THE KOREAN THE KOREAN WAVE AS VIEWED THROUGHWAVE THE PAGES OF THE NEW YORK TIMES IN 2009 THE KOREAN WAVE AS As Viewed Through the Pages of The New York Times in 2009 THE KOREAN WAVE AS VIEWED THROUGH THE PAGES OF THE NEW YORK TIMES IN 2009 THE KOREAN WAVE AS This booklet is a collection of 40 articles selected by Korean Cultural Service New York from articles on Korean culture by The New York Times in 2009. THE KOREAN THE KOREAN WAVE AS VIEWED THROUGHWAVE THE PAGES OF THE NEW YORK TIMES IN 2009 THE KOREAN WAVE AS As Viewed Through the Pages of The New York Times First edition, July 2010 Published by Korean Cultural Service New York in 2009 460 Park Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022 Tel: 212 759 9550 Fax: 212 688 8640 Website: http://www.koreanculture.org E-mail: [email protected] Copyright © 2010 by Korean Cultural Service New York. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recovering, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. From the New York Times © 2009 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of the Material without express written permission is prohibited. Edited by Michael Hagen Proofread by Judith Yancey Cover & text design by Jisook Byun Printing & binding by PRIntING & AD Express, inc. Printed in New York Korean Cultural Service New York CONTENTS FOREWORD LIFESTylE The 2009 Korean Wave: Cultures Shaping Cultures 008 Economy Blunts Korea’s Appetite for Plastic Surgery 065 The Big Cram for Hunter High School 068 MOVIES In South Korea, Drinks Are On the Maple Tree 071 Cinema’s Sisterhood of Spookiness 013 The Roar of the Crowd, The Taste of Dried Squid 074 Real, Rough Life, in Front of a Lens 016 No Red Cape, or Red Ink, In South Korean Bullrings 076 Two Children Are Cast Adrift in a World Without Anchors 018 Korean Students Go Online to Cram 079 Asian Movies All Over the Map 020 Midtown’s Hidden World 082 Down Those Mean Streets of Seoul, on the Double 022 With Wounded Pride, Unemployed Koreans Quietly Turn to Manual Labor 084 Cities Peel Back Pavement To Expose Watery Havens 087 MUSIC & FINE ART In South Korea, Retirement Can Be Elusive 090 Peering Into Complex Cloud Formations and Finding Sunshine 025 South Korea Stretches Standards For Success 092 Treasures at a Korean Crossroad 027 A Lunch Break With a Bach Partita as the Main Course 030 SpORTS Kim Secures Her First World Title in Record Fashion 097 DANCE & THEATER South Korean’s Short Game Goes Long Way, as Young Americans Struggle 100 The Loneliness of the Long–Distant Courtesan 033 Ranking of 110th, and Upset of Highest Order 102 Currents of Desire, With an Assist From the Audience 035 For ‘Dreamgirls,’ Pacific Overtures 037 &MORE SUMMER STAGES 040 A Milliner, A Superstar And a Flood Of Business 107 Duets Intimate and Separate, Sometimes in Post–it Notes 041 An Old and Faraway Dispute Goes Home With the Cleaning 110 Cheekily Stylish, Playfully Tacky 043 South Korea’s New Export: Its Alphabet 112 The Caged Bird Sings 114 FOOD Amid Soldiers and Mines in the Korean DMZ, School Is in Session 116 For Dinner (and Fast), the Taste of Home 047 For a New Generation, Kimchi Goes With Tacos 050 Not So Slick, But Still Tasty 053 A Hamburger the South Korean Way 055 Culinary Diplomacy With a Side of Kimchi 056 Fried Chicken: A Migratory Bird 059 Kimchi for a Groom Has New York Debut 063 elcome to the 2009 edition of the Korean While trade and cultural exchange were limited during The 2009 Korean Wave: Wave. This is the 4th edition of a series that Japanese occupation, the U.S. still showed support for uses selected articles from the New York Korea. One example took the form of a postage stamp. WTimes to give a sampling of Korean cultural events Korea was the only Asian nation included in a series of Cultures Shaping Cultures occurring in the United States and around the world. stamps expressing American desire for freedom from By WILLIAM C. HARLOW Charles K. Armstrong, in the 2007 editions, explains oppression and support for underground resistance the term Korean Wave and how it has been used to movements. It was the first U.S. stamp to show the describe the growth and influence of Korean culture Taegukki (Republic of Korea Flag). During and after around the world. In the 2008 edition, David R. the Korean War, the United States and South Korea McCain has compared the wave to particles reflecting have remained strong allies in the defense of freedom. the “energy source that sets it in