아프다고 말하면...*

* = If I say that I'm in pain...(ah-peu-dago-mal-ha-myeon)

So something that is decidedly not fun about being in a foreign country: getting sick.

I suppose my body picked a fortunate time to go haywire on me, as I'm on my aforementioned week-long vacation; however, this time was supposed to be spent doing productive studying, not sleeping off whatever stomach bug I seem to have acquired. The odd thing is that I feel 100% normal; no headache, bodyache, fever, etc; I just can't seem to digest anything properly. I've spent a good portion of the past 5 days in severe pain as a result of stomach cramps. This is my one and only symptom. I saw a doctor yesterday, who seemed kind of baffled; this may have been because of communication difficulties (I went with one of my language partners, but her English is not very good, so we had some trouble getting meanings across). I was given a prescription and told to take 15 pills a day (WHY ARE THEY ALL NECESSARY I HATE SWALLOWING PILLS). They don't appear to have helped, though, and I'm thus forced to conclude that my unhealthy diet may be catching up to me. Fruit is really expensive in South Korea, so I never eat it (except on 받빙수, an ice cream dessert that comes mixed with fruit), nor do I get nearly enough fiber. I guess I'll just be taking it easy for the next couple of days and trying not to eat anything too stimulating. Jihye unni, Jihyang unni, and Philip Gant all told me to eat 죽, which seems to be the Korean equivalent of congee (rice porridge, for those unfamiliar), so I suppose that is what's on the dinner menu for tonight.

Funnily enough, if I do have to be sick in South Korea, Sogang seems to have best equipped me for stomach trouble, as chapter 3B's vocabulary is all about stomach ailments and hospital-related terms. No kidding - I can say things like, "I have indigestion," (속이 쓰려요) "I feel like I'm going to throw up," (토할 것 같아), and "Please give me digestive medicine (소화제를 좀 주세요). Thank you, Sogang University + Choi/Lee/Yang Sunsaengnim. If any further trips to the doctor or pharmacy are needed, at least I sort of know what to say.

I expect to update again soon, when I'm feeling better (which will hopefully be soon, because I think I will get sick of eating saltines rather quickly). Home in 2.5 weeks. Sad face.

알 수 없는 미래와 벽 바꾸지 않아 포기할 수 없어*

* = with obstacles and an unknown future ahead, I won't change and I can't give up (al-su-oebs-neun mi-rae-wa-byuk, bakk-eul-ji-anh-ah, pok-ki-hal-su-oeps-uh)

A long and fitting title. Thank you, old-school SM Town lyricists.

It is with a heavy heart that I report that I have ~3 weeks left. We're not talking about that.

Instead, let's talk about how the K-pop concert that Sogang got us free tickets for was actually not a concert at all, but the 1000th episode taping of Arirang TV's "Showbiz Extra," which is I guess equivalent to "Entertainment Tonight" or something. Another thing that Sogang got wrong was the set list; we were promised SNSD, SHINee, and FT Island, among others. What we actually wound up seeing was a bunch of rookie/little known pop acts - U Kiss, Sori, Untouchable, and 8eight. Out of these acts, the only one worth watching was probably 8eight, who might be among the most talented singers I've heard since coming here. For the (very, very) few interested, here is a link to one of the songs they performed. I actually really like it; it's a nice change from synthesizer-charged noise, although I am still loyally devoted to my crackpop. Unfortunately, the other acts of the show were pretty bad (Sori, the supposed "Angelina Jolie" of Korea, actually lip-synced one of the songs, which was bad enough to begin with). Honestly, though, going to a concert was on my Korean to-do list, so there you go. Plus, by virtue of my large eyes, pale skin, and not-black hair, I was selected by Arirang TV to participate in an interview, and you can read the transcript of it here! You can watch it on Arirang's episode archives, but you have to create an account at arirang.co.kr in order to view it (which I did, of course). I was also interviewed last week by KBS - they're putting together a segment on alcohol-related laws in the States and needed some American kid to explain it on camera. That either aired today or it's going to air next week; I actually have no idea. But yay for appearing on Korean television! That's about 1000 times more legit than that cooking show I had on YTV...

U-Kiss. Like Super Junior, only much worse. Behold the glory and horror that is the Korean boy band.8eight performing. They were pretty good, but I was more upset/disappointed that SNSD wasn't there than I care to admit. When am I going to meet Fany-Fany Tiffany??

8eight being interviewed by the bobble-headed host of the event - she looked a bit like Melissa Rivers, too. Charming.

Anyway.

