I used to listen to a Brazilian podcast on Spotify. It talks about K-Pop and cultural issues related to it. This week, I was listening again to one of the most important episodes, in my opinion. It talks about Yellow Fever and how Koreans are sexualized because of the Hallyu. K-Pop idols have to be perfect for their audience. Perfect face, body, skills, and behavior. Some of them have to get plastic surgeries or extreme diets to fit in this pattern. Because they are 'perfect,' their fans might create the illusion that they are the perfect ideal men/woman to fall in love with. Inside the K-Pop, they have something called "Fan Service," things the idols do or say to please their fans. Things such as skinship with other idols and never assuming if they have a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with someone are common types of fan service. Also, another kind of fan service is telling people that their fans are all they need or even that they are their boyfriend/girlfriend, and it really affects the way the fandom understands their relationship with the idol.

A reasonable part of the Korean dramas also focuses on male characters that fit into a prince's way of behaving. All the series' romantic atmosphere creates the ideal of a "right-man" for the viewers. These people can sometimes interpret the characters' personalities and behavior as common Korean man's ones. This Oppa ideal is the idea that any Korean man will be the same as the ones from the dramas. Some K-Drama fans, then, seek these kinds of connections in real life and, sometimes, look for famous Koreans or even ordinary Koreans in their countries to start a relationship. Again, Koreans are not seen as individuals, but as an object that represents the ideal of perfection.

One of the most well-known cases of Yellow Fever is Oli London, a British man who decided to do surgery and identify as Korean. He had already been in South Korea and, because of that, he pretends he knows how to speak Korean although his pronunciation is pretty bad, and he knows just random basic sentences. He sometimes makes videos trying to teach other people how to speak Korean even correcting native speakers' pronunciation. He is obsessed with Park Jimin, from the K-Pop boy group BTS, and he made a bunch of surgeries to try to look like him. Now, he really believes they look alike. He now identifies as a trans-national person, a term that he invented to try to justify his attempts to "become Korean."

I decided to bring this discussion here because it is essential to understand that being a fan is not a justification to generalize and idealize Korean people. Having respect for other cultures happens when you understand and appreciate their diversity, being also aware that you are a foreigner. As a foreigner, you can love the culture, speak Korean and even live there, but you will never be a Korean person. By drawing this line, I believe it is possible for fans to step back and do not fell into Yellow Fever's stereotypes. This is a deep topic that needs pages to de discussed, but I hope this brief reflection would help!

I have started the Italki classes this month. I have two classes per week focused on TOPIK writing. I have realized that although I know a lot of vocabulary, I need to learn a lot more, mainly those commonly used in the exam. I also have difficulty with passive verbs, so I am practicing more of them. I did not know how much I improved in Korean until I had to speak for 15 minutes in a row to record the podcast. We always talk a lot in Korean during our weekly meetings, but it is so natural that I did not realize my progress. I am still shy to speak Korean, but I am way better than when I started.

My Korean partner also focused on exercising my writing. Because of that, I feel that I am pretty capable of writing simple texts and having daily talks with Koreans. However, when it comes to TOPIK level 4 writing, things get complicated. In one of my exercises, I had to practice the 수강 신청 어휘 (Vocabulary for enrollment in classes). 수강 (sugang) means "signing up," and 신청 (shincheong) means "application, requirement." This is a very important issue for students since it is a vocabulary commonly used in universities. For my next Italki class, I have to memorize the vocabulary related to it, such as 수강 정정을 하다 (make a course change) and 학점을 따다 (get a grade).

During these next two weeks of classes and finals, I will focus on finishing studying the two books related to TOPIK that I borrowed from Global Studio. I will also focus on doing my homework for Italki classes. After coming back to Brazil, I will try to keep close contact with the Korean friends I have met here not just because they are my friends and I will miss them, but also as a way to practice my Korean. In Brazil, I will also study Korean through 'How To Study Korean' website and by reviewing the Italki classes I had here. I hope to take the test in the middle of 2022. As a way to enjoy learning Korean, I will during vacations keep translating the Encounter drama until I get to watch this series without subtitles. I do not know if I will be able to translate all the episodes from the end of December to the beginning of March, but that is my goal.

