Blogs

             For this cultural post, I decided to focus on the stigma around single parents in South Korea.  A 2018 survey of 2,500 single parents revealed that 51% were single mothers, around 21% were single fathers, and the remaining number were kids raised by other family members (Kim 2019).  A shocking 80% expressed financial distress, the cause of which is said to be the South Korean government’s financial aid system.  There are strict requirements in terms of age and income, including the income of the parent’s family, which dictates the small monthly assistance payment of around 115 USD.  Additionally, around half of the 84% of single parents who are employed work 10-hour days, and 16.7% don’t have regular days off.   Asian Boss did a dual episode focus on single mothers and single fathers and the hardships they face on a day to day basis (2020).  They interviewed a woman, Moon Jung, who told her story about how she became a single mother.  In her instance, her boyfriend was physically and emotionally abusive, even after realizing she was pregnant.  She decided to leave him but was very unsure of how she was going to support herself and her son financially.  Unfortunately, she didn’t receive any aid from her ex-boyfriend or friends/family.  When her son was old enough to start daycare, she was able to work full-time, but had to take a few days off in a row whenever her son got sick.  The company would soon force her to quit.  Despite her desperate situation, it was very difficult to receive aid from the government.  After her third application, she was eventually approved.  She says that although many single mothers have supportive families who can help them, there is a considerable number who have nowhere to turn. 

              After watching the video about single fathers by Asian Boss, I realized one critical difference between them and single mothers (2019).  Single fathers have to file a lawsuit to legally obtain a birth certificate with a Social Security Number for their child so they can receive health insurance and be registered for childcare.  This is a very long process, so during this time, the child lives without the same benefits as children with both parents.  Before Kim Ji-Hwan had registered his daughter’s birth, she got sick and had to receive a two-week hospital treatment amounting to around 7,000 USD.  He was unable to work so he could stay by his child’s side and ended up selling his possessions and took out a private loan to pay for the hospital bills.  Now that his daughter is six years old and can be in school, Ji-Hwan works part-time as a driver and does some freelance work as well.  He makes just enough for him and his daughter to get by comfortably and contributes any remaining money to the organization he started.  It was originally for single fathers, but many single mothers have joined as well.  The organization aims to create a community for single parents, so they know they have the support of others and do not deserve to be discriminated against.  Within the community, some parents can offer to watch over other kids so their parents can go to work.  Parents can donate clothes their children have outgrown and provide some basic food for other parents using any extra money they make. 

              There is a similar organization that has a broader base with the aim of supporting single mothers called KUMFA (Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network).  They create a community for single mothers, so they have an emotional support group (Babe 2018).  They also provide essentials and fund short trips for parent-child bonding.  These are especially appreciated during national holidays when most people visit their families (married couples visit the husband’s family).  Most of the women who are a part of KUMFA have been rejected by their families and don’t have anywhere to go during this time.  Korean society is still quite conservative and although people are becoming more progressive, there is an underlying stigma around single parents.  Some grandparents refuse to help support their grandchildren and push for them to be put up for adoption.  Organizations such as KUMFA and Ji-Hwan’s smaller-scale support group are not only helping out single parents financially but are beginning to change how the Korean society treats them. 

Citations

Babe, Ann. “The Stigma of Being a Single Mother in South Korea.” Women's Rights | Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, March 1, 2018. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/stigma-single-mother-south-korea-180226144516720.html.

Being a Single Father in Korea. Asian Boss, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=486bxVeDpIo.

Being a Single Mother in Korea. Asian Boss, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZh_eTRWCMs.

Kim, Jae-heun. “Single-Parent Families Suffer Financial Difficulties.” TheKoreaTimes, April 11, 2019. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/04/119_267020.html.

Podcast.m4a

This week, I repeated the routine from last week. Like in the previous journal period, these two weeks were also reading intensive. My language partner sent me articles again and they were very challenging to understand. However, I was able to completely dissect and analyze the articles after spending some time with them. One of the articles I read was about the confirmation of China's cover-up of death tolls in Wuhan. The Wuhan Municipal government stated that the number of deaths was actually 3,869, which is 1,290 deaths higher than what was originally reported. The city authorities gave a reasonable explanation for the gap in the reported numbers and actual numbers. They stated that many of the patients died at home because the hospitals in Wuhan were completely booked and did not have enough medical personnel to look after new patients. However, citizens are not very accepting of this explanation. They accuse the government of displacing the responsibility to the medical professionals and health care providers rather than taking full responsibility. In addition, Chinese media has reported that the number of urns ordered far exceeds the number of deaths reported. While more investigation is needed, we still cannot completely trust the released reports from the Wuhan municipal government.

