(Source: Critical Korean Studies.)
See the poster for the details, and click here to go straight to the registration link :)
Category: Announcements
Ask Me Anything…Before Sunday!
(Source: unknown)
This Sunday, Sung Kim from the web magazine Vox Coreana will be coming down from Seoul to interview me about the blog, Korean feminism, K-pop, and so on. To help make it worth his while, please help me make it worth your while, by letting us know any questions you may have. Time permitting, I’ll do our best to answer them during the interview, and will make sure to answer them here if there’s any we can’t cover. Either way, I’ll post a link to the video once it’s available.
In the meantime, make sure to check out Sung Kim’s site also, which already has interviews of Chance Dorland and Travis Hull, of the KoreaFM podcast and the Only In Korea Facebook group respectively.
Please ask away! :)
REFRACTION: Performance and Discussion on Feminism and the Media. Changwon, Sat. April 2
I’ve been asked to pass on the following:
“Refraction” is a performance and discussion regarding feminism and media. All are welcome. Funds raised will be donated to Gyeongnam Women’s Association United. Tickets are ₩10,000 each and include a free beverage from Space Fun. Saturday April 2nd, 7-8:30pm #RFRCTNshow (Facebook event link.)
“굴절현상”은 한국과 전세계 페미니즘에 관한 토론과 예술적인 행사입니다.우리는 미디어에서의 여성에 대한 묘사를 더 깊게 살펴 볼 것이고 또한, 이가 개인과 사회에 어떻게 영향을 주는지 알아 볼 것 입니다. 누구든지 환영합니다.
창원시 사림동 46-9
스페이 스펀
I’d love to go, but unfortunately my wife works until 6 on Saturdays, which doesn’t give me enough time to get there from Busan. If anyone would like to do some babysitting for me on Saturday afternoon though, please let me know! ;)
WikiPeaceWomen Celebrates Women’s Contribution to Peace
I’ve been asked to pass on the following:
WikiPeaceWomen, One Million PeaceWomen Project of PeaceWomen Across the Globe, Celebrates Women’s Contribution to Peace
HONGKONG, March 8, 2016 — For celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the project Thousand PeaceWomen for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005, the PeaceWomen Across the Globe Association (PWAG) based in Bern, Switzerland, launched the WikiPeaceWomen project in October last year. Its goal is to collect one million stories of women who are working for peace from all walks of life, acknowledging their invisible contribution to peace.
The PeaceWomen are working in all fields of human security, conflict resolution, ecological security, environmental justice, health, education, legislation, and others. While their work will be made visible and recognized, their expertise will also be disseminated outside their current spheres of influence, so as to contribute to different levels ranging from the communities to the global. The process of inviting stories of Million PeaceWomen to be written and translated, and of fostering connections, will be a process of re-activation of the interest and commitment of old and new coordinators from different regions of the world, and of connection and reconnection to the 1000 PeaceWomen as well as the thousands of volunteers who have related in various ways to the PWAG project in the last decade.
Women’s groups, educators, youth groups and others are all welcome to be part of this project. You can send your nominations of peacewomen’s stories for uploading to the website which is in multiple languages. For more details, please visit the Swiss website of Peace Women Across the Globe at http://www.1000peacewomen.org/ and the WikiPeaceWomen Website at http://wikipeacewomen.org. If you have any question about the project, please contact us at wiki.peace@gmail.com, or the East Asia secretariat of PWAG: Kwan Fong Cultural Research and Development Programme, Lingnan University.
Update
(Source: Pexels)
Just a quick note to say sorry for the unplanned blogging break everyone, and to let you know that it’s almost over. Mainly, it was just because I had a journal article to complete, which turned out to be much more work than expected. Truthfully though, I’ve also been feeling surprisingly angsty about turning 40 next week, not helped by a good friend just leaving Korea, and by a close colleague of mine suddenly dying over the vacation (she sat next to me actually—it’s been painful thinking about her empty desk). So, it’s been difficult to get in the mood for blogging.