When my classes restart in March, I will be in my last year at the university, so I will be busy with a lot of big projects. For this reason, I will focus entirely on the TOPIK vocabulary and on knowing how to answer each TOPIK question on time. I still have a long way to go when it comes to learning Korean and unfortunately, I will not be here next semester to get this SDLC class, but I will do my best to study alone and achieve my goal that is to score well on the exam next year.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TNKw4kJ5f_IuqRx6ODibLF82P3s9WWcE/view?usp=drivesdk

I was looking at my photo gallery on my phone, and I found pictures from the BTS concert in Brazil in 2019. BTS (Bangtan Boys, 방탄소년단) is one of the most popular K-Pop groups worldwide. It consists of seven boys: Kim NamJoon, Kim SeokJin, Min YoonGi, Jung HoSeok, Park JiMin, Kim TaeHyung, and Jeon JungKook. They became famous because of their lyrics that talked about self-esteem and self-love. I went to their concert in São Paulo on May 25th, the first day of the two-day shows. It was the first, and it is still the only time I have been to a K-Pop concert. My expectations were high, and, indeed, it was one of the best days in my life. Being a K-Pop fan is sometimes hard because people try to demotivate you. They say in a pejorative way that K-Pop does not have good songs or that this genre is made for little girls. There is no problem if little girls are listening to it. K-Pop is for people of all ages, genders, sexual identities, ethnicity, and colors. That is what makes K-Pop so incredible. Being for the first time close to a crowd, I could feel freer to be who I am. That crowd understood how being a fan can change your life and even make you a better person. Before the show started, I talked to a lot of people waiting in the queue. There was a sense of identification and belonging. We were so excited and happy to be there that we sang their songs played in the stadium before the show.

B-ARMYS (Brazilian BTS fans) SINGING IDOL BEFORE THE SHOW - BTS in BRAZIL DAY 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cri1HvtINZo

I think one of the best moments was Jung HoSeok's solo. He is the rapper and main dancer of the group, well-known for always being a positive person and bringing hope to their fans. His artistic name is J-Hope. He is my "bias," which means he is my favorite person in this boy group. He is also my "ultimate bias (utt)," which means he is my favorite idol in the whole K-Pop industry, including female, male and mixed groups and solo artists. His solo song is named "Trivia 起: Just Dance," and it talks about dance as a natural conversation and how you can fall in love with someone the same way you fall in love with dancing.

[BTS in Brazil - Day 1] 'Trivia 起: Just Dance' (Full Performance):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVYZdIh-pFo

K-Pop idols must be complete artists, knowing how to sing, dance, make rap, have a beautiful face and body, have good personality and behavior, etc. They have to be perfect, and sometimes this can be harmful to both the artist and its fans. Nobody is perfect, and we should accept this. We should not spread hate, mainly related to the person's color and physical characteristics. We are all beautiful beyond beauty patterns. BTS is one of the K-Pop groups that talk about this issue. Their speech in the United Nations is something that should be listened to for everyone. I am very glad to be part of this fandom.

BTS' Speech at the United Nations (Full Speech from 2018):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhJ-LAQ6e_Y

Besides BTS, I will also highlight one of Hwasa's songs. She is also a K-Pop singer and she talks about how beauty and personality standards should not stop you to follow your dreams.

[MV] Hwa Sa(화사) _ Maria(마리아):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDukIfFzX18

I finished reviewing the book "Integrated Korea - Beginning 2". Last Saturday morning, I had my first class at the Italki app. My professor's name is Jessi (Korean name 보경정). She will help me improve my abilities in writing in Korean so I will be able to do well on the TOPIK exam. The TOPIK exam (한국어능력시험) is the proficiency test in Korean. I had already taken TOPIK 1 and got level 2 in Korean.

