(Source: Jinvas, left, right; edited)
Two notebook covers, found by reader Stephanie Rosier at her local Kyobo bookstore. As she explains on the blog’s Facebook page, the left reads, “If I study for ten more minutes, my [future] wife’s face will change,” and the right, “If I study for ten more minutes, my [future] husband’s job will change.”
Of course they’re just notebooks, and just for fun (although I do hope it’s adults they’re aimed at!). But they’re also a reflection of how deeply “specs” (스펙) like certain jobs and physical standards dominate matchmaking discussions among Koreans these days. Whereas back in the 1980s, it was older family members or family friends that would size up children’s potential spouses for arranged 선 (seon) matches like this, nowadays hard economic times mean that young people can be just as pragmatic and calculating as their grandparents were.
Meanwhile, what’s “Just One 10 Minutes?” you ask? :D
Related Posts:
- Korean Sociological Image #71: “Specs” for the perfect Korean wife or husband
- Goodbye Madame Butterfly, Hello Sexless Marriage
- Korean Gender Reader
(For more posts in the Korean Sociological Image Series, see here)
The Grand Narrative 
Some Koreans in Korea (that I’ve met) seemed to have a fixed notion of how life should be lived, what should be sought in life. Especially the older generation. Living life according to some manual. I think the notebooks might be one reflection of that. Well, if the students do study harder as a result, touche… Btw, the slogans also promote the erroneous notion that quantity (rather than quality) is most important when it comes to studying. My slogan would read: “Take ten minutes to ponder WHY you are studying. Your life could change as a result.”
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Indeed.
Sorry I can’t think of more to say than that, but thanks for the comment!
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Oh, no prob. I was just ranting.
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