Last week, Sneha and I enjoyed a unique experience by going to a dog cafe in Hongdae called "Bau House" (I think they meant to spell that "Bow" as in "bow wow wow" but what can you do, Korea!fail). So basically, this cafe is like a glorified pet store that sells cappucinos, in which no less than 20 old/fat/kind of funny looking dogs just kind of run around the place, relieving themselves wherever they please, begging various customers for food or attention. Honestly, the whole thing was kind of hilarious - you'll be sitting there, and without warning a dog just jumps onto your lap/chair/table. Most of them don't care at all about the people in the cafe unless they feed them dog biscuits (which you basically have to buy if you want the dogs to pay you any attention), but there was this one funny-looking mutt with a snaggle tooth that seemed particulary attached to us. It tried to follow us out, much to Sneha's consternation (I essentially had to drag her out of there after spending about 2.5 hours playing with/feeding dogs). All in all, it was a lot of fun, but if you go there, don't even bother bringing your school books - you'll get nothing done.

Is this not the most ridiculous thing you have ever seen? They literally just wander around the cafe.Sneha: "You CAN buy love! It's only 3000 won!" (~2.50 cents, the price of a bag of dog biscuits)

I made a friend!
Another friend! This one wasn't after food, but just wanted a little lovin'. Cute! In the corner, you can see my overpriced orange juice; but a small price to pay for an afternoon of PUPPIES. I miss my dog :(

But of course, I am getting stuff done - since my midterms, I've become even more attentive to my classes/assignments here. Much to my delight, this is hardly a chore - I love my classes, and I mean that sincerely. All of my teachers have grown on me, and I'm quite fond of all of them. Now that I understand 95% of what my listening teacher, Yang Sunsaengnim, is saying, I've found that she's actually hilarious, really kind-hearted, and generally awesome. I remember being absolutely terrified of her for most of June. I'm really glad for the change, but it's bittersweet because I'm going to miss my teachers and classmates so much when I have to leave. My writing teacher, Choi Sunsaengnim, wants to keep in touch and do language exchange via Skype/Gchat when I'm in America - I'm all for it. She's someone I definitely want to stay in contact with. But then again, the same could be said for pretty much everyone I've met here. I finally made a "Korea" group on my Gmail contacts list to save the phone numbers of everyone (in case I need them next year!), and I feel incredibly lucky and fortunate. I feel like I have built something here. I've made friends I will sorely miss, made a home in a place that feels right, and discovered that I have a passion for this language and this country that I didn't think possible. It's a startling and wonderful realization; I remember that when I first got to Yale and heard about the Light Fellowship, I shrugged it off because I was so sure it would never apply to me - taking an East Asian language, let alone Korean, was probably the last thing I planned on. I almost can't believe that I am planning the rest of my academic career and perhaps the first few years of my professional life around this country. Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing.

In other less-sentimental news, I went out again with Jihye and her boyfriend Wayne to celebrate Wayne's birthday. I had a great time, as I always do with those two. Plus, I got to meet more of their Korean friends, all musicians from the Seoul Philharmonic, and practice my Korean. One of the girls there was terribly sweet and asked me if I would be her language partner - I happily added her name to my growing list and met with her on Friday. Currently, I now have 5 language partners, and I don't really mind juggling them around my pretty much non-existent extracurricular schedule. I love all of them; my Sogang partner is a bit awkward, but the other 4 (who I basically found on my own) are truly delightful and I get much more out of our conversations than just Korean language practice. My only worry right now is that 3 of their names start with "Hy" (Hyemi, Hyojung, Hyunji), and I'm honestly astonished that I haven't accidentally called one of them by the wrong name yet (on that note, WHY do all Korean girl names start with either H, J, or have BOTH letters somewhere in there? My Korean contacts list is like, completely centered around those 2 letters. And all the names sound the same! It's like how two of my Yale Korean tutors were Jihye and Jaehee - the name "Jihye" is pronounced Jee-Hae, so it is exactly the opposite of Jae-Hee. I've confused the two before. Why so similar? Be imaginative, Korea!).

I'm currently on my week-long vacation now, and I was planning to go to the beach, but I've now decided to stay in Seoul to study for my final exams. This is a sacrificial investment in the future - hopefully, the extra studying will help me in being able to come back for a year, and then I can go to Korean beaches whenever. I do, however, plan on going to a water park at some point this week! Oh, and I also plan on sleeping. Because the thing about 9AM classes every day is that something always winds up lacking, and it's usually sleep...

Jangmi out.

