Zinging into Spring
And never looking back. That's right, spring is here and I have proof.
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Restrictions Imposed on 18+ Controversial “Wide Leg Spread Dance”
(Source)
Followers of K-pop blogs will already be well aware of this latest storm in a teacup of course, but it’s always interesting to see what ordinary Koreans themselves read about such things. Accordingly, here’s my (very literal) translation of an article from yesterday’s Metro newspaper, which millions would have read on their morning commute:
Restrictions Imposed on 18+ Controversial “Wide Leg Spread Dance”
Three groups with underage members all do suggestive dances as if they’d planned them together
Demands for a review of regulations on suggestive outfits and poses on music programs
While the three girl groups that are showing off their so called “wide leg spread dance” are being regulated by broadcasters, controversy has arisen about suggestive choreography.
Appearing on Music Bank on KBS2 on the 8th, 4Minute (making a comeback that night), RaNia, and the Brave Girlshave become very controversial for the suggestiveness of their performances.
While performing their new song Mirror Mirror, 4Minute members get on the floor on their knees, spread their legs, and repeatedly open and close them:
With support from overseas producer Teddy Riley, new 7-member group RaNia debuted with Dr. Feel Good. Sporting a striking lingerie and garter belt look, one mesmerizing dance move involved only moving their legs and pelvises repeatedly. And Brave Brother-produced 5-member group Brave Girls gave off a similar sexual attractiveness with their debut song Do You Know:
Giving the same performances on 2 other broadcasters’ music programs last weekend, the controversy increased. In the end, Music Bank, SBS’s The Music Trend, and MBC’s Show! Music Core all demanded changes to the dances and outfits and imposed restrictions on them. The reason is that programs that a lot of teenagers watch can not have outfits which expose too much of the body, and/or dances that bring to mind sexual acts.
In particular, it is not just the nature of the outfits and the choreography that is the problem, but that many of the performers are underage. In 4Minute, Hyuna (18) and So-hyun (16); in RaNia, Di (19), Joy (20), T-ae (16), and Xia(16); and in Brave Girls, Yu-jin (?) and Hye-ran (?) are all underage.
(James: Most of the ages given in the article are completely wrong, whether using the Korean or the “international” system. Instead, I’ve provided their international ages, with sources given in their links. I’ve been unable to find any sources for the ages of the Brave Girls members however)
The result of analysis reveals that this is the result of following the dance moves of sexy pop stars. Before there were national girl groups, it was Lady Gaga that garnered a lot of controversy for the wide spread leg dance and sexually suggestive choreography of her Born This Way music video:
About this, an [anonymous] person in the broadcasting industry said, “While people say that Lady Gaga’s dances and dance moves are unique and individual, they say that Korean singers aren’t like that” and that “it’s a pity that in this era of spreading K-pop to the world, we have such anachronistic rules” (end).
(Source)
Like me, you’re probably aghast at the Metro’s low writing standards and sloppy fact-checking. But that’s quite normal for Korean tabloid newspapers (and, alas, many of their mainstream counterparts too), so much more of interest personally was the author’s point that “before there were national girl groups, it was Lady Gaga that garnered a lot of controversy”, indirectly confirming my own (and many others’) observation that although of course there have always been Korean girl groups previously, it’s only been in the last 4 years or so that there’s been such a glut of them. And that, following the model set by The Wondergirls (원더걸스), they’re generally much much racier than their predecessors were.
