Korea's Dichotomy

by JBrown.

All views and opinions are that of my mind and my mind only.  Jason Brown holds only the responsibility to these beliefs only in the fact that he has officially lived in Korea for four months now and has not completed any REAL academic research on the topic.  Some of my thoughts and or insights may seem culturally insensitive to some.  I've tried my best to be culturally sensitive.  I am aware that some of my remarks may seem like I'm making sweeping generalizations and stereotypes.  So I repeat: Jason Brown holds only the responsibility to these beliefs only in the fact that he has officially lived in Korea for four months now and has not completed any REAL academic research on the topic.  My insights are all based on first hand interaction with people and not based off of hear-say.

_

Ever since the armistice was signed in July of 1953, South Korea has been hell bent on rapidly developing their country.  The dichotomy I speak of is an interesting mix between a monitarily/technologically progressive society mixed with extremely conservative cultural values from the past.  Together you have the mish mash of life that 50 million Koreans lead on a daily basis.  I'm not trying to make it sound like they are confused and I'm the one saying, "Am I the only one seeing this?  Am I taking crazy pills?"

No, no I'm just trying to capture what I've noticed and experience to some degree on a daily basis.  With that said . . . 

Busan in particular is Korea's largest industrial port town.  Its one of the main maritime hubs for all of Asia for that matter.  Busan's ports and the city itself dwarf Portland's quaint "small city in the valley" feeling that I've now come to recognize as my home town.  Every where you look you see the logos for Korea's top companies that pretty much make everything from cars, computers, buildings, phones, kimchi fridges, and I wouldn't be surprised if they made your toilet paper as well.  They are (but aren't limited to) Samsung, Daewoo, Hyundai, Kia, and LG.  Samsung makes cars!  Thats crazy to me.  I had a Samsung phone at home and for some reason thought they were a new, competitive, up-and-coming company that specifically made phones, tvs, and some high-fidelity equipment.  So yeah these guys are the "big ones" here in Korea.  OK so with that said I would then have to say that most of their products are (to my untrained eye) inferior to their Japanese neighbors, maybe with the exception of Samsung.  Japan has Toyota, Honda, Sony, Canon, and Mitsubishi.  I can't speak for all products but I've driven Hondas and Toyotas and Hyundais.  The Japanese versions just out perform the Korean versions.  This is not a consumer reports blog so I'm not going into details here about quality but what I'm highlighting here is that in Korea's strive to develop itself its like they are largely about quantity while still trying to maintain a competitive quality.  

This country has done an amazing job at building itself up in just 56 years.  Some parts of Busan, like my neighborhood and the city center of Seomyeon (pronounced som-yawn) look downright like they belong in a clip from Bladerunner or something.  Buildings are packed closely together.  Neon signs flicker, blink, strobe, flicker, blink, strobe, . . . flash, flash in all colors of the rainbow and then some.  Large video screens project advertisements for . . . you name it, they got it.  If anyone has seen Lost in Translation its a lot like that.  Bill Murray is choefered to his hotel in downtown Tokyo as he stares out the window like a newly bought fish brought into a strange home.  Then there are the parts of Korea where things haven't changed much in the past twenty-five to thirty years it seems.  My school is located in a rural, hilly, poor neighborhood about a forty-five minute drive north of where I live.  Its called Bansong just in case ya'll don't remember its name.  The first week I got here, Vickey the co-teacher in the early temple photos I posted took me to establish a bank account.  We walked through a large part of  Bansong where the majority of people were wearing traditional Korean garb; street vendors sold dried fish, live fish, grains of many shapes, colors, and sizes in red plastic bowls, people gathered on the front stoop of apartment buildings in a Norman Rockwell paints Korea fashion.  Compared to the uber modern Haeundae New Town (my hood) Bansong is like a step back in time.  I made an infamous remark to one of the teachers that Bansong reminded me a lot of Guatemala with its abundance of broken (or breaking) one and two story buildings, street vendors, traditional clothing, small streets, and dusty store front windows.  They all like to laugh at that remark now.  I think my teachers consider it an innocent harsh criticism of where our students live.  I kind of wish I didn't say that but whats done is done.  

On the progressive cultural side Korea seems to be emulating the west as much as it can without losing its Korean flavor.  Pictures of westerner's adorn many department store's façades.  Korean high fashion looks to me like a mix between Italian and American high fashion with a twist of French thrown in their to keep things interesting.  Scarves are big here, big heavy hats . . . not so much.  

