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Tom MuellerI second this recommendation. I use 38 North articles in my class.
Tom MuellerAs I was examining the video and the readings, I started thinking about my own perceptions. I know the show had a lot of problems but MASH really helped me “see” North Koreans, South Koreans and Chinese. This was not a “classic” war show, it brought some humanity to the screen. Of course those of us who remember the show know that even though it was about the Korean War, it really was about the events in Vietnam. My favorite episodes were the ones with interactions between the doctors and the Koreans. I remember one episode when a South Korean military police officer was watching a North Korean soldier. We find out it is his brother. They had not spoken since the beginning of the war, their father had sent one to join the South Korean army and the other went to the North Korean army, so that the family’s name would be preserved no matter who won the war. It is dangerous for both of them if their fellow soldiers find out – possibly labeled as spies. It ends with a touching moment at the end – the doctors fake a blood transfusion, so the two can talk.
When you examine the news media and the Hollywood movies, we see North Korea as a crushing authoritarian government – a mindless machine. Kim Jung Un is a madman bent on destroying the United States. Some of this may be true, but some has been exaggerated. Governments are always looking for the foreign other – an adversary that they can pit their country against. It is used as a rallying call – it is us against them. This type of other helps unite the country against a common enemy. During my childhood, it was the Soviet Union – Hollywood movies portrayed the Soviets as killing machines with only two things on their mind – destroying America and killing as many Americans as possible. They were the ultimate villains - Rocky 4, Invasion USA and of course Red Dawn. Today you would think the Chinese would be on the top of that list, however there is one problem, Hollywood couldn’t sell their movies to the Chinese public if they are the bad guys. The Red Dawn remake was supposed to show China’s invasion, but it was switched to North Korea. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316-story.html
After reading The Girl with Seven Names, it sounds like there is a familiar theme going the other way against the United States. As I started this discussion I started by focusing on the need to see the North Koreans as people. We need to separate the government from the people.
There are some differences in how some South Koreans view North Koreans, especially in the movies. Shiri is about North Korean agents invading South Korea to wreak havoc. However the others that were described in the video package seem to show more of a brotherhood between the two. Of course each believes their “brother” has gone down a wrong path (capitalist vs communism), but they can be saved. I watched JSA, so I am going to lift a section from my movie discussion. There are two scenes that stuck with me.
1) When the shooting is over. It is Sgt Oh that tells Lee what to say - he gives him his alibi
2) When Lee and Oh are in the court room. Oh attacks and calls him names, etc. He strangles Lee and Lee looks to become incapacitated. However later we find out that there are no marks on Lee's neck. Lee had faked his "unconsciousness".
They were still brothers.
Tom MuellerThis is great - thanks. It is definitely a mix of old and modern punk. It reminds me of the Dropkick Murphy's.
Tom MuellerAlyssa - great post. I was really interested in your discussion "Blackpink have not had the same success in challenging gender roles and stereotypes - rather they have been strengthened. "
This seems to be a problem in our soceity as a whole. I grew up in the 80 Hair band days and many of the male bands did highlight a bad boy and highly sexist image. However it was interesting that strong women bands "had to" align to the female sterotypes. I am thinking of the band Heart. A band with a lead female singer (Ann Wilson) and lead female guitarist (Nancy Wilson). I remember an article in which Ann stated that in the 80s, producers were more about "sexualizing" them than in the 70s. If you watch the videos you can definitely see it. Ann also stated as she started to gain weight then the videos started to focus more on her sister, Nancy. This would be an interesting study of global music and examine these gender roles.
Tom MuellerYou are welcome. I did some research on Japan and found this article https://www.npr.org/2018/12/21/679103541/japans-population-is-in-rapid-decline
It seems they are increasing the number of foreign workers and using robots to help their labor issue.
Tom MuellerJulie – good post. Thank you for sharing Population Pyramid, it really hits the points that South Korea is going to run into problems in the near future. You are correct – this is going to be huge burden on the younger population and governmental funding. I also wonder how this will play out in political policy. In this country, especially in Pennsylvania, seniors not only are larger in numbers but also more likely to vote. In my state when economic downturns occurred and cuts were needed to the budget, education and youth services were deeply cut while programs for the elderly had mild cuts. Will we see a similar situation in South Korea? Also will this mean that South Korea will need to open up their immigration policies to fill labor positions? I know that it was discussed in Japan a few years ago.
Tom MuellerVery good post - as I read your comparison of globalizing and conservatism, I started to think about a spectrum of describing “highly developed” countries – Western Europe, Japan, the United States, South Korea, etc. Powerful economic countries that can reach across the globe still seem to be behind on some personal freedoms and equality. It would be interesting to complete a survey in these countries that asked about attitudes of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. After reading about the plastic surgery of the young in South Korea, I thought about when I was in high school and that friends of mine – if they had the money were getting nose jobs. As I was watching TV this hot weekend (I changed channels throughout the day), there seemed to be quite a few plastic surgery commercials, however they were not geared towards young people but older people – eliminate those baggy eyes, tighten your neck etc. Same issues – different time periods – different locations.