I thought that this was an interesting article because it confirmed a suspicion that was going on for some time. I also took a questionnaire like last time, except I had to explain the article and answer questions in conversation format. The conversation aspect was different from the one from the last journal period because it was testing different aspects of my Hangul. I'm glad that I was able to talk about the article through conversation because I was able to practice it. Because of the quarantine, I do not have many opportunities to practice conversation. The questionnaire was challenging, but doable. While I was explaining, I would correctly answer the main idea questions, but misinterpret some of the minor details. I received a decent score with some constructive feedback, which made me not only glad, but also motivated and confident in reading more difficult material.

Another article that I read was about the abrupt decline in oil prices due to lack of demand for gasoline. This lack of demand was caused by government lockdown policies that forced citizens to stay indoors. Earlier this year, the price of each oil barrel was around $60, but now it is around $20. Because of this sudden decrease, OPEC announced that they would cut oil drilling by 9.2 million barrels a day in order to combat the sudden decrease in demand. Experts, however, state that this will not be enough to combat the decline of growth in the oil industry. This was an article that I was interested in because it deals with economic issues. Because I was interested, I was more attentive to the words and the interpretation of the article as a whole. I was able to use context clues to define words such as "petroleum", "economic decline", "slash of production", and etc.

Since my class sessions with my learning partner has moved online, the ways we can learn are pretty limited compared to before. This is because my language partner and I operate on different time zones as we live in different countries. Despite this, we try our best to improve my Hangul. For the past two weeks, my learning was very reading intensive because I asked my language partner to provide me with difficult material to understand, analyze, and discuss. One of the articles I read was about South Korea's achievement in stabilizing the Coronavirus situation. The article summarizes a conversation between South Korean President Moon Jae In and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. The Prime Minister congratulated and praised South Korea in its successful results in calming the situation. The President expressed worry about the situation in Europe at the time. The two leaders stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation to not only improve the economy, but also to produce a vaccine as quickly as possible.

The article was challenging to understand because there were a lot of vocabulary terms that I did not know. While I recognized some words from previously reading articles that deal with political issues, this article was simply on another level. It took me about an hour to read through the seven paragraphs. I made lots of mistakes when explaining to my language partner the meaning and main idea of the article. To test my knowledge further, I was given a questionnaire that would ask me specific questions about the article. I have to admit that I did not get a perfect score, but I was able to answer some questions about the two leaders' conversation. While I was proud that I received a decent score, I know that I need to work harder. 

Another article I read talked about the United States increasing pressure on South Korea to agree to the increase in defense costs. This news was released shortly after the South Korean government furloughed employees from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).The United States responded stating that it would compensate South Korea by stationing some of its troops there. This would only happen, however, if South Korea agreed to the Special Measures Agreement (SMA). The questionnaire for this article was challenging as well because I needed to understand what the military agreements were and their implications for the relations between the United States and South Korea. Unfortunately, I received a lower score on this questionnaire than the one mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Despite this, I'm glad that I am still being challenged despite living in uncertain times. While there are lots of room to relax, the intensity of study has not diminished as much as I thought it would.

In light of the pandemic that is going on right now, I have seen several videos about COVID-19 showing up on YouTube. One video that I came across was a video by the YouTube channel, Vox. The video I watched is called The big lesson from South Korea’s coronavirus response. As you can probably guess from the title, this video talked about South Korea’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Early on, South Korea was one of the first countries that had a major outbreak of coronavirus cases. This all began when a patient, known as patient No. 31, went to a megachurch in Daegu. After this huge outbreak happened in Daegu, Korea took immediate action in containing this outbreak. They did something called contact tracing. They have been able to test many people for the virus and have done such a successful job of containing it. They introduced one of the largest and best-organized epidemic control programs in the world. This system involves testing mass populations of the virus and isolate anyone who is infected. Beyond that, the government will trace and quarantine whoever had come in contact with the infected person as well. Although this sounds extreme, it has been very effective for Korea. Contact tracing wasn’t enough either. People who were infected may have moved through the city, touching doors and subway handles, which is another way that the virus could spread. In order to combat this problem, Korea traced the infected person’s footsteps and alerted citizens of their trail and where they have been. These alerts let people know if they have cross paths with an infected person so they can go get tested themselves. This may be giving people less privacy, but it has been a large reason why Korea has been able to contain the virus. Their efforts have led to them being able to test more people than any other country at the time. This has resulted in Korea not having to have aggressive lockdowns, like the ones we are currently experiencing in the United States. Through Korea’s efforts, they have been able to do something that many of the other countries have struggled to do. They’ve been able to bend the curve. I am very impressed by Korea’s response to this pandemic and makes me wish that the United States had taken proper steps like Korea did in preventing the spread of coronavirus.