Now my focus is to apply for TOPIK 2, which goes from level 3 to level 6. My intended level is level 4. This level is the minimum required for graduate and post-graduate students. The main difference between levels 3 and 4 is the Writing section. If your writing is academic and shows that you know how to articulate all the grammar and vocabulary you know, you will probably do great at universities in South Korea. I think Listening and Writing are the most challenging section of the TOPIK exam. The audios go fast, and you have to read and answer the questions at the same time you are listening. It is a non-stop activity that makes you tired and over alarmed. Writing is always difficult because it implies a good knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and sentences structure.

I also borrowed a book from the Global Studio called Complete Guide to the TOPIK: II Intermediate - Advanced (new edition). This book explains the different parts of the exam and analyzes them. It shows the types of questions, their patterns, and it gives key strategy solutions and explanations for each one. It also has two Practice Tests. For this reason, it will help me to understand my strong and weak points related to this exam. I will start studying this book next week, and I will try to finish using it in a maximum of three weeks.

I went to New York during Fall Break and I bought two books written in Korean. One of them is "시가 사랑을 데리고 온다". Its name does not have an English version yet, but it can be translated to "Poetry brings love." It was written by Na Tae Joo (나태주), a poet famous for his poem called "풀꽃," (Glass Flower). Here is the poem:

"It starts to look pretty when I look closely
It starts to feel lovely when I watch it long
And so do you."

Korean version:
"자세히 보아야 예쁘다
오래 보아야 사랑스럽다
너도 그렇다."

I bought his recently published book and, for this reason, there is no version in English yet. My Korean friend told me some words Na Tae Joo utilizes are not common since it is poetry. I selected a random poem for us to read together, and she did not know one of the words, even though she is Korean and has lived her entire life in South Korea. I want to read this book slowly. I will not read this one now, but during vacations. The other book I have bought was "그냥 흘러넘쳐도 좋아요." The translation can be "It's okay if it just overflows." I have not searched about this book's content yet. I bought it because it looked curious and I am looking forward to reading it.

During this past week, I learned about Nam June Paik (남준백), the Korean artist known as the father of video art. He was born in South Korea in 1932 and had his first art exhibition, called “Exposition of Music - Electronic Television,” in Germany in 1963. He dedicated one of the exhibition rooms to new inventions with the TV equipment. At that time, no one had ever thought that TV could be used for any other purpose than mass transmission. He used 13 televisions and manipulated them to present deformed images or sounds in the form of an image. At the time, television was still an object of luxury and its use was only for mass distribution. The idea of ​​using TVs as a kind of art was not even imagined by the most revolutionary artists of that time. At a time when live global broadcasting was not possible, Nam June Paik was directing “Good Morning, Ms. Orwell,” a live show for the cities of New York, San Francisco, and Paris. In addition to being an innovator in art, he was able to anticipate these technological revolutions that are now fundamental to life in the 21st century. “Good Morning, Ms. Orwell” was the world's first artistic satellite video art broadcast in 1984. It is an hour-long program with music and video art presentations in English and French. I was searching for his works because I needed to write a blog about Korean and Art. In his works, he seeks to transmit the idea of ​​a connected and decentralized world. I found out that some of his works are in the Washington DC museum. When I go there, I will definitely visit the museum. I like the way he mixes art and technology and I hope to know more about this artist when I go to the museum. One of his works is called Superhighway. It is the work being shown in the first picture below. The other work is called Megatron/Matrix. Several TVs together form different kinds of images. Both works are in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. I particularly identify with the works of Nam June Paik, because I'm not European either and I feel that art from other countries is always underrated.
Today I went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and there was a section called "American Art". I am American, but I am not from the United States. I'm Brazilian. I expected to see art from across the American continent, but I only saw art produced in the United States. The African and Asian sections were very small. In contrast, the European session was huge and separated by a period. I believe that to this day we continue to struggle to have more representation in everything, including art.