Tom MuellerSouth Korea seems to be a classic global western society with its own intricacies. South Korea has reached a much later stage of capitalism – consumption being the key. Our economy is built on consumption, I think over 65% of our economy’s growth is based on consumption of goods, etc. Similar to our country there is a need for guest workers in South Korea to work the jobs that citizens do not want. They have taken others cultural entities and put a Korean bent on them. This globalization push was not only about products – steel and shipbuilding but also their cultural entities. We are seeing the exporting of Korean cuisine and music. So I watched a BTS video and then watched an American boy band video, Backstreet Boys (I had to look these up since I am more of a Hair metal and hip hop fan). BTS seemed very similar to the Backstreet Boys. The video I watched Stay Gold seemed to tell a story of breaking out of the darkness (being alone and having friends around out to bring you out). When I watched BlackPink it immediately reminded me of the Spice Girls. Both songs were very catchy and the videos were elaborate. Similar to the Spice Girls, it seemed the video I watched, was about “Girl Power”, but with women sexuality. I then asked my fifth grade daughter to watch them and give me her opinion. She had not heard of either group, but she said that the music was cool and she loved their dancing. She said that even though she does not understand Korean – she had an idea of the BTS song’s meaning thanks to the video. BlackPink was her favorite for two reasons – the song was an English and the “women were kicking butt.”
I was intrigued with the birthrates discussion. There is a theory called Demographic Transition, it states that as an area becomes more developed economically then it will bring down their birth and death rates. In the Traditional Stage, an area has high birth and high death rates. The high birth rates are because families need a large number of children to help them work the farms and the high death rates (so relatively more children die during this time) are due to the lack of medical knowledge, technology, etc. However when society reaches post-industrial, they have low birth and death rates. South Korea is definitely in that category, however their birth rates are so low that death rates are higher and they will have negative population growth. I was also intrigued by the issue of women’s rights, etc. It seems South Korea and the United States have similar issues. I did some quick research and found that South Korea has an enormous gender pay gap – “…As of 2017, the gender wage gap of full-time workers in Korea has marked 34.6 percentage points and ranked number one, followed by Estonia (28.3) and Japan (24.5) (OECD 2019). https://www.jil.go.jp/english/jli/documents/2019/017-02.pdf Economics is not the only gender issue, assault and discrimination are others. Similar to the United States, the #MeToo movement brought a large discussion of sexual assault and discriminatory incidents after years and years women being shamed or worried about retaliation in telling their stories. South Korea has taken measures by increasing maximum sentencing for sexual assault and increasing the length of time a woman can come forward. There has been a rise in training at schools and workplaces. As men, we need to be allies of our women colleagues, friends, etc. We have also seen a change in attitudes of the LGBTQ+ community as misunderstandings become corrected. South Korea does have a ways to go – they need laws to protect this community and the LGBTQ+ are battling the conservative Christians for these rights – another similarity to the United States.
Tom MuellerThank you for the resources.
Tom MuellerJasmine – Excellent post. I was interested in your comment about THADD, so I decided to complete some research. It is a different type of system “..In a sense, it’s like a very expensive slingshot that’s trying to hit an arrow in flight. Obviously it has to be accurate — close is just not good enough.” It seems THADD is extremely effective, I read one article that stated so far it has a 100% success rate. It is very effective if Kim decides to attack Japan and / or South Korea. However if Kim is able to build the technology to attack the US, then this system will not work. Obviously this is just part of our defense against North Korea, so we will see what happens in the future.
Tom MuellerMeghann - Great point about possible change of administrations. I wonder if North Korea and China are waiting to see what happens with our election. Since a Republican president opened up the dialogue, if Biden wins, then the Republicans should not be able to question if he wants to continue the dialogue. Of course in this day and age, they will. On the other side, if there is a change - how does that also change the relationship between the US and other interested parties (Japan and South Korea). It seems to me that our current administration has taken a very hard line on our East Asia allies. I think this has made this issue even more complex and I wonder if it has fueled anti - American attitudes in South Korea. If yes, how does that play out? I know South Korea has agreed to increase their share of costs for an American presence, however if the current administration is still in power and COVID19 continues to wreak havoc on our lives, how will this play out in the future? Will we continue to ask for increases in South Korea's share due to economic downturns here? If yes, does South Korea eventually say this is not a cost benefit relationship anymore?