I think that the way South Korea handled this outbreak shows a lot about their culture. I think that this has really shown the difference between Korean culture and American culture. When Koreans heard from the government about the outbreak, people were very willing to listen the government and self-quarantine, as opposed to some Americans who took it as a joke and had large gatherings. In the video, they mentioned how many Koreans value public health over their privacy. This is something that may sound absurd to an American, since privacy is so highly valued. Even after preventing the first wave of infections, Korea is still alert and taking precautions to prevent a second wave from happening. I think that this attitude by both the government and its citizens are something that is unique to Korea and speaks a lot to their values and culture.

Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE-cA4UK07c

I hoped to learn more grammar and review the vocabulary that I’ve been learning. I think I was able to complete these goals these past two weeks.

I have been able to meet with Professor Kim over Zoom for the past two weeks. Class began as usual with us catching up and talking about how our week has been. After catching up, we went into the material for class. Each week, Professor Kim has been giving me vocabulary tests. The vocabulary tests consist of vocabulary that we have already learned, as well as some newer vocabulary that I may have been introduced to during previous lessons. Recently, the vocabulary tests have consisted of words that apply to school. Some of these words include, “library”, “major”, “classroom”, and a bunch of other words that relate to school. From this vocabulary I have been able to talk about what I am studying and my major. There were also some verbs, adjectives, and question words. I think it is helpful that I am tested on vocabulary every week. I may not remember all of the words for that week’s vocabulary test, but after seeing the words over and over again each week, they eventually stick. This has helped me learn a bunch of new vocabulary, which I can use when speaking. Another activity that Professor Kim gave me was a reading activity. She sent me a worksheet with several sentences written on them. She asked me if I could read the sentence and tell her the meaning of it. I was able to read the sentence but stumbled on some words here and there. She corrected my pronunciation which was helpful. For the most part, I was able to figure out the meaning of the sentences but wasn’t sure about some parts. When I was having trouble, Professor Kim would walk me through the sentence’s grammar and vocabulary. That helped me figure out the meaning of the sentence. I think it was very helpful because I had another reminder of some vocabulary, and also had a better understanding of the grammar in the sentence.

For the past two weeks I have also been able to meet with Jannette. We’ve been working on keeping conversation in Korean. I think it has been a great way to practice what I learn with Professor Kim. I go into my meetings with Jannette knowing more vocabulary each time. I try to use the vocabulary I learn in Professor Kim’s class and use it in conversation with Jannette. Since I’ve been learning school related vocabulary, I tried talking about school. Jannette has been able to teach me new vocabulary that goes along with what I’ve been learning in Professor Kim’s class. I’ve been able to get more practice speaking and getting more comfortable. I think it has been very helpful and I enjoy practicing speaking another language.

In order to practice what I’ve learned these past two weeks I will continue to try to speak in Korean with some of my Korean speaking friends. I will also try to text them in Korean, as a way to practice my writing. I’ve also found watching Korean shows and dramas as a good way to expose myself to Korean, so I will continue doing that. I will look for more shows and movies to watch.

I think my strategies have been effective so far. I’ve been able to recall vocabulary better. When I watch Korean dramas and movies, I recognize some words, which is pretty cool. I definitely see the progress that I am making, which is really encouraging.

In order to build on what I’ve learned so far, I hope to continue learning more vocabulary and learn more grammar points. Watching Korean dramas and movies has been effective, so I will continue that as well. I have apps on my phone that help me learn vocabulary so I will continue using them.

