I liked the presentations of all my classmates, I thought it was a fun and informative way to learn about aspects of Korea and Turkey that I did not know about it before. The presentations pushed me to examine more about historical, economical, and cultural differences in American culture and the target cultures. For example, I learned the KPOP culture in Korea is very important, in a way that Hollywood is to us. KPOP in Korea influences the style, the slang, and the fashion in Korean culture.Groups like EXO and BTS dominate social media, and kids across Korea try to emulate and follow the influence and fashion of these groups. There are videos of KPOP stars all over Instagram and YouTube doing mundane things like dancing or laughing, brushing their hair, and KPOP fans adore and continue watch these videos in the millions. This is fascinating to me, as the closest thing we have to do this probably die hard Taylor Swift and Beyonce fans in America. Though, I don’t think it's on the same level as the KPOP fans in Korea.
I also learned about Korean history, such as the fact that the Japan occupied Korea from 1910-1945. I never knew that Japan and Korea’s histories were intertwined and this came as a shock to me. When I was listening to one of the presentations, I learned that Japan had a harsh military occupation in Korea, and to this day some Koreans still harbor some resentment over the suppression of their culture and freedom. Though after some further research, I learned that some Koreans have mixed feelings about the occupation, as modern Korea was created during this period. Japanese occupation brought in unexpected technological development and advances that Koreans cannot deny. So, it is differently a mixed bag of feelings, and I would love to hear more about this for the next presentations.
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