Other than that, I’m a little tired of references to Lady Gaga whenever a girl group comes up with a suggestive dance move, but that’s hardly unique to the Korean media. And it’s curious that the anonymous person in the broadcasting industry felt that Korean girl groups must follow her example to “spread K-pop to the world”, because although this does play to Occidentalist stereotypes of hypersexual Western audiences somewhat, it also marks the culmination of a 180-degree turn against what used to make K-pop appealing to East-Asian audiences, and which presumably influenced music producers. As Rowan Pease explains in her chapter “Korean Pop Music in China: Nationalism, Authenticity, and Gender” in Cultural Studies and Cultural Industries in Northeast Asia: What a Difference a Region Makes (2010):
( Source: The Japan Foundation )
In 2003, the Korean National Tourism Office [a major investor in the Korean wave] conducted a Hanliu tourism survey in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong exploring attitudes to Korean culture, publishing the results online…
….It compared the impact of Korean culture with that of four “competitor” countries (the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong), and in the process revealed much about Korea’s own political and nationalist concerns, particularly in relation to Japan and America. Six of the eleven options for respondents to the category “reasons I like Korean culture” reflect this preoccupation: “less sexual than Japanese culture,” “less sexual than American culture,” “less violent than Japanese popular culture,” “less violent than American popular culture,” “decreased interest in American culture,” and “decreased interest in Japanese culture.” One other echoes Straubhaar’s notion of cultural proximity: “similar in culture.” Certainly, Korea’s own music media censorship laws (which even in 1997 prohibited the displaying of body piercings, navels, tattoos, “outfits which might harm the sound emotional development of youth,” and banned violent or political lyrics), meant that Chinese TV stations could buy in Korean music videos and music TV shows knowing that they were unlikely to upset local censors. However, these questions also reflected a perception that Korea acts as a defender against excessive Westernization and as a guardian of Confucian values within East Asia. (pp. 155-156)
Which long-term readers may remember from my translation of the lyrics to Bad Girl, Good Girl (배드걸 굿걸) byMiss A (미쓰에이), probably the most erotic Korean girl group music video I’d ever seen until these latest ones came out:
Alternatively, the above view of Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong tastes may well be outdated, and “the world” in the newspaper article shouldn’t automatically be taken to mean Western audiences: after all, 2 members of Miss A are Chinese, and the group was originally designed to be overwhelmingly aimed at the Chinese market. What do you think?
Meanwhile, see here, here, here, and here for the latest developments in this “Wide Leg Spread Dance” controversy (yes, I love saying that too!). And today’s edition of the Metro newspaper also happens to have an interview of RaNia in which they discuss the dance, but I’m afraid I don’t have time to translate it at the moment sorry. Any takers?^^
(Source)
Filed under: Censorship, Girl Groups, Korean Media, Korean Music, Korean Sexuality Tagged: 4Minute, Brave Girls, 라니아, 브레이브걸스, 포미닛, RaNia
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Busan e-FM Week 14: The Baby Experience
About 'Open Mike in Busan'
Introduction
Another important event in my life was the birth of my baby son four months ago. Actually, our plan to have a baby was one of the reasons we returned to Korea.
Hospitals
I though it would be better to have a baby in Korea rather than in England. We have our National Health Service, so the cost is very low, but sometimes the service is quite basic as well. Korea is more expensive, but there are many hospitals and treatment options to choose from. In the city I’m from there’s one really large city hospital which covers everything – including delivering babies – so this means if you choose to have your baby in a hospital rather than a home, that’s where you have to go, whereas in Korea our first task was to choose a hospital.
In a way it wasn’t a difficult choice. There are different options but we wanted to choose one close to our apartment because we don’t have a car, so that really limited our choice. Actually, one of the major differences between England and Korea is the 산후조리원 [sanhujoriwon] system – we don’t have that in my country, we just have midwives who visit new mothers regularly after they’ve given birth. In fact, I know Koreans find this a bit shocking, but the average length of stay in a British hospital for a woman who gives birth is just six hours. So when my wife wanted to stay in the 산후조리원 for two weeks, I was the one who was shocked.
And some more surprises
So at first I thought she’d give birth and come home shortly afterwards. If there are no complications that’s the way it works in England. It’s probably too short really, but then two weeks or more seems very long. Of course, then I learned how there’s a belief in Korea that women’s bodies are ‘shattered’ once they’ve given birth, and they are so delicate they aren’t even allowed to shower or bathe for a week because of the belief that it will leave them vulnerable to the cold in winter.
Looking back, I had a lot of surprises even before our son was born. Normally in England I think a woman only gets two ultrasounds during her pregnancy, if everything seems normal. Here, we went to the hospital every two or three weeks, and had an ultrasound scan every time. And every time they burned the scan to a DVD so we could watch it at home. At least, until about half-way through when the system changed – then they uploaded them to an Internet account instead. So the regular scans were a really positive difference.