Recently, I read an article on CNN about a 24 year old man named Cho Joo Bin who coerced at least 74 women, some who are minors, to act out demeaning sexual acts. For example, "one girl wrote the word slave above her genitals" while another was forced to "bark like a dog while naked". Cho has been arrested for "distributing child pornography, sexual abuse, blackmail, coercion, fraud, illegal distribution of private information, and sexual assault through illegal filming". The acts were committed on "Telegram", a live broadcasting app that operates like a chat room. Room hosts can choose to either publicize or privatize the rooms by adding an entry fee. Viewers pay the room host to receive videos of these girls. This issue received lots of attention as four million South Koreans signed two petitions that would pressure the legal system to deal the harshest punishment.

While the news is indeed shocking, this is an extreme manifestation of the ongoing issues of sexual harassment and assault that is present in not only these private chat rooms, but also in the workplace. In the past, citizens have protested illegal filming and harassment of women. For example, "tens of thousands of women" protested against the motels that hid cameras in their bedrooms and restrooms. This was an incredibly big issue in 2018. I've watched videos on Youtube of undercover activists who visited these motel rooms to locate and disable these cameras. This could only been done by an expert because the cameras were hidden very well within objects like a flower vase, remote control, sprinkler system, coffee maker, lamps, and etc. These activists would use equipment such as infrared detectors to locate metallic objects planted in walls and the previously mentioned objects and fixtures. In addition, South Korea also dealt with the scandal where Korean pop artists were arrested for illegally filming and distributing sex tapes among each other. This was an even more shocking news compared to the one in 2018 because it not only displayed acts of sexual harassment, but also an abuse of power over women by Korean pop artists and the entertainment industry. The news served as a tool that would disillusion many of the fans of the Korean pop industry.

An aspect of Korean society that exacerbates the issue of sex crimes is its lenient justice system. For example, an individual who distributes or possesses child pornography is sentenced to only one year in prison or fines up to $16,000. For comparative purposes, a person who is convicted of possessing or distributing child pornography can be sentenced up to 10 years of prison. I think the leniency is an issue because it does not provide enough incentive for distributors to stop their immoral acts.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/asia/south-korea-telegram-sex-rooms-intl-hnk/index.html

Recently, I've been watching "Heart Signal", a South Korean variety show about eight strangers who live together for a month to see if they can potentially find a romantic partner. Among the eight participants are four females and four males. Each participant lives out his or her life during the day and come together for the night in a luxurious home that comes with amenities such as automobiles, swimming pools, stunning views of the landscapes near the home, and etc. While on the show, the participants are free to go on dates with one another, but are not allowed to explicitly state their intentions until the last episode of the show. This rule creates a sense of anticipation for viewers and keeps them guessing about the love interests of the participants. This show has two completed seasons and an ongoing third season. After completing the first two seasons, I was able to understand the subtle ways in which Koreans prefer to express their interests to one another. I found the participants' methods to be somewhat different from the straightforward method that Americans prefer. Because of this, there were times when I was very frustrated with the participants.

As I was watching "Heart Signal", I began to wonder why there was any demand for a dating show like this. The show is edited to feel like a Korean drama. For example, the producers select background songs that evoke a certain emotion and choose participants who meet Korea's high standard of beauty. I began to wonder why the producers have to edit and select participants to such lengths rather than just selecting average people to be in the show. After researching for a few minutes, I realized that Korean culture tends to romanticize relationships not only because of media portrayals, but also because many Koreans in their twenties find relationships difficult to pursue due to stress from work and an aging society. Like Japan, South Korea faces an issue with employing younger individuals because the elderly tend to work longer than those in other countries. According to studies, 1/3 of South Korea's population will be 65 or older if current trends continue. Another reason why South Koreans in their twenties are not dating or getting married is that they find relationships too expensive to maintain. According to an article, South Korea's average wage was slightly above $30,000. For comparison, the average wage in the United States was slightly above $60,000. Considering that the average cost of a wedding in South Korea is around $90,000 , it's understandable, from an economic perspective, that South Koreans would forgo marriage. 

While "Heart Signal" may pull on heart strings of viewers with their romanticized edits, the show highlights an ongoing issue in South Korea. While the issue is somewhat trivial now, it will become a major obstacle for politicians and citizens to overcome. I hope to study this issue further and make some recommendations for politicians to follow to start correcting this issue. For now, I think that politicians should give the elderly incentives to retire and start restructuring their education system so that it trains their students to choose diverse areas of study to diversify the job market. This will lessen the competition within a certain industry and create jobs in new ones.

