Reflect upon what you learned form the culture project presentations--both your own and those of your fellow learners.
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Reflect upon what you learned form the culture project presentations--both your own and those of your fellow learners.
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Since most of the students in the class were learning Korean, it was insightful and interesting to learn so much about my own culture. One of the presentations that really caught my attention was the one on the education system in Korea. I heard from my parents that it was difficult, but I didn't think it would be as severe as what the presentation portrayed it to be. It really made me thankful that my parents immigrated into America and that I was able to grow up and learn through the American education system. It made me really appreciate to have been raised in the United States. Another presentation that I thought was interesting was the one on Basque. It was fascinating to know that just by the surname of a person, so much information can be gained such as where they originated from. It would be great to know where my family's roots come from and to know the exact location of homes that past generations of my family lived in. Overall, the presentations were a great learning experience.
I started off bewildered about the topic of my presentation which was about the extreme popularity of plastic surgery in South Korea. After finding out the root of what caused this type of social behavior was I able to finally comprehend the mindset of South Koreans. I still find it very foreign in the way they think and I just cannot relate to their mindset because I have been raised with American values. I was angered by finding out how sexist the Korean job market can be and how women are pressured to do plastic surgery so they can get a foot in the door. I found it depressing that Koreans value looks over personality, but I know this doesn't apply to all individuals since not everyone thinks the same way.
I love listening to culture presentation, not only because they are all very interesting, but also because I learn things about the culture I am studying that I have not learned before. For example, the presentation on Korean plastic surgery was very shocking to me. It's great that they offer cheap surgeries, but it is sad that so many Koreans are displeased with their physical features that they chose to have various plastic surgeries. I found it very sad to see a little Korean girl get double eyelid surgery because she doesn't find her own eyes pretty, and the fact that her parents are giving her this surgery as a gift is even more sad.. shes only twelve! Anyways, I also like the presentation on Turkey and its different holidays, especially the "Day of Remembrance" because its very moving how everyone stops what they are doing just to serve their respects. I like the presentation on Turkish coffee because it was out of the ordinary and interesting. I also enjoyed the presentations regarding Korean fashion and religion...two complete opposites! Korean fashion is influenced mainly by stars in Korean dramas and the Korean religion still uses shamanism which is very fascinating!
My cultural presentation was on the Korean education system and how it is negatively impacting students' mental health and physical health as well as their parents. This is because the pressure of having a good education and being well educated is seen in Korea as the only means of being successful and happy in life.
From the culture project presentations, I learned a lot about Pakistani culture as well as other cultures. I researched Pakistani food culture which taught me a lot about their values. I realized that their food culture is heavily impacted by the Islamic lifestyle in Pakistan. A lot of their foods developed from being exposed only to what they are allowed to eat because of their religion. Also, the way they eat is determined by their religion as well. There are bunch of rules regarding this matter like we have laws in the justice system.
I also learned a lot of about the Korean culture. I grew up in Korea so I knew almost everything that were presented during the culture project presentations but there were a few detailed things that I wasn't completely clear on. Especially the Korean wedding ceremonies are rituals that I was aware of but not completely clear on. It was interesting to see people not from the Korean culture so immersed in the subject and show passion for it. I learned about Greek and Turkish culture as well. My apartment mate is Turkish and he always makes Turkish tea and coffee. It was interesting to see the Turkish tea/coffee props outside of a home setting in a classroom under the scholastic scope.
First of all, I have learned a lot when doing my culture project presentations. My topic is about K-pop music and its fans culture. Before doing the project, I actually just a fan who always listen to K-pop music, but had no idea the history and culture behind it. Now I got a better understanding of the K-pop music and its fans culture.
To start with, K-Pop is an abbreviation from the word Korean Pop. It originated from South Korea but has a steady increase of followers from all over the world. Unlike the name, K-Pop music genre is more than just pop. It includes hip-hop, rock, electronic, R&B, dance-pop, rock, ballad and metal. In addition, this music genre does not only famous because of its musical genre but also because the fusion of music and interesting dance movements.The K-Pop that we know today emerges around the 1990s during the Hallyu Wave. This is the period when people starts to pay attention and interested in Korean production like the Korean drama sand music industry and K-Pop starts to spread their wings to the other region. Thanks to the advancement of technology, the spread of K-Pop is more vigorous than ever. The popularity of K-Pop singers is largely based on their excellent vocal abilities, dazzling stage presence and well dance performances among other things. While they may look comfortable and charismatic on stage, their performance is the result of many years of hard work rather than any inborn talent. In addition, I also learned a new word, which is a sasaeng fan (사생팬)(Sa-Seng-Pan). It is widely known to be an excessively obsessed Korean Wave fan. Sasaeng Fans are mostly female between the ages of 13-22. They are extreme fans who stalk their idols and invade their privacy with questionable methods.