네 마음 속에 있는 작은 꿈을 말해 봐*

* = tell me that little dream within your heart (ne mao-eum sog-eh iss-neun jakeun ggeum-eul mal-hae-bwa)

Quoting "Genie" again, are we, Jangmi? Perhaps you ought to give it a rest; the public is tired of hearing about this crap. Why don't you just go back to waiting for Michelle Branch to release her new CD like you did when that digital single was released in February? You remember, the one that you purposefully created an account on her fansite to get. Yeah, that one. What do you mean, you haven't heard that song in like, 2 months? It was all you talked about for a couple of weeks, you know. And now we've heard no end of this K-pop drivel. Really, it's getting old. You're probably losing readership, you know that? The Light Fellowship committee is going to purge your iTunes library when you get back. You're giving them a bad name - Korea is more than terrible pop music and you really ought to - what?

What's that, Jangmi? You're going WHERE?

YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SNSD (Girls' Generation) IN CONCERT? TOMORROW? Don't they sing like, all of the songs you posted a few weeks back??

Okay, that is like, the coolest thing ever.

Also, it's free.

Update soon + pictures :)

p.s. I promise, I have more to say about things not related to music, but this just came up! I'll be posting a lot more stuff about...um, other stuff next week, when I'm on my week-long vacation!

냉면 냉면 냉면!*

* = cold noodles, cold noodles, cold noodles! (naengmyeon naengmyeon naengmyeon!)

I'm sorry that isn't a more provacative/educational title. More of the soundtrack to my life summer, this is a new song that just came out as part of kind of a joke concert in which some unlikely pairs of singers & comedians battled it out for...no good reason, I guess. For the (very, very few) people who are curious, that's SNSD's Jessica and comedian Park Myeong Soo. I haven't found a really great translation yet (and no, I can't do it myself), but it's something about love being cold like naengmyeon, which is a Korean dish made of cold buckwheat noodles, served either in icy broth or with hot red pepper paste. Dana, please do your homework and stop listening to KPOP CUTE! I love.

(Should I be sorry to admit that I downloaded this the minute I found it? Along with this ballad from a drama, sung by SNSD's Tiffany? Or 2 ringtones for "Genie," to be added to my phone within 24 hours of me getting back to the States? You're right, I shouldn't admit to any of it. Forget I said that.)

So. Week...6 is it, now? Crap.

So some of you might remember that I spent 5 days touristing through the very green hinterlands of South Korea, if South Korea even has hinterlands. Anyway, the trip was intended for students studying at Sogang's International Summer College, but the invitation was extended to Yalies to go at a discounted rate. Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly, I don't know), only three of us out of about a dozen decided to go. I was conflicted at first, because going would mean missing a full week of classes, but I decided to go after Hayeon told me that I should never throw away the opportunity to see the rest of Korea when a) the trip was so well organized and it would be almost impossible to replicate that on my own and b) it was relatively inexpensive. So away I went, on a bus packed with American students, for five days venturing in and out of temples, tombs, museums, and special "cultural activities."

Our schedule for the trip was pretty hectic (we changed sleeping accomodations every night), but we managed to cover a huge chunk of the country. Granted, South Korea is about the size of New Jersey, so this really isn't a feat. Our first stops were in or around Seoul, but by the second day we were a few hours south in the city of Jeonju (famous for its cuisine, and more importantly its BIBIMBAP, a fabulous mixed rice dish that we got to make!). The next day, we went all the way to very tip of the peninsula, and the fourth/fifth days were spent in Gyeongju, which is an ancient capital city of Korea. Gyeongju was especially nice, because it is incredibly spacious and lush, which is something you don't see very often in Seoul or the two next largest cities (Jeonju and Busan). The reason for this is because there is so much history buried within the soil of Gyeongju that they can't develop the land. It's an incredibly small city that seems to consist entirely of hotels/hostels and the people that work in them. But it is also home to some splendid temples and tombs, many of which I was lucky enough to see.

In the end, I'm glad that I went on the trip, but I was really happy to get back to Seoul. The worst part of the whole thing was, surprisingly, the people. The trip basically reminded me of when I was in high school and we took that ill-fated 3 day trip to Washington, D.C. in my junior year. There was a lot of immaturity, unfortunately, which is something I've come not to expect from university students. This is certainly not to say that everyone was like that - I did meet some very, very redeeming people, some of whom I intend to keep in touch with for the duration of my stay in Korea. Plus, we went out for some EPIC karaoke - I literally sang absolutely every Korean song I know, including some that I didn't. It was awesome.

