Abundance Thinks: Foreigners in Korean Media

There comes a point, living in Korea, when you are watching the Korean TV and see a foreign person mixed in on a regular TV program. The next thing you know they are spouting out nearly perfect Korean and you don't have a clue what they are saying. You can only hope they aren't making fools of themselves and indirectly making foreigners look like dum-dums. A lot of words have been exchanged throughout time on the Kblogosphere about foreigners in Korean media. Sometimes the imagery is good and other times it is scripted. The big issue seems to be most networks want to just book "beautiful blondes", which for some is misleading the audience. Let's take a look at several bloggers who commented about this article of interest in Korea, and also some sites that touch on the imagery.

1. Roboseyo: A nice long article about how both sides tend to portray each other in certain aspects. He makes the notion that, "Living overseas, we sometimes make the mistake of comparing Korean popular media with the very best our home cultures produce -- after all, THAT'S what we consume while we're overseas. It's hardly a fair comparison: we've got to compare SNSD with Miley Ray Cyrus, not with freaking Radiohead, and we've got to compare Misuda with Maury, not with 60 Minutes or even Oprah, or we're missing the point."


Check the post to understand more. 

2. Drama Beans: Here we get a bigger sense of how and what the foreigner make up looks like on Korean TV (for 2009). You can see that it is mixed up, but still shows foreigners as more eye candy than essence on the programs. "The problem is, the television roles for foreigners still don’t mix in freely, and the perspective on directing foreign actors is still as the “other.” We’re still at the level where the casting of a foreign actor stimulates curiosity with viewers."

3. Global Voices Online: Then there is the case of the show "Misuda" that has a set of foreign women, dressed up nicely who chat with Korean men. From what I recall around the grape vine, it is all scripted. I for one distaste this show as I am instinctively jealous of the ladies and also how they put them on a pedestal. Here in this post you can see the issues at hand. "f the purpose is to provide chances to reflect on Korean society and culture and to learn about other cultures, how about middle aged foreign women and grandfather? How about foreign kids?"

4. Zen Kimchi: But then you get hope that wholesome involvement of foreigners in Korean media is possible. Especially when Joe from Zen Kimchi and his pals are portrayed on TV. Also Joe has worked hard with Arirang to do several series. 

I for one have this advice, be careful answering video surveys on the street. You never how they can twist your words around. Anyways, if you have any thoughts on foreigners in Korean media than go ahead. 

Abundance Thinks: Eating Dogs

It's a topic that will inevitably come up if you are planning to come to Korea or already here. That is the topic of the Korean cuisine known as boshintang (보신탕) a soup that includes dog meat. I for one have never tried this food and still can't as I just don't see myself eating dog meat. But there are other foreigners in Korea who have tried it out and lived to tell the tale. Included in today's "Abundance Thinks" are those experiences along with posters who have spent some time talking on the humane side of the subject. I hope these posts clear some questions you might have about this kind of food in Korea.

1. In My Time...: An old traveler to Korea, but had a boshintang experience. Here she gets a "pot of dog" and goes at it. Certainly she knew about the controversy but wanted to try it anyways. To hear about the taste and experience check out the post.

2. Hangook Summer: Here we take another person's experience, but this time he just watched his friend eat it.

3. Roboseyo: Now let's get into the issue of raising and slaughtering dogs for meat. Rob highlights for us the animal and cultural rights that this cuisine has created. He articulately gives us an understanding from many view points and also gets you thinking about whether it is right of us to come in and try to change this aspect of Korean culture. Check out the post for a good read.

4. Karori to Korea: Generally speaking there have been times I have wondered if Korea even has an animal rights group. I've seen animals on TV programs abused and handled in awful ways. Well on this post we see that people do care and even take their angst to the streets.

The topic of eating dog meat might come up someday with your Korean counterparts at work. It might be a good idea to get an understanding of the issue from all sides before leashing out some opinions. Remember not all Korean people eat dog meat and some even don't want to. In that case, don't assume all people in Korea eat it or support the practice. I hope these posts give you insight into the taste and political aspects surrounding this kind of food.