But it felt good to make a fresh start with the new semester today. And the combination of splurging on a trip to Seoul to get drunk with said friend last weekend, and seeing my daughters being just plain adorable enjoying the unexpected blizzard, was already more than enough to break me out of my melancholy. Plus, OMG DID I MENTION ALL THE BOOKS I BOUGHT? SQUEEE~ #BOOKGASM #BESTSEOULTRIPEVER
But seriously: I’m back, it feels great, and I’ll have some posts for you next week! :)
Talk: Sympathetically, Gravely? North Korean Spies in Recent South Korean Cinema (SungKongHoe University, Monday 4pm)
Sorry for the short notice. Please check out the posters for the details (click to enlarge).
Talk: Daejanggeum and “the Impossible Country,” Seoul, Thursday December 3rd
I’ve been asked to pass on the following:
WOMENLABKOREA (여성 연구)
Daejanggeum and “the Impossible Country,” Thursday December 3rd
Description:
A #WMLABTALKS event—inspirational thought-provoking lectures.
At womenlabkorea, we are inspired by remarkable women and women’s organizations, and so we set out to tell stories that highlight women’s lives and their role in South Korea.
We believe that one voice or one story can make a difference and that is why we are rallying female entrepreneurs, expat women, nonprofit founders, bloggers, and more to share their voice and insight.
This time our speaker will be Soohee Kim, a Korean entrepreneur and Korean Language teacher. Inspired by the true story of Jang-Geum, an apprentice cook that became the first female royal physician of the Joseon Dynasty, Ms Kim will tell us her own story of perseverance and her own vision of this fascinating country’s impressive achievements.
All proceeds will be donated to programs supporting North Korean refugees and participants´ support will make an enormous and powerful impact.
Schedule: 10:00 AM-12:30 PM
Venue: Hillside Residence
Registration: Ana Dols, 010 4119 7790 (womenlabkorea@gmail.com/blog)
Screening Tomorrow: Our Nation: A Korean Punk Rock Community (2002) and Us & Them: Korean Indie Rock in a K-pop World (2014)
Via the event’s Facebook page:
Please join our screening on Saturday 17th October. We will be showing two short documentaries about the Korean indie and punk rock music scene. Producer Stephen Epstein will be there to introduce the documentaries and take part in a Question and Answer session after the screening. This is your chance to hear all about the vibrant Korean indie rock and punk scene. FREE ENTRY & ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
서울필름소사이어티의 10월 17일 토요일 영화상영회에 초대합니다. 이날 상영드릴 영화는 한국의 인디 음악과 펑크락 음악을 주제로 한 두 편의 다큐멘터리입니다. 상영을 마친 후에는 본 다큐멘터리를 감독하신 스테판 엡스타인 감독을 직접 모셔 다큐멘터리에 대한 설명을 듣고 관중들과 함께 질의응답을 하는 시간을 가질 것입니다. 한국의 다채로운 인디 음악과 펑크 음악의 현주소를 알아볼 수 있는 좋은 기회입니다. 입장은 무료이며 영화는 영어자막과 함께 상영됩니다.
Stephen Epstein, you may recall, wrote most of was my coauthor for our chapter in The Korean Popular Culture Reader, and I’ve linked to many of his articles over the years; suffice to say, I’ve no hesitation in recommending literally anything he’s produced. See the link for more information about his and Timothy Tangherlini’s documentaries screening tomorrow, and for further details about the event schedule and location.
Meanwhile, apologies for the late notice, and for the lack of blog posts. Both are because, sadly, my wife’s grandmother had a stroke over Chuseok, and while she’s recovering (relatively) well from that, she’s also been diagnosed with cervical cancer, which little can be done about at her advanced age of 86. Specifically, Korean patient-care being what it is, my wife has been spending much of her time in her hometown taking care of her, leaving me to look after our daughters. That can’t be helped of course, and I’m managing, but it does mean it’ll be a few more weeks before I’m able to start writing again sorry.