Converse seem to be the in-thing as well.  I went to a really big "VIP" art opening in a really modern, warehouse style gallery in Busan's ritziest neighborhoods on top of Dalmagi hill.  People who attended the event were the who's who of artists in Busan (or so I was told).  I met the executive curator for the Busan Museum of Modern Art.  The owner of the gallery and host of the event was my Korean friend's good friend.  I don't remember who all I met that night but everyone seemed to be loaded and have a job that set them apart from the average 'Busanian'.  Okay that was longwinded sorry . . . I do aim to make a point here.  They hired a translator for the event who clearly made a good living speaking English and was dressed very flashy, all except for his Converse.  Oh and I would like to add in that there is an interesting mix of Hello Kitty fashion here as well.  Imagine Barbi pink,  fuzzy hats with cat ears and matching Barbi pink capes that look like they might also double as towels?  Yes I've seen them worn freely on top of the much more chic clothing.  ????  I don't know.  Another thing . . . what chic clothing they do have its very conservative in style.  Showing cleavage here is a big no no.  Its veiwed as being horrendously slutty.  Turtlenecks and long sleeved shirts are popular and resemple the  the "poofy shirt" from one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes.  The foreigners here don't adhere to this cultural norm.  I bet the Korean boys go crazy over this.  However short skirts and short shorts are fine.  

 

Vanity is very big here.  I can't count the number of times I've been in the mirror cladden elevator with other Koreans and the whole time down they were fixing their hair, pulling out an eyelash, tidying their clothes, and generally beautifying themselves before the doors opened revealing them to the world outside.  I've actually had to hold back laughter in a big way on a number of occasions where I was the only one that wasn't preening themself in the mirror in a full elevator.  Plastic surgery and Botox is large and in charge.  One of my modest soft spoken teachers doesn't seem the type but she surprised me one day.  She said in a couple years she's going to start getting Botox treatments to get rid of her crow's feet.  She didn't say crow's feet but you know what I mean.  The math teacher at school was one of the first Korean guys  I've ever hung out with and he was always checking himself out in a mirror or window when ever possible.  I thought this was a bit strange because he comes across to me like a shy, gentle math/computer nerd to me (he's the one in the military fatigues in one of my earlier pics).  I thought it was just a unique character just to him, but now I know its part of a much larger cultural consciousness.  Hmm now that I think of it maybe this is why many of my students still insist on remarking, "Teacher bery handsome."  Maybe this translates into, "Hey man you got the look.  You don't have anything to worry about."  

I've covered the aesthetics, touched on the industry a bit, and now - the almost desperate call for all Koreans to become bilingual in English.  It truly is its own industry here.  Throughout this blog I've mentioned how there is a whole 'native speaker' community here.  There are western themed bars whose patrons are almost exclusively foreigners and the bartenders are all Koreans who speak amazing English.  ESL job boards online generally have two internaitonal links for job seekers.  One is a "Korean" job link, the other labeled "international".  I've mentioned the hogwans, or private institutions where parents spend loads of money to have their kids study English after school till 9:30 in the evening.  I've mentioned the president's call to have the majority of high school graduates fluent in English by 2020.  I think this all has to do with Korea's rapid growth and they really want to be recognized as a major international player in the world economy.  After all, Seoul is the world's second largest city next to Tokyo.  Ahh, there it is again . . . Japan.  That troublesome strong, powerful neighbor with all the gadgets and prominent companies, whose been invading Korea since the invention of kimchi and possibly before that as well.  

Now for the big wrench in the equation.  The traditional Korean cultural values, social do's and don'ts, family structures, seperation of men and women, and corporal punishment to name a few are all still remnants from the not-forgotton past.  I feel like most of my students and Koreans through their mid twenties are remarkably different from those who are older from them.  The Korean War ended in 1953 right?  So that means that anyone who still has a grandmother or grandfather was raised in the pre-war / pre - rapid developing Korea.  They raised their kids with these cultural behaviors who are now mostly new mothers and fathers.  

Real quick -  I would like to state here that the divorce rate in the greater Haeundae area is over 50%.  Old cultural ways of finding a wife or husband are rapidly being thrown out the window or the idea of wedlock itself is being transformed as I type this sentence.  Korea is truly an interesting social experiment viewed through an anthropological looking glass. 

Much of Korean society has been shaped by Confucious thought where older women and men, people of high social authority are expected to recieve and given lots of respect.  This holds true into family life.  Many Korean people I have met who are wanting to move away from home to go to college are troubled by what to do.  The parents say stay close, work, and start your own family while the child wants to move to Seoul for Korea's top ranked university.  The advice of the parents is taken in high regard and not easily pushed aside.  