All that being said, however, it is worth commenting that If you go sight-seeing in Korea, don't expect to see Europe. I found Europe totally awe-inspiring and magnificent when I was there last summer, but I definitely was not nearly as moved by what I saw in Korea, even in its most storied national treasures. However, that doesn't mean that I couldn't see something to appreciate, and there is something to be said for the love and affection that I feel for this city, this country, and these people that I never felt for any place in Europe. I might have lusted after Paris, but it was just infatuation, I swear. Okay, that was an awkward analogy and you can forget I said it. Point being: Korea, all of your temples may look like they were painted by the same damn artist with the same 5 colors, but I love you still.

There are too many to post, but some select pictures ought to fill in the gaps in the words (NB = no caption means I can't remember at this present moment where the hell I took the picture, and will dig through my trip schedule and try to figure it out later):

prep work for 비빔밥 (bibimbap, literally "mixed rice") - a delicious meal made of sliced sauteed vegetables served mixed into rice with a spicy red pepper paste sauce.

those aren't hills, they're actually tombs - the above appears as two hills, which means that both a king and queen are buried there (the queen's is larger!). Picture taken at Tumuli Park in Gyeongju.

last stop - a pagoda in Gyeongju

one of those redeeming people, Yeorin Unni - she's a grad student who works at the KLEC office on the 7th floor and was on the trip as staff. LOVE HER. I'm seeing her tomorrow :)

yet another fabulous unni, Jihyang Unni - I know I complained about the culture of age here, but being a 동생 (dongsaeng, or little sibling) is AWESOME. Everyone is so good to you!

on the last day, we went to the East Sea - in the background is the tomb of a general who wished to be buried at sea. In the foreground, the three intrepid Yalies (me, Bob, and Hisashi) who braved the trip.

Trip aside, it should please the masses that I (appear to have) passed all of my midterms! Turns out I'm just barely passing speaking (expected) but my teacher thinks that I can pass the level if I continue to work hard. She actually wrote down on top of a piece of paper "100%," pointed to it, and said, "Jangmi, when we are in class, how much out of this number do you actually understand?" I answered as truthfully as I could without making myself sound like an idiot (70%, which is probably accurate. Some days maybe 80%). In reality, we all know that I absolutely should not be in level 3, but she hasn't kicked me out so there you go. I feel badly that I am probably not going to do well in my classes, but what can I say? The insanely competitive kid in me really wanted to rise to the challenge of level 3 and refused to accept that I may have bit off more than I can chew when I cracked open the listening CD. Lucky for me, if I pass the level (and I'll be damn happy and proud to have done so, if I do), I'll have a full year to conquer Level 3/4 at Yale (I think? Where I'm going to be placed is ambiguous as of right now) and then I can worry about what comes next when I come to it.

That being said, I suppose it is time for me to declare what has become increasingly obvious since I've been here: there is simply no way that being here for one summer and completing level 3 at Sogang (god-willing) is going to magically confer upon my insolent tongue fluency in the Korean language. The same can be said for finishing level 4 at Yale. What then?

I come back.

For a year (at least).

I don't know why. But I must be fluent in this language. I have to be. Somebody commented to me once that when you force people to speak in an unfamiliar tongue with you, then you don't hear who they truly are; similarly, if you can't UNDERSTAND what they're saying, then you won't know either. As my list of friends and go-to people in this country grows longer and longer, I realize that I want to HEAR them for who they are instead of who they are when they are stumbling over broken English in an attempt to communicate with me. It's an obvious fact that languages separate people, and its unrealistic to learn every language out there for the sake of communicating with EVERYONE, but we should do what we can when we can. This is my small part.

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. A second Light Fellowship is by no means a guaranteed opportunity, and competition definitely goes up for seniors applying for year-long grants. But I can see myself here. I was walking around in Seoul after dinner tonight and realized for the first time that I thought of Yale not with eager anticipation, but with kind of a sinking feeling in my stomach. I used to worry all the time what would happen after I graduate next year - how could I build another life after that university, after being surrounded by my best friends, by professors, by opportunities? But since being here, I realized I can do it. I am doing it. And I don't want to leave. How can I leave when I've just gotten started? How can I leave when I haven't met SNSD yet??? Kidding (kind of).

July 14. My program ends a month from today, which at least means that I still have a full month here.

I miss this place and I haven't even left yet.

Sigh. I will enjoy it while I can. As the rainy season pounds the roof of this goshitel (it's a noise I've gotten used to, as it rains like I've never seen here), I find myself with yet another craving for banana milk and another rush of warm gratitude towards my new BB cream, a revolutionary Korean concealer that has done wonders for my skin. Awesome.