With only two weeks left, I cannot help but feel sad that I will not see Reba for a few months. She has grown to be a really incredible and kind friend and has proven to be an incredible instructor. Nevertheless, we should see each other during the fall semester of 2020, Just the other day I registered for SDLP: 111 Other courses, so Reva and I are planning to continue to meet in the fall which, I might add, I am beyond excited for (granted that school resumes after the whole “situation”). On another note, I am excited to have learned that there is an attempt/possibility that the University of Richmond will offer American Sign Language as a course for all students in the near future. Although my one-on-one time with Reba has been an amazing experience, I am looking forward to taking the course with other students! I understand that this may not happen during the fall 2020 semester, but even having this possibility for the spring of 2021 is an exciting thought. I would love to be able to practice my ASL with other students and discuss a shared passion.

            In addition, I think this would be just a great opportunity! I’ve known students throughout both my high school and college careers who have expressed interest in learning ASL, but who have never been given the opportunity! If the ASL could fulfill the general education requirement of language composition, I believe ASL could be one of the most popular languages at Richmond. Reba has not talked to me much about the possibility of class expansion, but she has expressed that she believes I am learning ASL at a really incredible rate. If I continue my studies during the summer, she would like to have me come in and assist her as a volunteer with some of the courses she will be teaching through the School of continuing studies

            Anyway, going back to our weekly meetings, Reba and I will meet twice a week an hour apiece.  We have gotten into a pretty steady flow of when we will meet and that schedule of our one-hour meeting. What normally occurs is that we will have around a 20-minute introduction talking about what happened over the weekend and asking how our lives have been. This serves as an opportunity to warm up my ASL skills, as well as ask about signs that I may not know how to sign and that was applicable to my life recap. The next twenty minutes consists of us reviewing words and questions that we have discussed in previous classes. For example, we will talk about our family relationships with each class, breakfast foods, board games, and several other topics. With each topic, I find myself trying to expand the complexity of discussion each week-adding new phrases, words, or thoughts. Thus, these 20 minutes also serve as an opportunity to expand my vocabulary. The last 20 minutes are usually dedicated to learning 10 or so new signs, plus a review and creation of example sentences. In addition, during this time, I will ask questions about ASL in general.  

Nowruz

Nowruz is the Persian New Year and marks the first day of spring, March 21st. It is also the celebration of the first day of the new year to more than 300 million people all around the world. According to the United Nations, this day has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.

A common set up for Nowruz in Iran

As the winter season dwindles down, millions of people look forward to Nowruz as they see it as the renewal of nature and the coming of a new year. In preparation for this celebration, people buy new clothes, families clean their whole house, including washing the carpets, curtains and cleaning the windows. People also take the time to prepare their gardens and plant seeds and trees. In Afghanistan, it's a tradition to plant trees in your yards around this time. Additionally, on the day of celebration, men and women go to the biggest religious sites in the province where a religious banner is raised. If this banner is raised without too much hassle and it is straight-up, people believe that a year full of good produce and peace is ahead. If it's the reverse, people see it as a bad omen. Regardless, this day promotes values of solidarity between families and their friends and neighbourhoods. 

Putting Up the Banner

Given the landlocked country that Afghanistan is, people don’t have access to much seafood. However, during this celebration, families get to eat fish at least once a year. In addition to fish, people prepare a dish called haft-sin (which literally translates to 7 S’). This dish is exactly what the name says because it is made of 7 fruits that start with S. This dish is prepared days in advance as it needs to soak all the fruit together for days for it to be ready. Just like the celebration, this dish too originates from the Persian culture. Additionally, families prepare traditional Afghan food where they get to eat with their relatives as they travel from one house to another. It’s very common for cousins to meet at one house and start going to a number of houses together where they will eat more food. 

