of people wiht covid-19 in North Korea. In the United States and all over the world there has been some time of lockdown. Has North Korea also had a lockdown of some sort? Does North Korea have the equipment necessary to hospitalize those patients that have the worst symptoms of the virus? I think in the last discussion Professor Kim stated that for eye surgery doctors from other countries came to perform the surgeries. So that is why I am curious to see how they are doing with fighting this pandemic. 

[Maria Cardenas]

I had not thought about your point. I had thought about it like he had nuclear weapons and he was getting rid of his enemies. I agree with your point though. People are working in the "gray market" and the younger generations don't remember the state helping them out because they haven't had to wait in line to receive their rations. 

Yes, you have good points throughout your paragraph. Kim Jong Un wants a lot of things done in order for him to satisfied and doesn't want to end his nuclear programs. One of the articles stated that Kin Jong Un was surprised that the United States new about some nuclear plants. The North Korean leader was probably playing on Trumps and the U.S. ignorance. 

[Maria Cardenas]

How has Kim Jong Un forged his own path for the Kim dynasty?

            Kim Jong Un has forged his own path for the Kim dynasty in different ways. He is the first leader of North Korea that has set foot in South Korea since 1953. Kim has also declared North Korea to be a Nuclear State. Kim Jong Un has eliminated people he thought were threats to his leadership like his uncle (married to his aunt) and his half brother. He isn’t afraid of taking action like his father and grandfather when he needs to get rid of people. Kim Jong Un met with the president Moon Jae-in of South Korea on April 27, 2018. They “announced their ‘common goal’ of denuclearization on the Korean peninsula” (Noack and Lee). They have a three-page statement that states their agreements with the “Panmunjom Declaration.” They came to an understanding that North Korea would denuclearize of the Korean Peninsula. North and South Korea met two more times in May 2018 and September 2018. In the 2018 Winter Olympics both North and South Korea marched together in the opening ceremony. Kim Jong Un also met with the United States President Donald Trump on June 12, 2018. June 30, 2019 summit at the DMZ Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump met and they excluded the South Korean president. Regardless of the meetings Kim Jong Un has had with different nations North Korea has had 8 missile tests between late July and September 2019.

 

How worried should we be about North Korea?

            I feel that North Korea has the potential to cause harm because they have nuclear weapons. Based on what I have been reading it seems that if an agreement could have been reached we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in. But we cannot be sure because different countries have gone back on the agreements that were made. I feel like at some point North Korea can get upset about the Sanctions that have been placed on them and snap. The Economic Sanctions placed on North Korea are hurting the “regular people” instead of the people in power. Maybe what needs to be accomplished is for North Koreans to be informed of what is happening outside their bubble and learn what is actually happening in the World.   

[Maria Cardenas]

Yes, I remember she said that. I do not remember hearing Spanish in South Korea in either of my visits. Besides the people from the program or my family I didn't hear Spanish. We spoke English and I remember that in my second visit my sister and I thought that Koreans knew a little bit more of the English language (the basic).

[Maria Cardenas]

Today's zoom discussion was very interesting. Questions were brought that I had not thought about. I went to study abroad in South Korea in the summer of 2012. I do not remember receiving any discrimination as a perosn of color or Latina. But this may be because I stayed with the people of the program when I went out. When I went souvenir shopping the sales lady were nice and very helpful. I wouldn't go clothes shopping because I feel the clothes sizes in South Korea are smaller or they don't carry bigger clothes sizes. I went again to South Korea in December of 2016 and I enjoyed being there. I was with my sister and cousin so maybe we didn't realize anything. I do believe that Koreans would see us and assume that we were latinas even before they spoke to us. I have had that happened to us (my sister and I) when we go to other countries. They just go Mexicans. 

[Maria Cardenas]

Jane, I didn't think of the use of propaganda as a way Kim Jong II ensure regime survival. I believe Lankov's article talks about a book of a Russian Girl that loses her way with communism even though her dad, grandfather, and great grandfather palyed a big role in society. The author of the book played it in the way that you don't want to lose your way because if you do you can become like that girl Katya that lost a limb and becamse a prostitute. He created a vivid picture of what can happend to people that disconnect with the North Korean regime. 

I also foound it interesting that it was said that at first North Koreans didn't believe that South Korean was prosperous but they realized that it was at the end.

[Maria Cardenas]

How did Kim Jong II ensure regime survival?

            Kim Jong II ensured regime survival by creating a military first political system. He moved away from the Juche system of self-reliance. Kim Jong II began depending more on the military and the role of the Korean Worker’s Party (KWP) has diminished. The presence of the military has increased and become more powerful because of Kim Jong II. The fact that his professor-mentor of the Juche Ideology defected and went to South Korea probably didn’t give him confidence of the people in power. He likes the fact that the younger generations in the military are disciplined and loyal to him compared to some of the KWP that were in power because of his father. One of the articles stated how it was more powerful to be in the military than it was to be in the KWP because Kim Jong II placed more power in the military. During their famines and economic hardships people with high positions in the military were given rations were others starved to death or had to find other means for survival.

 

How did South Korean’s Sunshine Policy change international relations?