Until then though, sorry for the downer, and you still keep up with the news via my Twitter and/or the blog’s Facebook page :)
Call for Papers: The 3rd World Congress for Hallyu
I’ve been asked to pass on the following:
From the accompanying email (slightly edited by me):
…I am emailing on behalf of WAHS to inform you of an upcoming international conference in Dubai on Hallyu Studies. The conference, World Congress on Hallyu, is the third of its kind and aims to bring together academics, students, and organizations who have an interest in the phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as Hallyu. Currently, we have branches of research in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.
I have a attached a flyer for an official “call for papers” for undergraduate and graduate students. I hope that you can pass it along to students who would be interested in submitting to the conference or contest. The undergraduate student essay winners are eligible to win a cash prize for their research, while graduate students are eligible for free airfare and accommodation to the conference to present their research. Graduate students seriously interested in attending are urged to sign up for a WAHS membership to receive a discount conference entrance fee and possible stipends for our future spring conference.
More information can be found at the official conference website, via the Facebook page, or via Twitter.
Meanwhile, apologies that a bad flu and the start of the new semester has delayed the follow-up to my last post, and I’ll try to have it up soon :)
Calling all Korean-Western Couples!
(Source, edited: ufunk)
I’ve been asked to pass on the following by Dr. Daniel Nehring, a British sociology lecturer:
My project looks at the experiences of Korean-Western couples currently living in Korea, of any sexual orientation. It involves conversational interviews of approximately one hour, covering various aspects of everyday life in a transnational relationship; I interview the Western participants in English, while my Korean (female) colleague interviews the Korean participants in Korean. I work according to the code of ethical conduct of the British Sociological Association, so participation is confidential and anonymous, which includes not divulging one partner’s responses to the other(!). I am looking for participants aged 25 to 45 who are settled in Korea and currently live in a long-term transnational relationships. I could meet participants in a place of their choice; alternatively, the interview(s) could take place on Skype. I would be happy to answer any further questions about my research; my e-mail address is d.nehring@worc.ac.uk.
I’d add that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Daniel several times, and that he has conducted similar projects in Mexico and China; see here for one of his journal articles on the latter, which is still ongoing, while the Mexican interviews ultimately became part of a book.
Busan Drag Prom This Saturday!
See the Facebook event page or community page for the details (English and Korean). All proceeds to go to ISHAP, an amazing human rights group who provide anonymous and free HIV, AIDS and STI testing; and Queer in PNU, Busan’s first university founded LGBT human rights group, who strive to make the city a safer and brighter place for at-risk gay youth.
I’ll be there again, and mingling. So please make sure to say hi! ;)
Two Must-Listens About Korean Popular Culture
(Source: The Korea Society)
First up, I wouldn’t usually make an announcement about an event in far-off New York, but I have no hesitation in making an exception for friend and fellow Korean Popular Culture Reader contributor Dr. Olga Fedorenko, who’s lecturing at the Korea Society on Tuesday evening. As the FB event page and Korea Society website explain:
Advertising in South Korea is often referred to as a “flower of capitalism.” Rather than calling attention to the inherent links between commercial advertising and capitalism, this clichéd metaphor presents advertising as a wholesome, creative medium of public good and positive contribution to society. South Korean’s consume advertising as a product of popular culture and celebrate it for the humanist societal ideals it often promotes, instead of viewing it as an intrusive commercial message. Dr. Fedorenko explores the origins of such attitudes toward advertising through some notable contemporary examples, and considers challenges of using advertising for public good in the twenty-first century South Korea.
I owe a lot to Olga for much of what I’ve written about Korean advertising over the years, most recently referencing her work in my post “Sex, Self-Confidence, and Social Activism: When Women Made Soju Ads” about Korean femvertising, so you have my personal guarantee that her lecture will be very interesting. (You may also find this review of her dissertation interesting, let alone her dissertation itself.)
As I type this I’m unsure if her lecture will be recorded unfortunately, but it probably will—most Korea Society lectures are made into podcasts, and increasingly online videos are provided too. Either way, I’ll provide a link once her’s is/are ready later this week.
Update: Here is the video. It is also available as a podcast here or here.
