I learned a lot from the Cultural presentations the class gave. I especially learned about the difficulties a student faces in Korea. For example, the presentation on the job application process was shocking. It was hard to believe that adults in Korea must go through so many processes just to become an unpaid intern. The suicide rates reflected the difficulty of the application process. It made me wonder why students have not rioted against this application process. The exams middle school students must take was another shocking discovery. These presentations made me wonder how young people in Korea have not had riots or rallies to change the situation. I want to know study the psychological effects produced by the schooling and the job application process.
I learned a lot about my cultural topic. I focused on stringed traditional instruments used in both North and South Korea. I was amazed to see how much effort and time goes into making some of the instruments. The work put into it reflects the importance of traditional music for some of the South Koreans. I cannot say all because traditional music is not something everybody in South Korea is interested in. The variability in stringed instruments alone amazed me because these instruments were developed so long ago. For example, each piece of the gayageum has to be made separately using different materials. If the main body of the gayageum is not dried properly, the sound would differ drastically. I was happy to see that these traditional instruments are being brought back to life by people who use them to do covers of modern day songs. This way, traditional music, which is a language in a way, will not die out. Hence, traditional music culture will be able to live a little longer.
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