            South Korean’s Sunshine Policy changed international relations between North Korea and South Korea. The Sunshine Policy introduced by the South Korean’s president Kim Dae Jung is engagement with the North and they met twice in two different Summits. The first Summit, the 2000 Inter-Korea Summit and the second Summit happened in 2007 the North-South Summer Summit. The South provided aide to the North as Humanitarian Food assistance. The North and South have used a unified front to the world in many events by using a unification flag to show their solidarity. There have been family reunions that been held between families divided during the Korean War across the DMZ. Inter Korean economic cooperation, there was trade and the Kaesong Industrial Complex/Region the workers came form the North and the South ROK employees were mostly soldiers. The Sunshine Policy was a way in order for the North and the South relations to get better and not be as they were before.  

[Maria Cardenas]

Jasmine, I agree. The fact that the North was doing better than the South, that Kim II Sung wanted to reunite Korea, and the fact that he would give guidance to the people are factors that allowed him to create his communist monarchy. People wouldn't complain neither because he was doing things for their benefit.

I have learned about the Korean War but I never really thought about teh Korea Diaspora that happened becuase of this. I knew that the country had been divided into two because the United States feared the Soviet Union's communism spreading. I never really thought about the fact that families were separated when the Soviet Union and United States came into the country with the 38th parallel division. The fact that it was two Americans that decided on the line to divide Korea doesn't surprise me. It's so sad the fact that many people were massacre becasue of the fear that communism was spreading in the south.  

[Maria Cardenas]

How did Kim II Sung establish a communist monarchy?

Kim II Sung was able to establish a communist monarchy because of how the government had been set up in North Korea. North Korea is about the overall good of the people.  The propaganda used in order for Kim II Sung to be the leader and seen as the one that helped saved them from the “American” gives him an advantage as to what is published. He can get people to follow what he wants with is words or with force. “Kim II Sung could see what happened in the Soviet Union, where immediately after Stalin’s death the late strongman came to be bitterly criticized by the people who were once seen as his most trusted lieutenants. (Lankov, Real NK, pg.71).” He also didn't want what happened in China to happen to him so he decided that his son Kim Jong II would be his successor. This is the monarchy where the son takes over after the father dies. Kim II Sung probably thought his fate wouldn’t be the same as the Soviet Union and Chinese leaders because the next person in power was going to be his son. So Kim II Sung was able to establish a communist monarchy because he was already in power and who was going to go against what he wanted. Kim II Sung could always get rid of that person and say that person was an American Spy. He was able to create a communist monarchy I want to say through fear and propaganda because from an early age children already new what Kim II Sung had done or how great he was.  

 

How did the Korean War and Cold War shape the two Koreas through 1994?

Korea was divided into North Korea and South Korea after Japan surrendered in WWII. Soviet Union was responsible for North Korea while the United States was responsible for South Korea. The Korean War separated families and civilians were killed during this time period.

North Korea beliefs were Communists and the Korean War and the Cold War shaped North Korea into the country it is. They had land reform, propaganda that portrays Kim II Sung in good light. They make it seem as if he was the one that created the Korean Communists Party. North Koreans suffered during the Korean War because they were air bombed during the War by the Americans. They received aide after the Korean War from China and the Soviet Union, unlike South Korea they were able to remove Soviet Union from their country and take over control of their country. The unique thing about North Korea is that they were able to keep their country isolated or they have a blockade regular citizens do not know what is going on in the world.

South Korea though wanted to be democratic and the Korean War separated them from communism. South Koreans suffered during the Korean War because they were occupied by North Korea and many civilians were killed.  South Korea has had more than one constitution, they have had a military leader like a dictator, other leaders have made it possible for them to serve longer than the year intended as president. The people have had protests for change. Unlike the North, the United States still has military bases in South Korea.

[Maria Cardenas]

Before the two Koreas, Korea was part of the Japanese empire. The video was very informative because it told you about how people lived in the Korean peninsula since the Paleolithic times. I loved the visuals shown in the video representing the different inventions that existed in Korea. Very interesting to see and read about the different economies of both Koreas. I found it interesting that the unemployment from the infographics of North Korea is much higher than South Korea. I was also wondering why isn't there a much recent data for each country, North Korea's was from 2013 and South Korea's was from 2015. 

I feel that people should know the rich Korean history instead of just thinking that people from Asia may be inferior to the Western History. People should also learn about the strong women that contributed to the Korean society. They should stop thinking of Korean women as quiet and submissive. I found it interesting that "Historically, class was more important than gender." The fact that people would have prefered to be a woman aristrocat than a man peasant is interesting. Even comparing American history during colonial times to those of Korean women it seems that Korean women had more power. 

[Maria Cardenas]

Hello. My name is Maria Cardenas. I have only taught 8th grade U.S. History at John Muir Middle School in South LA and this upcoming school year I will be teaching all three grade levels 6-8. I konw I will be teaching about Korea and I want to know more about Korea's history. I took a class about the Korean War when I studied abroad in Summer of 2012 in South Korea. I enjoyed the class so I am sure I will enjoy this and learn about Two Korea's.   

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