Corporal punishment is still used in the Korean public school system.  I see kids kneeling on floors everday for long periods of time.  Some stand with their arms in the air for a longer than comfortable amount of time.  During our sports day I saw a gym teacher actually repeatedly slapping a kid in the face as he was scolding him.  The kid's cheeks were covered in bright red hand prints.  I couldn't watch.  Most teachers carry a big plastic stick around which I've only seen used a couple times.  Luckily I don't see much punishment period in my school but I do from time to time when I go into the larger teacher's office where everyone 'cept for me has a desk.  Generally when I see kids close to teacher's scolding them in higher than usual voices I turn and walk the other way fast.  I do not work in a school/prison.  I don't want to give you that impression.  Kids aren't being consistantly beaten on from 8:30 to 4:30.  They just don't go to see their counselor when kids act up.  Just the fact that corporal punishment is still used amazes me.  My only experience with it is from listening to the lyrics of Pink Floyd's The Wall.

Jjimjil-bongs, or spa are physical proof to Korea's high standards for hygeine and living a healthy life.  In a Jjimjil-bong the main focus is the sauna which is sex segregated.  But you can also get messages, take a dip in a hot tub, get foot treatments, facials, and things of the spa nature.  Jjimjil-bongs are all over the place and extremely popular here.  But yeah its all seperated between the sexes.  On a side note . . . remember that trip to Gyeongju?  Jen and I were going to just crash, as friends,  in the room we were playing cards in.  But apparently as long as you aren't married - you ain't sleeping in the same room together, that could equal bad news.  She was rushed off to the next condo room the moment sleep was brought up for the evening.  We had no idea what was going on at the time.  Speaking of which . . . there are DVD-bongs, or DVD rooms where you can rent a DVD and watch it in a cozy, small room with a big flat screen tv and a love seat.  You could watch the movie . . . or have sex.  Did I forget to mention that 90% of all these rooms come complete with a full box of tissue as well for . . . um yeah.  Until you are married you are living with your parents and are supposed to keep an oath of celibacy.  RIIIIIIGHT.  Call it tradition I guess.  So much so that these DVD rooms are known for their not so secret identity as fornication rooms.  There are also "love motels" here for the same reason.  If you've been dating someone for a long time and you're young and you can't do the nasty at home you go to a "love motel" for a bit, do your (wild) thing, and return home for bed.  The jjimjil-bong, dvd-bong, and the "love motels" are all examples of how society still holds onto its conservative values by seperating the sexes.  However the DVD-bong and the "love motels" are an example of how modern Korea skirts these conservative customs.  

One last thing I would like to add is the Korean work ethic.  Its amazing, absolutely amazing.  During a "teacher workshop" where I have conversation with my co-teachers we read an article where Korea ranked 67th of 93 countries interviewed for happiness.  Koreans in general just don't aren't that happy.  You know why?  Its because they spend all their dang time studying or working.  I've mentioned that the kids go to hogwans and study through the evening.  Korean public schools make their teachers work every other Saturday and class is even held on this day.  People on the subway look like they just got their souls sucked from them and are on their way to do it again.  People on the street are straight faced.  I don't even see that many people joking around on the street.  When I go hiking I rarely catch a smile from a fellow woodsman.  Istn't that the place to be smiling?  I'm sad to say that when I meet a Korean who is smiley or has an upbeat attitude I take special mention of it.   But they work hard.  They work so hard they work the smiles off their faces.  But maybe this is too harsh.  I only work at one school and have only been here for four months.  I've only met so many people.  But if you ask some of my other "native speaker" friends I'll bet they highlight some of the same things I've said here.  I do know like three Korean guys who are roughly my age and they are great guys with a positive attitude.   But what can be learned from this?  "All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy."?  Yeah maybe.  

South Korea as it is is a fairly new country relatively speaking.  But Seoul is the world's second largest city that is very developed.  Samsung, Hyundai, and LG make products which are recognized around the world.  Busan is Asia's primary maritime hub.  South Korea has worked so hard to be a competitive, international player in the world economy.  Its progressive nature is mirrored by its conservative values from a pre-war era.  Seperation of the sexes, corporal punishment, and its ardent work ethic are all vestiges of the past that, when mixed with the modern, developing Korea provide for an interesting dichotomy.  But perhaps the shear speed of development couldn't have been acheived if it wasn't for the values that predate Samsung and Hyundai.   

Since this is not an academic paper I feel like I can ask this question:  What do ya think?  Am I being too harsh?  Making too many gross generalizations.  I'm interested in any feedback from anyone.

I present this blog to you because I often get, "So tell me.  What's Korea like?"  But I post about flies, pooping, random adventures, stuff thats going on in my head, but I don't feel that I've really posted ABOUT Korea.  This, my dear friends and family, is an attempt for me to explain what I see here.  If any of you have any questions, comments, or concerns I'd be happy to follow that up with you via email or if you like in another post.