Another big surprise was when my wife said “we have to choose whether we want to buy a stem cell package”. That’s not really common in England, so the whole process of going and meeting various stem cell companies at the BEXCO baby fair, and evaluating their packages, was not something I’d expected to be doing.
I didn’t cope well with the language barrier, and it was was of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had in Korea. My wife’s pregnancy didn’t go completely smoothly at first, so every time we saw the doctor I was really desperate to understand what he was saying, but of course, I couldn’t.
The birth
The birth itself was also quite different from what I expected. My wife’s water broke late on Saturday evening, so by the time we got to the maternity room it was 11pm. That’s when I realised that the problem with giving birth in a small hospital – especially at night at the weekend – is that there aren’t many staff around. In fact, until the doctor came at 4.25am, there was only one nurse on duty and that’s the only person we saw – the rest of the floor was deserted, whereas in a large British hospital there are hundreds of doctors, which means that if something unexpected happens, there’s always going to be an appropriate specialist around.
Of course I couldn’t understand what the nurse was talking about, but having said that, at one point towards the end – after the nurse had made a series of calls – I sure she was saying on the phone “where’s the doctor, where’s the doctor?” So it wasn’t a happy experience.
But in the end it all went relatively smoothly. Our son was born at 04.57am, and I cut the umbilical cord – that’s another thing I had to do in Korea that I wasn’t expecting.
No contact rules
Then, after 30 seconds with his mother, he was rushed off to the maternity unit, and that’s the last time she saw him for 24 hours, which also shocked me. And then – this is not so much shocking as annoying – they wouldn’t let me hold my son. I really wanted to hold him, but he’d been rushed off to the maternity unit and the hospital had a ‘no contact’ rule for fathers. When we asked when I could hold him they said “in two weeks when he comes home”. It was a bit upsetting really at the time. In fact, there were really limited visiting times, and when you went the staff would show you your baby for between two to five minutes, then that was it. So in the first two weeks I think I saw my son for a total of 50 minutes despite twice-daily visits to the hospital, and of course there was no physical contact.
So in some ways the hospital was really strict. But in other ways, not so much; they let photographers from an external company into the maternity unit – but just not fathers. In fact the hospital was a bit of a disaster anyway. I was just before Chuseok, so a lot of women had chosen to be induced over the holiday. The hospital had basically taken the business, but then didn’t really have much room for the mothers afterwards. And despite this they gave their cleaning staff the week off, so you can imagine – the place was like hell after a few days. In fact, the woman in the next room had a big plumbing problem in her bathroom, and when she complained to the hospital boss, rather than doing anything about it, he just gave her a tool to fix the problem herself, even though she’d just had an operation.
Baby naming
So we were glad to get home, but it’s not as though the problems stopped there. Then there was the whole baby naming business afterwards.
Naming a fusion baby can be a difficult issue. We decided to compromise by having a Korean first name, and my Western surname. I thought we might be able to choose the Korean name, and I had an idea about naming him after a famous Korean physicist because it’s something to aspire to. But then I learned that what usually happens, is the fortune tellers recommend a list based on the parents’ times of birth and the baby’s. We had to wait until after my wife had left the hospital to consult the fortune tellers – so for the first three weeks of his life he didn’t have a name, which to me seemed really odd.
So my son was named by a fortune teller in the end. A fortune teller my father-in-law knew gave us a recommendation, but it was only one name when I thought we’d have more choices. We went to another fortune teller and got another ten choices, but finally we chose the first one we’d been given. It was a hard process because I wanted it to be a name that would be easily pronounceable for my family back in England, and it had to sound right in English.
Of course, being a former police officer, my father-in-law knows some... interesting people. So I sort of jokingly asked – he’s not a former criminal is he? And sure enough, that is how my father-in-law knew him. So that’s how my son ended up being named by a convicted fraudster. I just have to hope he’s good at reading fortunes.
Links
Busan e-FM
Inside Out Busan
Air date: 2011-01-26 @ ~19:30
Introduction
Another important event in my life was the birth of my baby son four months ago. Actually, our plan to have a baby was one of the reasons we returned to Korea.
