I was most interested in the wide variety of topics brought to the table during the presentations last week. The exclusivity of the French dictionary, the quality of consumer goods from Korea, and - my favorite - communal teeth brushing in Korea were all new concepts to me that I would not have known without the insights of our classmates.
One overall theme that struck me during the presentations was the value of consumerism and materialism in Korea. In both presentations on Korean culture, this idea was brought to the forefront in the emphasis on looking one's best at all times and the Korean government's requirement that all stores accept credit cards. I also thought it was interesting that these two presentations resulted in a discussion of the high rate of plastic surgeries done in Korea. I found this especially perplexing because, although my half-Korean step sister had plastic surgery while in Korea, neither she nor the rest of my Korean family seem overly involved in their appearance or material things. I also wondered during Nuan-nuan's presentation whether her description of Korean women "always wanting to look their best while walking down the street" was really all that different from the norm in the US. She mentioned that Korean women look at themselves in the shop windows as they pass by - something that I see all the time in malls in America!
I also enjoyed Wyatt's description of the French tendency to protect and extol their own culture and language because it is something I witnessed while in France. Not only does this play out in the uniquely French nature of their food, art, etc., but I think it also plays a role in the stereotype that the French don't like American tourists and have had trouble accepting immigrants into French culture. I have heard that it is very difficult for immigrants to assimilate into French culture because they are always stigmatized as distinctly non-French, a phenomenon that is eerily similar to Wyatt's description of the council that chooses which foreign words may be accepted into the French dictionary.
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