Tom MuellerKi Jong Um started off making sure his possible opponents were eliminated. He sent orders to kill his aunt's husband and his own brother. He also worked on a policy turn – byungjin – continuing to develop their nuclear arsenal and ALSO focusing on increasing economic development. This focus on the economy may be the key to him holding on to power. Even in more open societies, if the economy is moving along, then politicians can get themselves re-elected. Of course Kim does not have to worry about elections, but he does need to keep his people happy and obedient. Kim has kept the policy of juche in place. He also makes sure to keep a lock down on outside information. If you are only hearing what the government wants you to then you can keep people under your control. However more and more non North Korean information and entertainment is getting into North Korea. I wonder if the realization that this knowledge was getting into his country, then there was a need to focus on the economy. Of course that specter of nuclear weapons is the shadow in the foreign relations. It seemed that we might have an opening in 2012 with the Leap Day Agreement. There would be suspension and inspections in North Korea and the US would send food aid. However once again it fell apart, this time due to a missile launch from North Korea. He also has pushed (much like his father before him) for talks with the United States. The difference is that this time they received an acceptance and an actual meeting from the current administration. This looked like an opening to de-escalate the situation. However it doesn’t look like anything has changed. After meeting our current president gave Kim (at least in his eyes) some legitimacy to his regime internationally. I wonder with all the starts and stops of these discussions, if our current president who is known as the deal maker and obviously would like to make this deal has run out of time with Kim. I wonder if Kim figured that the meeting with president would bring a solution, but there have been no results.
The second question is tough. If I pay attention to the media, then yes I am worried about Kim. Kim is trying to build long range nuclear missiles. These missiles could reach the US. The impressions of Kim in our media (to me) is someone who is not mentally stable. What happens if does have this capability? Of course, he might want these missiles to keep us on the sideline. For example, we always thought Saddam wanted nuclear weapons so he could have a first strike on Israel, however after he was toppled it was found that he wanted these missiles so we (and Israel) would not use the nukes against him. This would allow him (in his mind) to fight a conventional war against Israel. Is Kim thinking the same thing? If he has these nukes, does he plan to invade South Korea and expect that we will not help South Korea because of fears of nuclear weapons? I think the key is that we have to remember Kim’s number one priority is to hold on to power. Do first strikes allow him to stay in power? Are the media representations right or wrong? I think it would helpful if we could have some cultural exchanges. When COVID19 is curtailed (here is hoping), maybe we send a NBA tournament over there. Then maybe have the North Korean soccer team play a friendly over here. It is important that we start “seeing” the North Korean people and not just the government.
Tom MuellerWOW ! I just finished watching JSA, Joint Security Area. North Korean soldiers were murdered at the DMZ and there are two stories to explain what happened. South Korean soldier (Sgt Lee) admits that he killed the North Korean soldiers but it was in self-defense. They had kidnapped him and he killed them to get away. The North Korean soldier (Sgt Oh) says Lee busted into the North Korean barracks and started shooting. The evidence shows that some of soldiers look shot execution style. During integration, Pvt Nam (Lee's friend and fellow SK soldier) attempts suicide when he finds out he has to take a polygraph. The movie then shows the actual events. Lee was lost in the woods on the NK side and had stepped on a mine (He couldn't leave), Sgt Oh and his colleague Sgt Jung find him and eventually help. The movie then shows Lee and eventually Nam regularly visiting the NK side. They become friends. This is best part of the movie - they discuss their lives and share things with each other - even have disagreements (but nothing that leads to a shootout). It shows soldiers fighting on two different sides - are people - people that can be friends and brothers. This would be a great addition to my class because I think it would get us past the Government vs Government discussion. We can see them as people - yes I know it is fiction, but it is a start. One of the things that could also lead to a discussion is when the NK soldiers discuss the tension and conflict, they focus on the United States as the one they are fighting. What would happen if we did ease tensions? I am not saying it is right or wrong to do it - I am just saying imagine it. What do you think would happen? As the movie continues we see that another NK soldier and this leads to the killings. I will not discuss the end because I do not want spoil it for anyone. However there are two scenes that stuck with me.
1) When the shooting is over. It is Sgt Oh that tells Lee what to say - he gives him his alibi
2) When Lee and Oh are in the court room. Oh attacks and calls him names, etc. He strangles Lee and Lee looks to become incapacitated. However later we find out that there are no marks on Lee's neck. Lee had faked his "unconsciousness".
They were still brothers.
Thank you for this opportunity to watch this film.
Tom MuellerI figured he deleted it because it failed in USSR and Eastern Europe and wanted to focus on military.
Tom MuellerJane - Great point. During Kim Jong II's time it was a push for the military. So not only were resources focused on the nuclear weapons, but also conventional military weapons, soldiers, etc. One of the problems with focusing so much of your capital on building nuclear weapons is that it cant be used in other areas of your government and there is no indirect benefits (for example - creating new or improved infrastrucutre, education funding, tech funding, etc.) However I think Kim Jong Un has pushed a policy called byungjin - focus on nuclear weapons and the economy. Does this push still mean the whole military complex economy receives funding or just the nuclear program, while the rest goes to other non military economies (and how will that play out with his soldiers)?