I'm going to the convenience store.

Jangmi out.

소원을 말해봐* (aka the problem with K-pop)

* = tell me your wish (so-weon-eul mal-hae-bwa)

Part 2.

(pre-script: I spent an entirely useless Saturday in my room, save for the 2 occasions on which I left to get life-sustaining food. I also realized what an unhealthy dependence I have on the internet, seeing as the internet in my goshitel was down for about 2-3 hours and I spent most of those 2-3 hours sitting around waiting for it to come back on. But seeing as today was the first day I've relaxed in a while, and will be the last one in which I can for at least a week - I am going to on a 5-day-long Korean cultural trip starting Monday morning - I don't feel much guilt in still wearing my glasses and PJs.)

So the title for this post is an unlikely one, and it sounds creepy, but you can probably guess what I'm planning to talk about. And that is:

2) Korean Pop and its ridiculous place in Korean youth culture
FANGIRLING! Okay, none of that.
I hate pop music in the States. Of course I liked it when I was younger, because everyone did and isn't that what you're supposed to do in middle school? I was, as I recall, obsessed with *NSYNC, particularly that one guy that turned out to be gay. But I can't stand pop anymore, at least not for listening pleasure (it's fine for dances, parties, etc.). When I'm driving, I plug my iPod into the adapter my brother thankfully bought for the car we share and listen to what my friends classify as the Worst Playlist Ever (copious amounts of Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, plus assorted other artists). Very, very few (if any) of the American artists I listen to do not write or play their own music. That they have a part in the production, the writing of raw, meaningful lyrics and expressive trills on their instrument of choice, has always been really important to me. Maybe it's because I'm a (psuedo)musician, having played the piano since I was 7 and dabbled in some pretty terrible amateur music/lyrics composition; I don't know. But since I was about 14, I left pop music to its rightful place at the annual Crushes and Chaperones dance. Ironically, that's probably my favorite dance all year at Yale. Anyway.

Now, why might I like pop music in Korea? Why do I get ridiculously excited when a song that I know blasts from the speakers in front of Nature Republic (yet another makeup store)? Why does everyone I know want to smack me, because inevitably I start singing along and (if I've seen the music video enough times) mimicking the dance steps?

Okay, I give up, too. I don't know.

I actually think that originally, it had something to do with a combination of comraderie and a challenge. K-pop was actually one of the things that brought me and Hayeon close as we shared a hallway in sophomore year. The thousands of times we listened to Super Junior's "Don't Don," screaming out the rap in the middle, are memories that I will probably always remember (to this day, "Don't Don" is still the most-played song in my iTunes library, despite the fact that I've not heard it in quite awhile). So whether she wants it or not, Hayeon naturally has a part in my love for this terrible music.

The second part, as I mentioned, was the challenge. Anyone who knows me knows that I have kind of an absurd (and selective) memory. I can rattle off lyrics to a song I've heard less than 5 times if I think it's good, but I can't remember the spelling of the word for "to progress" in Korean. The first time that I heard Korean pop was a full year before I decided to start taking Korean, but even then, it was a puzzle. For some reason, I really wanted to remember the words, sing them, and pronounce them sort of correctly. I don't know why. But I did, and I learned every last word to "Don't Don." To my credit, I know more of the song than Hayeon ever did, and if we ever sing Korean pop together, usually I am the one supplying the lyrics. Sorry, Hay Hay :)

I guess a third part - one that I'd rather not admit - is that these songs are incredibly catchy and I truly just like listening to them. Plus, due to the fact that most of the lyrics remain outside of the realm of my understanding, I remain oblivious to how trite and stupid they probably are and therefore can't shred their songs the way I have shredded Avril Lavigne's or The Veronicas'. I have seen translations for some of the songs, and it's true that the songs are totally ridiculous and simplistic. But they're SO CATCHY that I am willing to overlook it. How do they do that?

These days, everyone and their mother makes fun of me for being addicted to K-pop, but I have to say that I have learned a lot from listening to these songs, and nearly everyone compliments my pronunciation, so those wasted hours must have paid off in some way. Besides, it is certainly not the first time that I have liked something that is practically universally acknowledged to be terrible (anyone remember Big Brother? But enough said about that).

Anyway. Aside from those sparkling personal insights, I'd like to try to offer an explanation of K-pop music culture here in Korea, because if you come here, you can't really avoid it.