Hospitals
I though it would be better to have a baby in Korea rather than in England. We have our National Health Service, so the cost is very low, but sometimes the service is quite basic as well. Korea is more expensive, but there are many hospitals and treatment options to choose from. In the city I’m from there’s one really large city hospital which covers everything – including delivering babies – so this means if you choose to have your baby in a hospital rather than a home, that’s where you have to go, whereas in Korea our first task was to choose a hospital.
In a way it wasn’t a difficult choice. There are different options but we wanted to choose one close to our apartment because we don’t have a car, so that really limited our choice. Actually, one of the major differences between England and Korea is the 산후조리원 [sanhujoriwon] system – we don’t have that in my country, we just have midwives who visit new mothers regularly after they’ve given birth. In fact, I know Koreans find this a bit shocking, but the average length of stay in a British hospital for a woman who gives birth is just six hours. So when my wife wanted to stay in the 산후조리원 for two weeks, I was the one who was shocked.
And some more surprises
So at first I thought she’d give birth and come home shortly afterwards. If there are no complications that’s the way it works in England. It’s probably too short really, but then two weeks or more seems very long. Of course, then I learned how there’s a belief in Korea that women’s bodies are ‘shattered’ once they’ve given birth, and they are so delicate they aren’t even allowed to shower or bathe for a week because of the belief that it will leave them vulnerable to the cold in winter.
Looking back, I had a lot of surprises even before our son was born. Normally in England I think a woman only gets two ultrasounds during her pregnancy, if everything seems normal. Here, we went to the hospital every two or three weeks, and had an ultrasound scan every time. And every time they burned the scan to a DVD so we could watch it at home. At least, until about half-way through when the system changed – then they uploaded them to an Internet account instead. So the regular scans were a really positive difference.
Another big surprise was when my wife said “we have to choose whether we want to buy a stem cell package”. That’s not really common in England, so the whole process of going and meeting various stem cell companies at the BEXCO baby fair, and evaluating their packages, was not something I’d expected to be doing.
I didn’t cope well with the language barrier, and it was was of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had in Korea. My wife’s pregnancy didn’t go completely smoothly at first, so every time we saw the doctor I was really desperate to understand what he was saying, but of course, I couldn’t.
The birth
The birth itself was also quite different from what I expected. My wife’s water broke late on Saturday evening, so by the time we got to the maternity room it was 11pm. That’s when I realised that the problem with giving birth in a small hospital – especially at night at the weekend – is that there aren’t many staff around. In fact, until the doctor came at 4.25am, there was only one nurse on duty and that’s the only person we saw – the rest of the floor was deserted, whereas in a large British hospital there are hundreds of doctors, which means that if something unexpected happens, there’s always going to be an appropriate specialist around.
Of course I couldn’t understand what the nurse was talking about, but having said that, at one point towards the end – after the nurse had made a series of calls – I sure she was saying on the phone “where’s the doctor, where’s the doctor?” So it wasn’t a happy experience.
But in the end it all went relatively smoothly. Our son was born at 04.57am, and I cut the umbilical cord – that’s another thing I had to do in Korea that I wasn’t expecting.
No contact rules
Then, after 30 seconds with his mother, he was rushed off to the maternity unit, and that’s the last time she saw him for 24 hours, which also shocked me. And then – this is not so much shocking as annoying – they wouldn’t let me hold my son. I really wanted to hold him, but he’d been rushed off to the maternity unit and the hospital had a ‘no contact’ rule for fathers. When we asked when I could hold him they said “in two weeks when he comes home”. It was a bit upsetting really at the time. In fact, there were really limited visiting times, and when you went the staff would show you your baby for between two to five minutes, then that was it. So in the first two weeks I think I saw my son for a total of 50 minutes despite twice-daily visits to the hospital, and of course there was no physical contact.
So in some ways the hospital was really strict. But in other ways, not so much; they let photographers from an external company into the maternity unit – but just not fathers. In fact the hospital was a bit of a disaster anyway. I was just before Chuseok, so a lot of women had chosen to be induced over the holiday. The hospital had basically taken the business, but then didn’t really have much room for the mothers afterwards. And despite this they gave their cleaning staff the week off, so you can imagine – the place was like hell after a few days. In fact, the woman in the next room had a big plumbing problem in her bathroom, and when she complained to the hospital boss, rather than doing anything about it, he just gave her a tool to fix the problem herself, even though she’d just had an operation.