Next, for those of you who were unable to attend Aliosa Puzar’s lecture in Seoul last month, and frustrated that it wasn’t recorded, I’m very happy to announce that he has just been interviewed on the same topic(s) by the Korea and the World team. (Full disclosure: they’re the cool guys who also interviewed me back in November). Make sure to visit Beyond Hallyu for an excellent review of his podcast first, then you can listen to it directly on the Korea and the World website. (It’s also available on iTunes.)
(Source: Facebook)
Once again: what are you waiting for? ;)
If You’re in Seoul, You Should Totally Go to This Presentation on Thursday
Don’t just take my word for it though: Aljosa is not just a cool guy (we’ve met a few times), but he’s also the author of “Asian Dolls and the Westernized Gaze: Notes on the Female Dollification in South Korea”, in Asian Women Vol.27 No.2, which should ring bells among many of you. If not, it can still be read online here (or email me if you’d like your own copy), and I highly recommend Melissa Johnson’s posts on dollification in K-pop to accompany it.
What are you waiting for? ;)
On Grandly Narrating…Korean Dramas?
(Source: The Huffington Post Korea)
Sorry for the slow blogging everyone. Not just for the last few weeks, but for the last few months. Many of you have noticed and have been wondering, so I thought I should offer a quick explanation.
Long story short, I’ve got much less time than I had in 2014.
I’m doing a Master’s again. I’m teaching more classes this semester. I’m working on my first academic journal article. My daughters have started a (lovely) alternative school for multiracial children, which is a long commute away; it’s nice spending the extra time with them, but that’s another 10 hours a week that I used to spend on other things. And so on.
Still, I could and did work on the blog a little. But then I caught an on-off, debilitating flu for over a month. As you can imagine, now I’m behind on just about everything.
All that said, after 8 years of blogging, I am in a bit of a rut with regards to topics and style, and am looking for new ideas to motivate myself—and hopefully to interest and entertain you too. One possibility might be an episode by episode discussion of the recent(ish) drama Misaeng, which I’ve heard was a very realistic portrayal of Korean corporate life, and especially of the position of women therein. I’ve already watched the first episode, and, although it wasn’t earth-shattering, it was refreshingly free of K-Drama cliches, especially the childish female roles. If, like me, you’ve been disappointed with “progressive” Korean dramas before, this might finally be one worth getting stuck into.
If you’re interested in following along with me, at the pace of one episode per week say, please let me know in the comments. And/or, about anything else you’d like to see more of on the blog. Thanks!
Update (July): Thanks for the comments everyone, and sorry for the false starts in June. I’ll start sometime this month.
p.s. Three Cheers for Halcion, the only way I managed to finally get a good night’s sleep last night!
“We Are Korean Women” Workshop, This Thursday Morning in Seoul
I’ve been asked to pass on the following:
*******WOMENLABKOREA is a creative space to test ideas, initiatives, and projects, a space to co-create, to co-design and prototype with other women, a supportive space where risks can be taken.
WOMENLABKOREA is about social innovation, empowerment and entrepreneurship!
The purpose is to help women step out of their comfort zones to improve their lives and the lives of women around them.
Next Thursday, May 7th we are hosting another #WMLABTALK called “We are Korean Women.”
We have conceived of these #WMLABTALKS as events where we can share and understand more about our lives; events to discover more about our wishes and hopes.
We wanted to create a space where women can speak freely and be ready to challenge stereotypes.
Furthermore, we wanted to dedicate a time to celebrate us, to celebrate women’s rhythms and women’s vision of the world´s cultures. To celebrate how far we have come and all that we have conquered.
Last time we focused on Swedish women (“The battle of female numbers: Swedish women beyond myths, stereotypes and preposterous clichés”), this will be the time for Korean women.
“We are Korean Women” will be a female-focused collective dialogue to challenge stereotypes and clichés about being a woman in South Korea.
We will practice yogafit with Uliana Golovko and taste the traditional Spanish tapa pantumaca, a Catalonian breakfast or snack.
Following the breakfast, we will begin our presentation and open dialogue (the World Café process created by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs).