Some background information: K-pop is basically a hugely profitable business in Korea. I think something like two major music labels govern 90% of the music produced, one of which I know is called SM Town. A company like SM Town exists to make money, and it makes money by handpicking artists and building groups specifically designed to appeal to the Korean young public. I can't think of any Korean artists on the pop scene right now who were not scouted by the label as kids/young teenagers, put into training, and later placed into a group or developed as a solo act. You follow? Two examples are SNSD and Super Junior. All of their members were trainees under the SM Town label prior the debut of these two groups. At some point or another, SM Town decided to create a male pop group and picked 13 male trainees to fill it; at another point in time, they decided to create a female pop group and selected 9 female trainees to fill it. Another two years in group training follow, and voila: a group is born, and sickly sweet pop songs are written by outside artists, sold to SM Town, and turned into megahits when performed on stage to ridiculous choreography by idealized and idolized young men and women.

Now, this formula has not failed to produce SM Town a lot of green, I'm sure. But a lot of money does not a good musician make. Some obvious problems with the system:

• A lot of the "artists" scouted by SM Town are essentially talentless people with exceptional features. One of my biggest problems with Korean pop is that the artists are so TERRIBLE. In each group (depending on the size) the number of singers with any marginal ability is always totally dwarfed by those who can't seem to even stay on pitch. Harmonizing is virtually non-existent or left to the few with any sort of singing capability, as is ad-libbing. Whenever a new pop song comes out, the first thing I do is look for a live performance of it, to find out just how much it had to be doctored in the studio before it even made for an acceptably-recorded track. Funnily enough, it's usually the most attractive members of the group that can't carry a tune in a bucket. If you're curious, here's an example (SNSD's live performance of "Him Nae") - watch from 0:21-0:26 to see Yoona, the one considered to be the prettiest in the group, "sing." The first time I heard it, I think I visibly cringed. If you watch the whole performance, it becomes evident that about 3 of the 9 are talented singers, and the rest are just eye candy/backup dancers/jail bait. What's really hilarious is that the 3 talented ones get less camera-time than any of the others. The newest live performance of their latest song "Genie" (oh, BTW - the title of this post is the Korean title of this song, did I mention that?) has the camera focused on Yoona during the end, where the lead vocalist is doin' her thang and ad-libbing. INJUSTICE. All I can think is that a good two-thirds of this group wouldn't have even made it past round one of American Idol. In fact, Simon Cowell would have rightly laughed in their faces and told them to go try modeling or something. Oh, and did I mention that a number of their live performances are totally lip-synced? I mean, even in the ones in which they DO sing, the backing track usually contains at least the song's refrain so that they don't have to sing and can just focus on those fabulous dance steps.
• Almost all of the songs are similar-sounding and devoid of any real meaning. I touched upon this before, but seriously. The songs fit into neat genres: pop-rock, bubble-gum pop, oversweetened ballads and lame attempts at R&B that wind up sugared over by high-pitched vocals and poppy music videos. None of them have any soul, and few of the singers sing with any sort of emotion or feeling. In Korea, pop stars are praised for how long their "catchy" tune manages to stay atop the charts, and it seems that nobody questions the quality of the actual performance. It's all about appeal. If your song is being listened to by thousands of screaming fangirls and played in department stores, makeup shops, and restaurants, then you win! It doesn't matter how much it sucks, or how little it means, or how similar it sounds to the last song you produced. It doesn't matter that it was totally manufactured to sell money and not written as a piece of artistic expression that tells a story deep from within the musician's soul (a la Vanessa Carlton's "White Houses," or any of her songs, really). It doesn't matter that it's being sung by 19-year-olds who've barely graduated high school and who sound worse live than you and your drunk friends at a noraebang at 3:00 AM. The point is, these people are famous, the songs are famous, SM Town makes mad bank and everyone is happy.

And yet, despite these glaringly obvious shortcomings, young people all over this country have fallen for K-pop and buy into it both mentally and materially, expending hard-earned money on downloading or purchasing albums chock full of mind-numbing simpleton music set to studio-synthesized instrumentation and accompanied by studio-synthesized vocals. The worst part? Even music-loving Americans like me wind up sucked in. Since being here, I've pestered Hayeon on three or four separate occasions to send me the latest hits, seeing as I don't know where to download them on the internet. I then upload them to my iPod and play them while I'm walking to school, working out (rarity), doing homework, or sitting on the subway. I learn the lyrics, hum the tunes, and dance with the Japanese girls in my class before our teacher walks in. I can identify by face and voice nearly every member in SNSD and Super Junior. I recognize almost every pop song played at clubs or on the street. It's crazy; it's sad.

The problem with K-pop, therefore, is that it's so bad, it's good. And it's so good that nobody cares that it's bad.