Regarding to other learners' presentations, they all did great jobs and I enjoyed listened to them all the time. Among them, Shayna's presentation about Turkish culture left me a deep impression because I had tried Turkish coffee in a resturant in Richmond and love it. After listening to her explanation of the coffee and drinking culture behind it, I become more and more interested in this Turkish coffee. What's more, Becky's presentation about ancient houses in Korea was also very attractive for me because I love this kind of beautiful buildings. If I travel to Korean this summer, I will definite visit the place she recommended.
I really enjoyed everyone's cultural presentations for they allowed me to learn about different cultures that I had little to no background on. I learned the importance of Israeli Holidays, such as Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) and Yom Hazikaron (day of remembrance where Israelis commemorate all of the fallen Israeli soldiers during the wars Israeli had to fight). During these holidays, a siren rings throughout the nation and people stop what they're doing and take a moment of silence to commemorate for the lives that were lost in wars.
Although I lived in Korea when I was young, I learned a lot about Korean culture through my classmates' presentations. I learned about their drinking culture, which I was not very familiar with, as well as Korea's education system. I generally knew that many Asian countries focused on the importance of education, but Rosemary's presentation on the academic pressure in Korea furthered my knowledge regarding the education system in Korea.
For my culture project, I explored fashion as well as fashion trends in South Korea. In recent years, Korean fashion has greatly evolved, due to several factors such as more inspiration from the West, country’s industrialization and economic growth, social media/technology, and the Korean Wave “Hallyu." I talked about how Korea’s developing economy had a profound effect on fashion. After the Korean War, South Korea’s economy grew and the country achieved economic growth through exports of goods. The industrialization allowed the expansion of the fashion industry and currently Seoul, Korea has the fourth fastest growing luxury goods economy after India, China, and Hong Kong. Moreover, the "Korean Wave" has been affecting the fashion world significantly, and Korean celebrities are starting to have a real influence in fashion, especially through Korean dramas and K-pop. I learned that in South Korea, aesthetics are very important, thus many people, especially the younger generation, are very sensitive to new fashion trends.
For quite a while I have had an interest in learning about North Korea and the adjustment process of North Korean defectors and refugees now living in South Korea. While I had watched numerous documentaries and read many stories about North Korean concentration camps and defectors prior to this class, I thoroughly enjoyed researching more about this topic and presenting what I have learned to the class. While I had previous knowledge about the horrible conditions the average North Korean faces and the hardships many refugees face, I learned about these struggles more in depth as well as the risks North Koreans face when defecting. Particular things I found shocking when researching for this project were that the majority of North Korean defectors are actually women and that many of these women risk sexual exploitation in China when attempting to escape. Furthermore, while I was already aware that many refugees suffer from mental health issues due to PTSD, depression, and anxiety, I was shocked at how significantly different their average physical well-being was compared to that of South Koreans since the average height and weight for male and female North Koreans were much lower.
As for the other presentations I watched, I particularly enjoyed the presentation about school violence in Korea since it brought to light a serious issue that is so often displayed and dramatized only through Korean dramas. Because this issue is so often illustrated through the media, I thought school bullying in Korea was simply exaggerated. However, through Yi Guo’s presentation I learned that school bullying is still very real and present in Korea.
I really liked the cultural presentations, because they allowed us to explore a variety of topics without spending the time necessary to research them individually. Also, some of the topics I never would have thought to look into. For instance, even though I am learning Korean, I would not have thought to look into school bullying in Korea. With that being said, I really enjoyed that presentation because school pressures are both incredibly similar while incredibly different than in the US. Rosemary talked about the school system in Korea, which creates a very competitive and stressful environment that can be harmful to students. Although I had heard about Korea having a very competitive educational system, I had no idea about the extent of stress that it adds to the everyday student's life. I also really enjoyed the presentation about Korean marriages. Modern Korean weddings perfectly show the combination of traditional Korean and western values that make up modern Korean culture.