Baby naming
So we were glad to get home, but it’s not as though the problems stopped there. Then there was the whole baby naming business afterwards.
Naming a fusion baby can be a difficult issue. We decided to compromise by having a Korean first name, and my Western surname. I thought we might be able to choose the Korean name, and I had an idea about naming him after a famous Korean physicist because it’s something to aspire to. But then I learned that what usually happens, is the fortune tellers recommend a list based on the parents’ times of birth and the baby’s. We had to wait until after my wife had left the hospital to consult the fortune tellers – so for the first three weeks of his life he didn’t have a name, which to me seemed really odd.
So my son was named by a fortune teller in the end. A fortune teller my father-in-law knew gave us a recommendation, but it was only one name when I thought we’d have more choices. We went to another fortune teller and got another ten choices, but finally we chose the first one we’d been given. It was a hard process because I wanted it to be a name that would be easily pronounceable for my family back in England, and it had to sound right in English.
Of course, being a former police officer, my father-in-law knows some... interesting people. So I sort of jokingly asked – he’s not a former criminal is he? And sure enough, that is how my father-in-law knew him. So that’s how my son ended up being named by a convicted fraudster. I just have to hope he’s good at reading fortunes.
Links
Busan e-FM
Inside Out Busan
Air date: 2011-01-26 @ ~19:30
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Source: Busan Mike
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Busanmike.blogspot.com
Twitter: @BusanMike
YouTube: /BusanMikeVideo
Flickr: /busanmike
10 ALTERNATE ENDINGS TO METALLICA'S "ENTER SANDMAN"
Metallica. They used to be so awesome. In the 80's they ruled over the metal underworld, releasing such furious classics as Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All. They were fast, mean, loud and played with virtuosic precision. Their music ripped an asshole in the fabric of the world; listening to one of their songs was like doing speed. I saw them in September of '89 and can attest to their true power. They were indeed Monsters of Rock.
Then... something happened. The 90's came and they cut their hair. They slowed down their music in a sad attempt to jump on the Grunge Gravy Train. They got all sensitive and introspective. James Hetfield started growling over ballads. They began a spiraling descent into the heart of SUCK, which continues, sadly, to this day.
Nothing exemplifies this disintegration better than the tune "Enter Sandman," which is track one off their Black Album, which marks the beginning of their assiness. "Enter Sandman" starts off great; the opening riff fades in - all menace and primal drums - building into a crescendo that forms a nasty, crunchy wave. Hetfield starts singing and the song still holds together. Then the chorus comes:
Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to Never Never Land
'Never Never Land'? Really? Are you fucking kidding me? The first time I heard this song I thought that they were making a joke, or perhaps I was listening to a parody - a la "Weird Al" Yankovich. What metal band sings about Never Never Land? That's just totally, completely, and one hundred percent... lame. It makes me think of Peter Pan or Michael Jackson and his monkey, neither of which are very metal. How did the rest of the band react when Hetfield showed them the lyrics? Were no better suggestions fielded?
This question came up last night when drinking with some friends, so we did a little brainstorming and came up with our own suggestions. So instead of singing "We're off to Never Never Land", how about singing:
1. Suck me off while I'm on the can.
2. Carpet bomb Turkmenistan.
3. Satan has a master plan.
4. Fuck the corpse of Ed McMahon.
5. Chew out my adrenal gland.
6. My keyboard has an ampersand.
7. Blow your wad into my hand.
8. Dokdo is Korea land.
9. Slit the throat of a virgin lamb.
10. Now's the time to stop the band.
Feel free to add some more...
Incognito Tom
Shhh! He's not really there.
Sorry Tom I didn't leave you enough food last night, but did you have to wake me up repeatedly?
the cherry on top
A cherry blossom canopy now covers the of city Busan.
With sunlight peaking through, hem lines crawling above the knee, winter coats back on the hanger and beach season around the corner, I can say with great enthusiasm that spring is here. Picnics, days that blend seamlessly into nights and rooftop hangouts...can't wait.