But here's the thing: if you come to Korea, you can decide to vehemently hate K-pop, to refuse to listen to it, to roll your eyes when you hear it played or to hit your friends when they start to sing it (ahem). But if you do that, you're going to miss out on a huge, huge chunk of Korean pop culture that, despite its total terribleness, is actually a lot of fun. Korean youth puts so much energy into being dedicated fans of these pop stars (actually, in Korea, there exists a phenomenon known as the "anti-fan," a completely ridiculous concept in which you devote all of your energy to HATING pop stars and create websites and blogs basically designed to shit all over everything they do, which seems like a big fat waste of time, but no one asked me) that you kind of have to hand it to them. The system they created is by no means a musical masterpiece, but people are happy with it and it's easy enough to get into without a great deal of mental exertion. So take a look and a listen, then become a screaming fangirl who spends hours Youtubing clips and making hundreds of LiveJournal icons showcasing how cute and pretty these people are. Not that that's me, of course.

(some post-scripts:
1. I realize that I've talked an inordinate amount about SNSD, but it's actually not my fault that they happen to so perfectly illustrate adherence to Korea's ridiculous standard of beauty as well as the total ineptitude of some of Korea's most famous female popstars.
2. Is anyone clicking the hyperlinks on this blog? Do you know how long it takes me to FIND these things? Is anyone watching these videos? Do any of you care? Hello? Hello?
3. Seriously, is anyone out there?)

If you read that all that, congratulations. I'm so "Sorry, Sorry" for making you suffer through that. HAHAHA.

Jangmi out.

나도 잘할 수 있는데*

* = I can do better (nado jal-hal-su-iss-neun-dey)

I have so many things that I want to address, it's not even funny.

Firstly, I will offer that midterms were this week, and while I certainly don't think I knocked any of them out of the park (technically, there were 3: writing, speaking, listening/reading), I am really proud of myself for taking the tests reasonably well. This may be a premature celebration, as I'm nowhere close to done - we still have the actual speaking portion of our speaking midterm next week, plus I haven't received my actual grades yet and thus don't know for sure that I've passed - but today in class, I realized how much I was understanding, and it was kind of awesome. I even think my speaking might be getting better. Who knew?

I don't really feel like giving my usual spiel on the happenings of the week; instead, I'd like to devote a little time to some pseudo-cultural observations that I've made on some (very) select topics since coming to Korea. Feel free to skip this entire entry if you're not interested; I won't be offended, since this blog is as much for me to create a record as it is for you all to follow me as I'm so far from home.

1) South Korean women, standards of beauty, and plastic surgery
So a grammar pattern that we learned deals with acknowledging the truth of a previously spoken statement while offering a counter-argument (- 긴 하다); essentially, the English equivalent is, "That's true, but..." In our writing class, we were instructed to write a kind of mini-essay comparing the pros and cons of a said topic, making correct use of this grammar pattern. Our teacher offered us 3 topics; being a bit of an outspoken American, I opted to write on the final topic offered, which was the pros and cons of plastic surgery.

Because I am hardly at an intermediate level of Korean, my essay was rather pathetic and weak-sounding. Because it's short, I'll post a translation:

In Korea, a lot of women get plastic surgery. These days, a lot of men are getting it done as well. If one thinks themselves unattractive, then by plastic surgery one can make oneself beautiful. Also, many famous people have done it, and if one wants to be famous in Korea, plastic surgery can seem like a good thing. Among the members of So-Nyuh-Shi-Dae (Girls' Generation, a very popular Korean singing group, made up of 9 considerably done-up young women - I've posted a couple of their songs on here before), many have had surgery done and appear beautiful and thin. But if you want to be a beautiful person, your pesonality should be more important than your outward appearance. Many people thing that they cannot be beautiful unless they get plastic surgery, but just because this is so does not make this thinking correct.

There are, of course, good points to plastic surgery. If you don't like your appearance, then you can change it. For example, if you don't like your eyes, you can get new ones. Even if you are not beautiful, you can become beautiful. But in Korea, if you do not get plastic surgery done, it seems as though you cannot be considered beautiful. After plastic surgery, you might be beautiful, but the fact that you need to undergo surgery to get there is very sad.

Additionally, after plastic surgery, many Korean women do not even look Korean. This, too, is very sad; Korean faces are beautiful, but everone wants to look white. Not to mention, surgery in and of itself is dangerous, and unnecessary surgery should be avoided.

