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Mike HagiwaraI agree Sandra-the article definitely does incorporate both the pros and cons of Korea's reliance on "soft power." I like to think that, since the writing of this article, that Korea's status has substantially grown too. In the last decade we've definitely seen a growth in Korea's economic influence here in the United States. We've seen numerous Korean electronics manufacturers introduce amazing televisions, phones, and other devices while Kia Motors, once seen as a joke, is now unable to even keep up with demand for their amazing Kia model, the Telluride.
Mike HagiwaraThis post may be a bit outside the scope of the topic but after posting my last comment about how the "Korean Wave," and particularly Winter Sonata brought closer relations between Japan and Korea, I saw this news about South Korea installing a new artpiece about Korean comfort women at a private garden. It'll definitely be interesting how this plays out-the link to the story is below:
Mike HagiwaraGood morning Natalie,
I totally get this! I lived in Japan from 2003-2006 and I remember how BIG Winter Sonata was at the time. I would go into a music/video rental store and all I would see is wall-to-wall rentals of the drama, as well as cut outs of Bae Young Joon. People I worked with at the time (middle-aged Japanese women), as well as my neighbors of the same demographic could be heard talking about the previous episode and I remember thinking, "What is this all about?" However, in retrospect, I also think it was a great leap forward when it comes to Japanese-Korean relations. Japan and Korea have always had conflict regarding something or another, and it was definitely nice to see/hear about something that brought the two countries closer together.
Mike HagiwaraThe last few years have seen a great Korean cultural awakening to the world. As both Professor Jung-Kim and the reading, The Korean Wave, allude to, Psy's Gangnam Style, became one of the top music videos of the decade. Korean music has invited the world to get a glimpse of what Korean culture is like. However, as the article mentions, this can be seen as a double-edged sword. The "soft power" of Korean music, food, culture, etc. cannot alone catapult Korea onto the world's main stage; there must be a balance between the soft power and the hard power (economy, military, and communications infrastructure) in order to convey a complete Korea. In the classroom, over the past five or so years, it has been interesting to see the progression of Korean popularity among my middle school students, starting essentially with Psy's music video-that year everyone was dancing to the song and I even made sure to include the actual music video during our school dances! Students began to research different bands/groups, look into different elements of Korean culture/food, and even began to teach themselves the Korean language. Being half Japanese and half Korean, I always felt that people "understood" or embraced Japanese culture more because of anime, manga, and Japanese cuisine; however, this Korean wave has given me optimism that this isn't just a temperory wave, but rather a complete inclusion and acceptance of Korea as a whole into our modern-day society. If you don't believe me, just open up Netflix and look at all the Korean shows and movies!
Mike HagiwaraThis article was a very interesting one because it puts into perspective the life of an individual in the United States who isn't originally from this country. Many of our students' families emigrated to the US for various reasons and suffered financial hardships-many still do. Like the reporters being discussed in the reading, many of our students' families have to make ends meet on meager wages and are sometimes forced to make difficult decisions about how to spend their money. I like that the reading could be used to initiate a discussion about so many different social topics not just related to China, but to immigrants from all over. It would also be a good way to introduce cultural stereotypes and stigmas which might be placed on those coming from Asian countries, particularly China. One of the other class members, in another post, mentioned how world history "cannot be taught in a vaccum." We have to educate our students to understand that what happens in one part of the world has global impacts, as well as consequences.
Mike HagiwaraHello! My name is Mike and I'm a 7th/8th history teacher at John Adams MS in Los Angeles. I have participated in the USC US-China Institute in the past and look forward to the lessons and lectures for this series of sessions.