People gather around the sofa (white clothe) to eat together

In addition to eating food and going to each other’s houses, people continue this celebration in one form or the other for about two-three more weeks. Most of the celebration that continues consists of people going to picnics with their families on weekends. These picnics are usually held at parks filled with greenery, at top of the mountains where tulips grow or by streams of water in suburban parts of the country. When my family went for a picnic as part of Nowruz, my dad would bring a lamb which we would kabob in a fire pit. Mostly, people bring their own prepared meals where they get to eat it together outside. Additionally, during these picnics, the kids walk around to pick tulips. During this season, Afghanistan’s mountains and lands are full of red tulips, which is also the national flower of the country. 

Tulips

Source: 

https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-nowruz-day

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/world/what-is-nowruz-trnd/index.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/reference/holidays/nowruz-ancient-festival-celebration-springtime-new-year/

Oral Cultural of Storytelling

The oral culture of storytelling is a tradition that goes back thousands of years. While both Iran and Afghanistan have this tradition embedded in their culture, I will mainly share Afghanistan's. 

Traditional Afghan storytelling is one that each Afghan child grows up hearing. These are stories of ancient heroic tales, legends, travel accounts, and myths that introduce children to a whole world of imagination. Usually, these stories are told late in the night where people, mostly close relatives gather at one another’s houses and share such stories around a tray of cups filled with tea. These stories are mostly told by the elders in the house as they are able to recall tales from their own lives and accounts of things that happened before most of the young people were born. For example, after my family had dinner, we would all gather in the living room where both my mother and father would tell us stories of legends such as Rustam and Sohrab.  Rustam is born into a royal family and is a legendary hero who is super strong as a child. When he is older, he has his own family and a son. However, Rustam soon has to go to war to fight his enemy.  He doesn’t know that his son Sohrab is part of the enemy’s army so he ends up killing him accidentally. It’s not until later that he finds out that he killed his son which causes Rustam to go into years of turmoil and agony. I am sharing a very brief summary here, in reality, this story can go as long as two hours to be fully told. Usually, the storytellers describe what the characters are wearing, who their families are, where they live, what their strengths and weaknesses are...etc. The details in this kind of storytelling paint a beautiful picture of the story in your mind. Additionally, these stories not only have a form of learning component and fun to it, but they are also an introduction to cultural values and politics. The reason for this is because most of those myths and legends are influenced by actual people who did exist. The wars that are described in these stories are legendary wars of the country where outsiders tried to take over. Overall, it's fascinating. While these stories can be told at any time, the winter season is the best season for storytelling. Days are too short and it's way too cold to get much work done. As a result, families spend more time together, sitting under the sandali (pictured below), eating dry fruit and sweets, drinking tea and telling stories. (Sandali is a table that we use during winter to keep warm. This table is covered with layers of blankets and in the middle of the table (underneath), there is a bowl of charcoals laid. This bowl produces heat and keeps your legs and your body warm. You don't put your head under as it will kill you though to monoxide.)

My own deep appreciation for this tradition encouraged me to do a project in the United States with illiterate refugee women. Working with refugees from countries like Afghanistan has taught me that refugees, specifically, women continue to face challenges in rebuilding their lives. They feel isolated and incapable of contributing to their new society when in actuality, they are remarkable women filled with rare and powerful experiences that give them the potential to positively contribute to their new communities. The main issue that prevents them from tapping into this potential is that these women are illiterate. This issue causes them to internalize the thought of themselves being worthless to their communities. I wanted to combat this mindset and use the culture of oral storytelling to provide them with the opportunity to feel welcomed, empowered, competent, and valuable regardless of their literary skill. Chai wa Dastan (Tea and Tale) is the initiative that I came up with to allow women to share stories of perseverance, strengths, struggles and hopes verbally in their native language. Most of these women are familiar with the culture of storytelling so instead of focusing on titles and heroes, we would share our own stories of who we are. (Unfortunately, this project as part of the Davis Projects for Peace got cancelled for the summer of 2020 due to COVID-19. I hope to resume this once again after things turn back into normal). 

Sources to check out : https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/journalism-oral-culture-homers-odyssey-tolo-tv

http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=10003

In order to write this reflection paper, I revisited my learning plan along with the notes that I took during the semester. In my learning plan, I had five major goals that I wanted to accomplish. My first goal was to write discussion posts analyzing and reflecting on the readings. The second goal was to get accustomed to type in Persian using the keyboard on the computer. The third goal was to become comfortable when reading text that is written in the Iranian Persian dialect. The fourth goal was to converse and deliver presentations in Persian in a formal manner. My last goal was to expand my knowledge on the history of Dari and Farsi by exploring and engaging in cultural activities such as listening to Persian songs, watching videos and reading poetry. Looking back at these goals, I am proud to say that I have accomplished all of them. I have significantly improved in my writing analytical reflections about the readings. I feel comfortable reading both in Persian and Dari dialects and I have a better knowledge of some aspects of my culture than I did before. And most importantly, I am proud to say that I am able to type in Persian now using the computer keyboard. When I started this goal, I did not even know where the letters were and what keys to press to get to those letters. However, today I am able to call that from memory. 