Changing the subject, this week, I'm going to start watching the Korean series that is famous around the world. The name is Squid Game. Also, I couldn't go to the Korean church today, but I will go after Fall break.

I am currently reviewing the basic Korean grammar by using the book "Korean Grammar in Use - Beginner." I will finish this review this Tuesday, and then I will start reviewing the intermediate-level Korean grammar with "Korean Grammar in Use - Intermediate." The grammar rule I think I needed to revise the most was "Verb- 자마자." V-자마자 indicates that something occurs immediately after the end of some event or action. I used to place 다가 every time, but 다가 means that an action is happening while another one is in course. 자마자 can be translated to "as soon as" in English. So 집에 오자마자 잤어 means "I slept as soon as I went home" while 집에 오다가 잤어 means "I slept while going home."

Every week, I watch 10 minutes of 남자친구 (Encounter), a K-drama about a CEO and her life. I watch it on Viki website, using the learn-mode option. The learn-mode allows people to watch the drama with 2 subtitles at the same time: the first one is Korean and the second one can be any language they have subtitles for. We can click on the Korean words to know their specific meaning and, in this way, we can learn new words and how to use them in a sentence. 

I have already watched this K-Drama before, and that's why I selected it as the drama I want to watch while studying. The story revolves around Cha Soo Hyun, the owner of a hotel chain whose life is disrupted by reporters. Her father is a politician, and she married a guy from a powerful family to help her father in his career. The story starts when she is already divorced and goes to Cuba to close a deal and build a hotel in Cuba. Her ex-husband's family is still a burden to her life, and she lives a life hiding from reporters and not being happy. Everything changes when she meets a man in Cuba. He is younger than her and has a different way of dealing with the upcoming problems.

Next Sunday, my Korean professor and I will go to the Lord Jesus Korean Church to watch an English Ministry service. There, I will talk to them and ask about their events. I want to practice my ability to communicate with people older than me in Korean, so I will try to approach someone and have a simple conversation. After it, we will walk in Richmond city and maybe go to some cool place to eat and chat. I will search for Korean restaurants. I will try to speak Korean during this whole time with my professor. These days, she introduced me to a Youtube channel called "영국남자 - Korean Englishman." This channel was created by two English men and talks about different aspects of Korean culture. I am also currently watching the K-drama "Hometown Cha Cha Cha," and we will talk about it next Friday. Last class, she brought some news for me to read and circulate the words I did not understand. I will try to use Italki to have some lessons this week. I have never tried to use this app before.

One of the best ways to learn a new culture is by looking at their art, the way that society expresses in literature, visual arts, cuisine, and so on. Thinking about this, I decided to bring Heo Nanseolheon (허난설헌). She is a poetess who lived during the mid-Joseon dynasty in Korea. During the Joseon Era, Confucianism was the main religion and the predominant way of thinking. Confucianism preaches a clear division of the roles of women and men. For this reason, during the Joseon Era, it was not common to see women dedicated to reading and writing. Heo Nanseolheon appeared, then, as an exception to the rule. At the age of eight, she wrote a poem that impressed her elders and came to be called a prodigy. She is also the sister of Heo Gyun, the alleged author of one of the great classics of Korean literature: Hong Gildong. Her brother started to market her poems in China. These poems became popular in both China and Japan. Despite this, due to Confucian beliefs, their poems did not gain notoriety in Korea. She only began to be recognized as an artist after the Joseon period.

At the same time, Shin Saimdang was the role model woman, exalted by Korean society. She was seen as an artist, but mainly as a good mother, able to raise a male child with dexterity. A woman considered ideal by the standards of Korean society at the time was a woman who never left home, just caring for the home and children. Women always had to obey a man, being first their father, then their husband, and lastly their male child. Heo Nanseolheon, for breaking all these patterns, has been frowned upon throughout her life. She was married when she was 15 years old and she died at the age of 26. None of her children survived and she has never got along with her husband and her in-laws. After her death, all her drawings were burned, leaving only one. Many of her poems were kept due to her brother's zeal and their commercialization in China. I recommend to my colleagues to watch the video below, where I got a lot of the information. It contains interesting reflections on the life of Heo Nanseolheon and also tells a little bit about Shin Saimdang. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=G29uPDxFcus&feature=youtu.be

I would like to present one of her poems: Poor Woman Chants (빈녀음)

"Though my countenance is as good as those of others,

Also are knitting and weaving skills,

As I grew up in a poor family,

No matchmakers come to me.