Korea has come so far in fifty years, how have women driven that growth? What are the challenges that women face in Korean society? We seek to break down stereotypes and go beyond clichés. Varying cultural opinions will deepen the discussion and hopefully widen our viewpoints.
Finally, we will taste and learn about Sogokju, the 1500 year old beverage, and be captured by Simcheongjeon, a story of Korean Pansori storytelling tradition.
More than a workshop, “We are Korean Women” will be a celebration.
Prepare to interact and discuss!
For further details and RSVPs, please contact Ana Dols at 010-4119-7790 or womenlabkorea@gmail.com. Also, make sure to check out their blog, their Facebook page, and pinterest board.
“Sexy Concepts with James Turnbull”
(Source)
Ahem. But really, they’re just a very small part of my July interview with Colin Marshall for the Notebook on Cities and Culture podcast, where we also discuss:
…what Westerners find so unappealing about Korean plastic surgery; the associations of the “double eyelids” so often surgically created; why he used to believe that Koreans “want to look white”; the meaning of such mystifying terms as “V-line,” “S-line,” and “small face”; the uncommon seriousness about the Western-invented concept of the “thigh gap”; how corn tea became publicly associated with the shape of the drinker’s jaw; Korea’s status as the only OECD country with young women getting thinner, not fatter; Korean advertising culture and the extent of its involvement with the “minefield” of Korean irony; the prominence of celebrities in Korean ads, and why the advertisers don’t like it; how long it takes to get tired of the pop industry’s increasingly provocative “sexy concepts”; the result of Korea’s lack of Western-style reality television; how making-of documentaries about 15-second commercials make the viewers feel closer to the celebrities acting in them; why he doesn’t want his daughters internalizing the Korean sense of hierarchy; why an expat hates Korea one day and loves it the next; how much homework his daughters do versus how much homework he did; the true role of private academies in Korea, and what he learned when he taught at one himself; the issues with English education in Korea and the oft-heard calls for its reform; the parallels between English test scores and cosmetic surgery procedures; the incomprehension that greets students of the Korean language introduced to the concept of “pretending to be pretty”; and how to describe the way Korean superficiality differs from the Western variety.
Apologies in advance for not being much more succinct when I spoke (I’m, well…er..uhm…working on that), and by all means please feel free to ask me to clarify or elaborate on any of those topics.
Also note that Colin has interviewed over 30(?) other expats and Koreans, men and women, and Korea and overseas-based speakers for the Korean component of his series, all most of whom are much more articulate and entertaining than myself, so I strongly encourage you to browse his site. I myself was blown away by Brian Myers’ interview yesterday, which was full of insights and observations that all long-term expats will be able to relate to (and will be very useful listening for those thinking they may become one), and Bernio Cho’s is essential if you want to understand the Korean music industry better. And those are just the two I’ve listened to so far!
Help a Korean Wave Researcher!
(“And you thought *you* had relationship issues”. Source: Sanctu; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
This request comes from a friend of mine. So, you already know she’s awesome, and very deserving of your help!
Hi, my name is Marilyn, and I’m a graduate student researching the Korean Wave in the U.S. Specifically, I’m hoping to interview K-drama fans about why they like dramas, how they started watching them, etc. If you are a K-drama fan (even a casual one!), have lived all or most of your life in the U.S., are not of Korean descent, and have never lived in Korea, then I would really like to talk to you about K-dramas. Please email me at kdrama.research@gmail.com if you can help me out.
What are you waiting for? ;)
Korea and the World: My Podcast Interview
(Source: Danny Choo; CC BY-SA 2.0)
“Korea’s entertainment industry has become extremely popular abroad and conveys the image of a modern and attractive country. Watch any K-Pop video and you see plenty of skin and sexiness; but look into Korean culture as a whole, and you witness the dominance of traditional values. Does the way women are depicted in Korean popular culture tell us something about gender politics in Korean society? How persistent are traditional gender roles? Does the entertainment industry empower women or does it merely represent the reality of gender patterns in Korea’s conservative society? To answer these questions and more, we sat down with media specialist James Turnbull in Busan.”