This past semester has taught me that I love languages and exploring its cultural component. I have really enjoyed diving deeper into the Iranian culture by listening to their music, watching interviews of their former royal leaders, and reading their poetry. I have realized that I really enjoy reading poetry and want to spend more time reading poems in Persian. While most of my lessons have been great, however, at times it was difficult to read news articles from Afghanistan. The news from Afghanistan is usually full of sad realities of life that can be emotionally and mentally stressful. So I tried to balance how much I read from Iranian news stations and how much I read from the Afghan news stations. But in regards to reading in both dialects, I did not have much difficulty. The most difficulty I came across during my language class was learning to type in Persian. It required me to spend about 2-3 hours outside of class to practice my typing so I can memorize the keyboard and type freely. However, it all paid off because now I have acquired a new skill. Given this, I will continue with my language lessons by writing poems in Dari and Farsi and typing it on the computer. Additionally, I will read news and articles on Dari on things that interest me along with what I see on the news. Lastly, I will practice my speaking via conversing with Zari in Dari whenever we speak again. 

The strategies that were most useful to me during this semester were reading articles, writing discussion posts, typing reflections posts, listening to music and watching videos. I found news agencies such as BBC Persia and native news stations very helpful in finding information to read and interact with. In class, I really enjoyed reading the article about how our brain handles languages and what parts of our brains are used for production and comprehension of speech. It was fascinating to see the different parts of our body to interact and work together to produce a sound. Another reading that I really enjoyed was about figuring foreigners out in which an important phase stood out to me that said something similar to “when in a new country, eat like the native people, dress like them, talk like them...etc”. This basically showed that if you want to learn a language, then it's better to dive in it fully so you can learn like a native. 

Going forward, what I would like to learn more about is the relationship between power dynamics and languages/dialects. One of our discussion posts was about what we would do if we had an approved grant for a project dedicated to linguistics. I wrote that I would explore the power dynamic between the dialects spoken in Afghanistan and the status of those communities that speak it. I think it would be fascinating research that would show the relationship between how a dialect or language may become as one of the major languages spoken and how this power dynamic can contribute to causing languages/dialects go extinct. Overall, this has been a wonderful semester, and I am grateful to both my language instructors for doing their best so I can have a productive semester.

This was the last week of our Persian lessons as we decided to use the next week to complete my presentations for the class. During this week, we revisited our learning plan and discussed where we started in regards to our language lessons. I remembered how during the first week, the main task that I worked on was my reading and comprehension. Zari had tested my reading level through reading news articles and posts out loud both in Dari and Farsi. We covered all the lessons that we had this far and discussed my improvements and progress over the semester. 

What I hoped to accomplish this week was to gain a better understanding of how my language partner saw my progress over the summer and what lessons I can take to move forward with practising my language. Zari and I went over our goals for this semester and discussed specific lessons in relation to those goals. Our first goal was to write discussion posts analyzing and reflecting on the readings. I realized that this was an ongoing part of our lesson in which every week I had an assignment that required me to write a short reflection in Persian. The second goal was to get accustomed to type in Persian using the keyboard and the computer. As of today, I stand at a great place with this goal as I am able to type at a faster pace and recall the keyboard letters in Persian from memory. The third goal was to become comfortable when reading text that is written in the Iranian Persian dialect. This was an easier goal to accomplish as with more practice in reading both dialects, it was easily solved. The fourth goal was to converse and deliver presentations in Persian in a formal manner. While we have not had any formal presentations, I am doing my short presentations in half Persian and half English. Our last goal was to expand our knowledge on the history of Dari and Farsi by exploring and engaging in cultural activities such as listening to Persian songs, watching videos and reading poetry. This goal too was accomplished as I have researched and wrote about different aspects of the culture and used similar tools for our lessons.