motion”. While both Demographics clearly illustrate this closeness. Outside are excellent ways of describing the growing influence the Korean peninsula, more Koreans live in the United of Korean culture, I like to think of the Korean Wave States than in any other country. in the plural sense. The wave is not a tsunami sweep- You can see elements of this cultural closeness illustrated ing all before it. Tsunamis are rare. Rather, the Korean in the many articles in this edition of the Korean Wave. Wave is a never–ending series of waves varying in size Over the next few paragraphs, these articles will be and influence. These waves of culture impact and highlighted, some personal anecdotes will be added, all shape other cultures around the world just as return- to demonstrate how the waves of culture impact us all. I like to think of the Korean Wave in the plural sense. The wave is not a tsunami sweeping all before it. ing waves impact Korean culture. If you ever doubt the Tsunamis are rare. Rather, the Korean Wave is a never –ending series of waves varying in size and influence. power of never–ending waves, just look how the ocean In the Korean Wave’s section on movies, the articles These waves of culture impact and shape other cultures around the world just as returning waves impact has shaped the coast of the Korean peninsula. run the gamut from a remake of a Korean horror film, Korean culture. If you ever doubt the power of never–ending waves, just look how the ocean has shaped the a Korean film on the loneliness of childhood, and an coast of the Korean peninsula. The sociological definition of culture is “the sum total of innovative Korean urban crime drama. The remake of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and The sociological definition of culture is “the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and the Korean film “A Tale of Two Sisters” to the new transmitted from one generation to another.” In this transmitted from one generation to another.” In this publication, the “total of ways of living” is divided into film “Uninvited” is discussed in the article “Cinema’s publication, the “total of ways of living” is divided into seven categories: Movies, Music and Fine Art, Dance and Theater, Food, Lifestyle, Sports, Sisterhood of Spookiness”. This article demonstrates seven categories: Movies, Music and Fine Art, Dance and More. These sections contain a variety of articles that illustrate the Korean way of living and the impact the impact of the Korean film industry since imita- its culture has on others. Since the articles are from the New York Times, it is fitting to talk about the unique and Theater, Food, Lifestyle, Sports, and More. These tion is often the sincerest form of flattery. Director “relationship that exists between Korean and American cultures. sections contain a variety of articles that illustrate the Kim, So Yong’s “Treeless Mountains” is a film in a Korean way of living and the impact its culture has on different genre. This film is a portrayal of two young others. Since the articles are from the New York Times, girls growing up in the provinces after being left with it is fitting to talk about the unique relationship that relatives by their mother. “Treeless Mountains” is dis- exists between Korean and American cultures. cussed in a film review and mentioned in the article America’s relationship did not start with the Korean “Real, Rough Life, in Front of a Lens”. Another review War. First, there were early contacts with the “Hermit discusses director Na, Hong Jin’s urban crime drama Kingdom” by American adventurers; some contact “The Chaser”. This fast–paced action film is full of resulted in conflict (Korean Expedition of 1871). artful foot pursuits through the back alleys of Seoul. Eventually these early contacts culminated in the open- The impact of Korean films is worldwide. South Korea ” ing of Korea to the west. If you go to the Freedom Park is discussed as one of the Asian film–producing pow- in Incheon (also called Jayoo Gongwon or MacArthur erhouses in “Asian Movies All Over the Map”. Film is Park), you will also see the monument commemorat- just one of the art forms that the Koreans excel in. FOREWORD ing the May 23 1882 Treaty of Amity and Commerce. William C. Harlow is a military and economic historian who specializes in U.S. History in Asia during the last half of the 19th Century. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute with a B.A.