It was also really interesting to explore other cultures besides Korean, because most of the class had presentations on Korean culture. Each presentation taught me something that I did not know. For instance, I had no idea that there were so many Greek migrants in different parts of the world (especially Australia). Also, I was fascinated by Turkish coffee culture, because I had no idea that coffee played such a large influence in Turkish culture.
I am going to talk about violence in South Korean. I will start with two popular Korean drama talking about school bully and analyze the reasons behind the violence. Then I would use statistics to further investigate this issue. I would talk about different ways of abuse on campus including verbal, physical and cyber. Then I would discuss the tradition solution to the problems, which did not success. Finally, I would propose some suggestion that might help reduce the violence.
I really enjoy the culture in the previous week talking about drinking culture in Korea. I also find some connections between that presentation to mine. Looking at the statistics, it seems that drinking is the fundamental reason for the violence. As I mentioned in my presentation, girls who get plastic surgery might also get bullied. This is also related to the culture post about how Korean care about their out looking. I also enjoyed the presentation this week by Yi Shen, which shared about Korean traditional wedding.
The culture project presentation is a really great way to understand and know more about the cultures from different aspects. Talking about my culture project presentation, I picked the topic for Korean traditional wedding because it was a symbol of traditional Korean culture that was under the influence of Confucian values. People thought the couple with the same last name could not get married in the past and there were a lot of strict proprieties in the wedding ceremony, which represented the traditional ideas and blessings. Luckily, the traditional proprieties inherited by generations until now. And I find it is interesting that the western culture collides with traditional culture that more and more young couple wants to have a western like wedding but the elders still want them to have traditional weddings. Under the western influences, people changes their ideas but there are still some of them want to protect and keep traditional values.
From other people’s presentations, I’m able to know more details about Korean houses, drinking habits, fashion trend and the famous plastic surgery. The most impressive presentation is about the plastic surgery. I agreed with the ideas from the presentation that more and more young people get pressures from family and the society about their appearances. I read an article before which was about the appearance and people’s employment. The person having a better appearance is easier to get a job. This phenomenon is not only in South Korea, but also in Japan and China. Also, some people believe that a good appearance will help them to achieve success easier so that more people take plastic surgery. I think it eventually turns to a psychological illness that people are not satisfied with their appearances and want to change it over times, but a few of them realizes that they will be addicted to plastic surgery since they can’t feel confident at all.
The cultural projects that my classmates presented so far were all very interesting. I was particularly interested in the Israeli holidays and Korean drinking culture topics. My knowledge about Judaism and Israeli culture is very limited: In fact, I recall once in third grade, the librarian was getting ready to read a story about Moses to us and then asked the class if anyone was Jewish. There was a long silence and then I raised my hand, not sure what she meant but felt like maybe “being Jewish” would be something cool to tack onto my identity. Of course, as I got older, I met new people and among them my first Jewish friend. She devoutly observes the Jewish holidays, and it seemed like she was always either fasting or eating only certain foods during certain times of the year. Thus, I grew curious about why there are so many holidays in Judaism. Since many Jewish holidays seemed to involve unique food, like matzos and latkes, I figured that they were all related to stories in their holy book. But, it never occurred to me that the Israeli holidays have a deeper purpose: that is, they allow the Israeli and Jewish people to celebrate surviving another year, because their people had been persecuted many times in history.
As for the Korean drinking culture, I personally don’t drink but have always wondered why soju seemed to be at the center of many Korean lives in TV dramas. I thought it might be the taste, so I tried it once legally (just a sip) but it tasted like cough medicine to me. Or, maybe I just have no taste for alcohol. And so, since it didn't seem to be the taste, I suspected that it might be for social reasons. Maybe the drinking culture in Korea is so popular today because it helps bring people together. It turns out that's precisely it. There are even understood rules about what’s rude and what’s not when drinking. Of course, the hierarchy that’s so prominent in other elements of Korean culture is also present here. For example, the younger person always pours a drink for the older person, and they must also cover their glass and look away when drinking to show respect. Drinking alone is generally looked down upon in Korea, probably because it’s mostly a social act. There's often a routine to drinking, where after some bottles of soju the group may head over to a karaoke place or a nightclub. It’s also not uncommon to see businesspeople chatting away over barbecue and soju. Anyways, seeing that I missed the point of soju when I took that one sip, maybe I should give soju another chance and drink it with a group of friends next time.
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