Abundance Thinks: Rules for Expat Life in Korea

As we all know the internet is a place to start fires and get caught up in them. The world of the K-blogosphere is no different and perhaps, at times, thrives on drama. Recently, word got out about a CNNgo article that claimed 12 rules for expat life in Korea. Summing up our survival in terms that were generic and often a bit unsavory.

In my opinion, how one survives in Korea is based upon their own personal experience and you don't necessarily have to survive like the other expats next door. Plus, I feel we all come here for different reasons and therefore end up surviving in different ways. But if you were going to boil it down to just 12 general rules that people can live by, were the ones recommended by CNNgo valid? 

Let's take a look at several key bloggers out here in Korea-land who made their own conclusions and "rules" to this little fire on the net.

1. Kiss My Kimchi: First he put some reasoning into Kyle Burton's rules and then came up with his own. I'll just give you a few of them and then you can go and check out the site for more.

• "Be as gay as you want to be."
• "Shut Up, Smile and Say Thank you"

2. Roboseyo: Often poignant and on the spot, Rob gives us his own 12 and some good pointers on why generalizing this kind of subject is a bad idea. Here for you are just a few of his rules, so check out his post for more.

• "Pick an aspect of the culture, and dig in."
• "Get out of the city, and off the beaten track." (A popular one)

3. DavidSWills:A blogger I have not heard of before but definitely will start checking in on. He wasn't too sure on whether the article had truth to it or not, and his objective was to examine the 12 points made in the original article. He gives some good feedback and it is worth reading.

4. Paul Ajosshi: By far the shortest and the sweetest response to this whole thing...

• "Don't be a wanker.

5. International Cat Lady: I am happy to say I found a woman blogger who commented on this topic. She mostly just remarked on the existing rules but had this to say:

My tip for expats? Use common sense. Don't do anything in Korea (or any other country for that matter) that you wouldn't do in your home country. Being overseas doesn't license you to behave like a jackass.

This makes sense no matter where you are, home or abroad to think about how your social interactions affect the world around you. Definitely, the thought that we are micro-diplomats from our countries and are representing the "foreign world" when we are in public is something to ponder. You can drink all you want here and take in the great facial creams, but do it all with some sort of grace and consciousness...ok?!

;)

Abundance Thinks: Public Drunkenness

There is a section of this blog titled, "News and Views." There you can find a list of bloggers who write about the more political and social aspects of life in Korea. Sometimes, when I follow these stories too much I find myself feeling down in the dumps about Korean life. But, in the end, I still get some perspective on the issues at hand.

Recently, there was buzz about the scandalous site BlackOutKorea being discovered by Koreans. BlackOutKorea is a site (now open only to those invited) where some folks posted pictures of drunken passed-out Koreans. I recall seeing this site last year and at first was amused, but quickly found myself disgusted. Not at the site of drunken Koreans but seeing foreigners posing with them and at times even touching the innocent people.

Roboseyo wrote a great evaluation of what went wrong with the site and the troubles of what happens when Korean folks discovered it. You can read it over at his site and specifically at this post. There were a few other sites that picked up on this story and gave their thoughts. Here they are:

• My Kafkaesque Life: Truly a really in depth look at all sides on this issue.
• Scribblings of the Metropolitician: Whenever you read his blog you can be for sure that you will leave with a sense of rage and urgency to take action. Here he certainly doesn't hold back his thoughts on such matters.
• JakeinKorea: Although I have never read this blog before, it seems in this post he is willing to make a book out of the subject matter from BlackOutKorea. As this would be entertaining I think it is particularly insensitive to the major issues here. However, I think it was just for laughs. Check the post out for yourself. 

As you can see some folks take the social aspects and talk about it seriously while others use it as a way to reinforce their personal opinions of the country.


In the end, it is up to readers to interpret this material in their own way. However, I definitely feel that it all depends on what side of the Kblogoshphere you are reading mostly. With an issue like this one and many others, I suggest getting the full spectrum.