Though cold and hungry, I never appear to be so

But weave next to the window all day.

Only my parents think of me with sympathy,

So what neighbors will sympathize with my feeling?

Though the night is deep, the weaving hand does not stop,

The sound of loom tinkers lone.

This one garment weaved from the loom.

Of which bride would this be?

As I cut the garment with a pair of scissors,

The fingertips are breathed on in a cold night.

Though the wedding garment takes day and night,

This body of mine sleeps curled every year."

- Link: https://m.blog.naver.com/PostView.naver?isHttpsRedirect=true&blogId=globalkorea7&logNo=90143529631

It is really interesting to learn more about Korean history and also about Korean women. In a predominantly male story, it's important to look carefully at people who appear and who don't appear in the history books and why. We know a society better by knowing the kind of exalted people and the kind of people who were disowned. While researching the subject, I found that a ballet group created a creative performance inspired by the story of Heo Nan Seol Heon and another important figure in Korean history. The performances were from the 7th to the 9th of May and unfortunately, I wasn't in the US at that time. (Link: https://washingtondc.korean-culture.org/en/1134/board/897/read/108303)

I will continue looking for more information on the subject. This week, I combined art and history to learn a little more about Korean culture.

I am an exchange student from Brazil and I will be here for just one semester. I started learning more about Korean culture at the end of 2017 when I watched my first Korean drama and also became an "Army" (BTS fan). Since then, I have joined in several Writing Contests related to Korean politics, literature, and entertainment. I have already worked as a waitress in a Korean restaurant. All of those things helped me to learn more about Korean culture and increase my interest in the country. My favorite Korean foods are Jaeyook Bokkum and Haemul Pajeon. I have already been in a K-Pop concert in 2019. I am always trying to find new things related to Korea in my own country.  At the moment, I work in a Brazilian-Korean magazine, which focuses on bringing news about K-Pop, K-Drama and K-Sports to its audience. I am majoring in Film Studies and planning on working on a mass cultural series, maybe as a screenwriter.

I have been studying Korean since 2018 when I decided that I would try to get a scholarship to get a Master's degree in South Korea. The most difficult issue about studying Korean in my home country is that I did not know any Koreans with whom I could practice. Also, I had to focus on my studies from university and on my work. Because of that, I did not dedicate too much time to practicing what I had learned. I hope that having Korean as a current class here will help me to focus on strengthening my speaking skills. I will focus on reviewing the main grammar points using the "Grammar in Use" book trilogy. Korean dramas will also be an important tool for my learning. I will watch some series` episodes, write down some words and expressions that I do not understand, and also rewatch the same episode how many times I think it is needed. With my Korean partner Vivian and my Korean friend Yujin, I am going to try to speak casually in Korean about everyday topics.

The most difficult thing in the Korean language for me is the sentence order. Portuguese sentence order is "subject+verb+object", while the Korean one is "subject+object+verb". It can seem easy at first sight, but in a long sentence, it is really difficult to reformulate the order's sentence. The various ways to end a sentence are also something that makes me confused when speaking. We have to use some specific types of words depending on the formality of the speech. So when I am speaking to my friend, I need to say 나 instead of 저 if I am not being formal. I must also use the 아/어요 ending. Because of that, I sometimes say 나 and use the ending 아/어요 and vice-versa. It is really difficult to speak to an older person because I do not know any Korean who is older than 30 years and wants to speak Korean with me. For this reason, I will try to reach out to some of the Korean-American friends I have met here to see if they know a place I can practice speaking formal Korean 높임말.