Even though a lot of people do it and you can be beautiful once you've done it, I dislike plastic surgery. Everyone wants to be outwardly beautiful, but a beautiful heart is more important than a pretty face. Besides, if you have a beautiful heart, why do you need surgery on your face?

Now, because I am not that competent in Korean, I could not say what I might actually have said. Which is:
I actually don't have much of a problem with plastic surgery. Yeah, people do it; but I've tended to view it, as my good friend Hayeon says, as a lie on your face/body. It seems to imply a lack of pride in yourself, or a belief that without picture-perfect features, the rest of you doesn't matter or can't make up for physical shortcomings. Okay, people are vain; I totally get that. Yes, there are myriad self-confidence issues that go along with being wholly unsatisfied with one's appearance. So even if it's technically "lying," I understand why people get surgery, and might even consider it myself, were I just a little less proud.

Now, why might I have a problem with plastic surgery in Korea? The answer lies in the fact that Korean women (young women especially) seem to be dissatisfied with their appearance because they look Korean instead of white. Seriously, the most popular plastic surgery that I see is the double eyelid job, done in an attempt to make the eyes larger and more "white"-looking. Google it if you don't think you know what I'm talking about. Nose bridges are also really popular, as is shaving your chin to produce a heart-shaped face. That is unfathomably gross. But people get it. They line up by the thousands for it here. And if you stand on a street corner in Sinchon and casually observe everyone who walks by, no doubt 30-50% of the girls you see will have visibly altered their appearance. It's sad; it's as if being Korean is something to be ashamed of, ashamed to the point where you are driven to make yourself look like something else. And everyone is doing it.

Don't believe me? Drastic transformations have taken place. The entertainment world is RIFE with it. Here's my favorite: meet Tiffany. She's an extremely talented singer from the aforementioned SNSD, and that is a picture of her before she debuted with the group in 2007. This is Tiffany now. When I saw these pictures, I was in total disbelief; I could not fathom that that was the same girl. In the words of Tiffany Woo (no relation to SNSD Tiffany), "I am convinced that they are two separate people and that the before-Tiffany was exorcised/sent to Mars and the after-Tiffany is just a robot who wanted to cash in."

I feel bad writing such distasteful things about Tiffany, because the whole world of Korean pop fans have already lambasted her for getting so much work done and I don't want to add my name to the list of haters. To focus on her appearance overlooks her tremendous talent and the hardships she had to overcome to get to where she is now. Unfortunately, it appears that one of those "hardships" was the fact that her face wasn't perfect enough (according to some ridiculous, totally unrealistic and idealized standard of beauty) to sell to the young Korean public, and so she went under the knife. And I'm not even picking on Tiffany - many of the rest of her bandmates have undergone similar procedures with similarly astonishing results. It makes me a little nauseous.

What's more nauseating is the fact that this phenomenon is not limited to celebrities. I am 100% sure that my speaking teacher has had work done (at least double eyelid); my listening teacher, about 80% sure; my writing teacher, I can't tell, but I hope she hasn't - I submitted that essay to her, and I would be terribly sad to have hurt her feelings. After she graded it, she asked me about my opinions on it - I responded as truthfully as I could without being unkind. And then Yukiko pointed out that she has a double eyelid. FML. While it's true that some Koreans have it naturally, the vast majority of double eyelids are surgically created. I can't tell with my writing teacher; truthfully, she's gorgeous, and I would expect her to be gorgeous with or without surgery. But maybe that's just because I see what I want to see: a great personality behind a big smile (she's my kindest teacher, and the one that I like the most). So maybe my vision's clouded. I don't know.

Standards of beauty here are for sure absurd. I've never felt this ugly in America. Korean women are under an insane amount of pressure to be stick-thin and constantly ready for a photo-shoot. I have gone out in sweats to buy food from the convenience store before, and I swear I have never seen another Korean women in anything less than a perfectly matched ensemble, perfectly put-together hair, and heels (okay, slight exaggeration, but you get the point, right?). The 9000 makeup stores on my street are a testament to the obsession with beauty, an obsession which I am slowly getting sucked into (more of my money than I would care to admit has gone into Korean beauty products, which are cheaper than most American things, but that doesn't say much).

I want to march up to the ridiculously dressed girl screaming into a megaphone in front of Etude, a makeup store near my goshitel about Etude's latest products and sales, snatch the megaphone from her perfectly manicured nails, and shout to all Korean women that they are beautiful in their own right. I don't think anyone would hear me, though. And I don't know that they'd listen.

What a downer.

This post is long enough. I'll start another one later, hopefully on a less maudlin and controversial topic.

화이팅.