A big thank you to the good folks of Korea and the World, for being such pleasant podcast hosts back in November. Unfortunately though, frankly I had a terrible cold at the time, so apologies in advance if I sometimes sound a little incoherent during the interview!
Either way, make sure to also check out the interviews of Robert Kelly, Daniel Tudor, and Andrei Lankov, with many more to be added in coming weeks.
Update: If you’re interested in hearing more about K-pop specifically, also check out the first episode of Anonymous Said, a new podcast series in which the host aims to “talk to anonymous guests each week, and together…comment on recent events in Korea, and the experiences the guests have from behind-the-scenes of entertainment and life here.” This blog gets a brief mention at 21:50 (squee!).
Presentation, Yonsei University, Friday 12th: “Give it to Me? The Impact of K-Pop’s Sexualization on Korean Advertising”
(Source: *cough* Ilbe)
The reason I’ve been so busy in recent weeks, and unable to properly reply to all your comments and tweets sorry. But, I’m happy to finally announce I’ll be presenting in the 2014 Situations International Conference, “Culture and Commerce in the Traditional, Modern and Contemporary Asian Music Industries” this Friday at 3pm, and I’d be delighted if any readers could make it.
If you can’t make Friday though, never fear, for there’s a host of much more interesting presentations than mine on Saturday, and I’m happy to meet up after the conference on Sunday too. Please just say hi there, or give me a buzz here or on Facebook or Twitter.
As for my topic, consider it a direct extension of this post. I look forward to your questions and comments!
Announcements: A Rare Film About LGBT Asian-Americans, Bras for a Cause, and a Survey on Street Harassment in Korea
(Source: Kickstarter)
Some worthy causes which would really benefit from just a little of your time or money this week:
Spa Night – A Korean-American Film about Coming Out
From the Kickstarter Page (my emphasis):
WHY THIS FILM IS IMPORTANT
I have always associated Korean spas with my childhood, my family, and my Korean identity. As a kid, I would go to the spa with my dad. It was a cultural ritual; we would clean ourselves.
A few years ago, I discovered that Korean spas in Los Angeles are used as a space for underground gay sex. As a gay Korean-American man, this discovery felt strange, thrilling, and very wrong! It’s very easy for me to separate my identities. I can either be Korean or gay. But here is this place where I have to deal with my identities at the same time. I’m forced to be whole.
I knew immediately that a Korean spa would be the perfect setting for a film about a gay Korean-American identity. There aren’t enough films out there about Asian-Americans, let alone LGBTQ Asian-Americans. It’s important to me that I share this story so that people understand that we exist and that our community holds a diversity of people, voices, and experiences.
If this sounds like something you’d like to support, please do so soon: as I post this on Tuesday morning Korean time, unfortunately it’s still $7000 short of its $60,000 goal, with only 3 days left to go. See Kickstarter for further information, or the Facebook page.
Bras For a Cause
From the Facebook Event Page:
Bras for a Cause (Seoul) is a fun event in November that raises money for the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation while promoting breast cancer awareness. According to the KBCF, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer affecting Korean women.
Please contact the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation if you are aware of a breast cancer sufferer in your community who has been unable to receive surgery or treatment due to financial hardships. They offer funding for breast cancer surgery anticancer and radiation treatment after a patient undergoes evaluation. The Korea Breast Cancer Foundation is dedicated to helping encourage patients with breast cancer to continue treatment despite financial difficulties and to helping them escape the pain of breast cancer.
Survey on Street Harassment in Korea
Via Hollaback! Korea:
Have you been to Korea in the last year? Please respond to this important global survey on street (sexual, gendered, racial, homophobic) harassment. It takes about 10 minutes but contributes in a very important way to spreading awareness of this issue. Please spread widely.
Please participate in our global study of street harassment by following [this link]. We appreciate your participation!
See the links for more information, or here for my February story about Hollaback! Korea itself.
(Source: Facebook Group Page)
As always, if any readers also have any event, worthy cause, video, or just about anything else they’d like to promote, please just shoot me an email (but please add as many pictures and details as possible!) and I’ll add it in a later post.
The Grand Narrative 