However, as we make this seasonal transition, the August 2010 EPIK class can't help but acknowledge the fact that we are also quickly approaching the end of our contract. One thing I know for sure, we will move through the next 4 months with mixed emotions. Lets enjoy that fresh feeling.
the dip out
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| Kym - Adrian - Jen Seoul 4.2011 |
Single Lady’s Proclamation
Today is “Black Day” in Korea. February 14th is Valentine’s Day (where women give men chocolate); March 14th is White Day (where men give women chocolate); and April 14th is Black Day. It’s a day set aside for single people to eat a dish known as jajangmyeon (black noodles). Some say this is a way to “mourn” the fact that they are single. WHAT!?! In CELEBRATION of my single status, I decided to write this proclamation!
In some cultures/mentalities, especially Asian cultures, a woman finds her worth in her connection to a man (her husband or boyfriend in most cases). I’m saddened by this, but also recognize that it is a difference in cultures. I am also thankful because I was raised in a culture that values independence and women for their own merit; not their connection to a man. I find my worth, not in a man, but in The Man. (if you want to know more, just ask)
- I am ALONE but NOT LONELY!
- I have high standards and will gladly wait for someone to meet them before I rush into a relationship. I am would rather be happy and single than miserable with the wrong person.
- I WANT to be with someone, but don’t NEED to be with someone. [That causes your actions to drastically change.]
- It’s not about proving to him that you are worthy. Rather, it’s about him qualifying for what you have to offer. (If you have nothing to offer, well… guess that’s a good place to start working on yourself.)
- If you have a man and I am his friend, don’t worry, honey, I DON’T WANT HIM! By the fact that he is dating (or married to) you DISQUALIFIES him from my dating pool. Some women may be trifflin and want a taken man, but I strongly believe that YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW and I have too much respect for others and myself to sow that seed.
- To the men who don’t meet the standards or are otherwise disqualified, don’t be mad. There is someone out there for you, I’m just not her.
- I am strong, independent, confident, smart and a great catch….. if you don’t know that for yourself, I (actually) don’t need to proclaim it to you. Sit back, watch and observe. You will see my character for yourself.
- Haters will be haters…… but here is some wisdom for them: That which you are jealous/envious of will NEVER come to you because you hate it (and therefore push it away from you)!
- Finally, For those of you who read this and are in a happy, healthy relationship: I rejoice with you! For those of you who are in an unhealthy relationship, my heart bleeds for you, for I have been there and NEVER want to go back!!
I celebrate my single status, today and everyday!
Single people: stand up, be proud and rejoice in your freedom!
HAPPY Black Day!!
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~Kasham Laîné
Caffe Star King
Check out our facebook page (and like us, please!)
The
first thing any English speaking foreigner is gonna notice about this
place is the sign. Beyond coffee, beer, and music; they also offer
‘nude price.’ Neither my friends, nor I, who often both the
dakgalbi restaurant below, and the regular galbi restaurant across the
street, had ever heard this phrase. I tried to google it, but google
basically just told me I was a pervert. So the only way to learn the
definition of this phrase was to go to Caffe Star King.
On entering, we were pleasantly surprised (or unpleasantly disappointed, depending on what we were hoping for) by the generally tasteful atmosphere and fully clothed clientele and staff. Caffe Star King is just a really big coffeeshop that’s open twenty-four hours a day. The first thing you see is a bunch of private tent rooms. I take it that these are for couples who desire a bit of privacy. The open seating area has a friendly lounge feel to it. Big comfortable chairs, some with stuffed animal pillows on them. There are also several more rooms as you make your way to the back.
Oh yeah, I guess ‘nude
prices’ just means that everything costs 3,000 won. The menu had the
basic coffee drinks, along with beer. It would actually be a pretty
cool place to have a few beers before starting the night. I’m not sure
what the music they mention on the sign references, but there could be
some space for bands. If nothing else, it could be a fun place to start
the night, or a cool spot to chill out until 5:00AM if you’re waiting
for the subway to start running again.
DIrections: Seomyeon metro, go out exit 2. Walk straight until you come to a big Paris Baguette. Turn left. Walk for two and a half blocks. It’s on your left, second floor above the dakgalbi restaurant.
View BUSAN! AWESOME! in a larger map
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