Then we covered the strategies that we used during this past semester. Those strategies were reading articles, writing discussion posts, typing reflections posts, listening to music and watching videos. We used articles both published by foreign news agencies such as BBC Persia but also Tolo News and Iranian news stations. The videos and interviews that we watched were on Youtube, Instagram and Facebook.  After our discussion, I found out that reading in both the Persian and Dari dialects have become easier for me. I feel confident when reading in these two dialects from where I started in the beginning. I also feel happier about diving into my own culture and paying attention to our dance movements and how they are a reflection of the words in the lyrics. I am most proud of my ability to type in Persian now. I was a bit concerned at the beginning when I made this a goal but I am glad that it all worked out in a timely manner. 

Overall, I am grateful to Zari and the Global Studios for this semester. It was fun and full of a learning semester. I find myself at a better place in regards to my language skills in Persian and will continue to read and type in Persian. Hopefully, I can develop a typing game in the future that would help others improve their typing in Persian.

June Choi

Dr. Soloway

SDLC 113

April 12, 2020

SDLC 113 Biweekly Language Learning Journal Post #7

            As the ways that I can interact with my language learning tutor, Jimin, are limited due to the remote learning situation, I have tried to find new, creative ways to improve my language learning. Some of the methods that I have incorporated include facetiming Jimin a couple times a week outside of our tutoring sessions just for casual conversations in Korean to help my Korean speaking become more like second nature. As Jimin is currently in Korea, she seems like even more of a native Korean speaker than she was before and has been keeping me up to date with the latest Korean trends and slang. Some of the new terms I’ve learned so far include “극혐” (extreme disgust), “갑이다” (the boss), “움짤” (GIF), and “금사빠” (person who falls in love easily). I feel like there’s a neverending influx of new slang that makes it hard for me to keep up, but I am thankful to have a tutor who is in the midst of it all. Learning these “hip” terms makes me feel more inclusive to Korean culture.

Some of our facetime sessions have also involved watching youtube videos or dramas simultaneously in order to recreate the feel of viewing something together in person. Lately, we’ve been watching a very popular Netflix K-drama called “Kingdom,” or “킹덤” in Korean. It’s a horror series that has a historical background set in Korea’s Joseon period after the Japanese invasions of Korea. The plot revolves around the Crown Prince Lee Chang who digs deep into political conspiracy to learn more about the spread of a mysterious plague that has affected the current king. This plague ultimately turns people into horrifying zombies, and I thought that the first episode was pretty terrifying that I was hesitant to continue. However, the intricate plot and the historical background of the drama kept me wanting to watch more. Jimin helped me decipher between what was historically accurate and what was not, which I thought was very useful. Overall, the new historically-based K-drama has been helping me learn more about the formalities in royalty, along with the different style of speech and language that was used back then. I also find the traditional clothing to be very interesting.

Lastly, I have also been keeping up with the Korean news, and recently I came upon an article that sparked my interest. The article appraised a live, virtual concert that is to include many famous American artists including Lady Gaga, Billy Eilish, Elton John, Charlie Puth, and last but not least, SuperM. This concert is to be hosted by Lady Gaga and is titled “One World: Together At Home,” or “투게더 앳 홈.” It is an effort to fundraise money for the healthcare providers helping people fight COVID19, as well as to appreciate and give thanks to the hardworking healthcare providers. I thought this concept was spectacular in the midst of this crisis, and was pleasantly surprised that SuperM (슈퍼엠) is joining. It is a Korean boyband that is part of the SM group. The article itself was not difficult to understand except for a few words that I had to look up online. It also included a lot of “Konglish” because of the American content that it was covering. Overall, I am pleased to have continued improving especially upon my Korean speaking as well as reading comprehension. I do, however, believe I need to improve my grammar more.

Afghanistan has over a hundred-year long history in journalism, but the route of journalism is still unstable and unclear. This cultural post provides a brief overview of the history behind journalism in the past and how it has weaved itself into the Afghan culture today.  

It was in 1873 when the arrival of the first printing press (Lithography printing) publications started, a response against the idea of British Colonialism in Afghanistan. However, it was forced to shut down soon after as it wrote in opposition to the monarch and the conservative religious leaders. Decades later, King Mohammad Zaher Shah declared that while "every Afghan has the right to express his thoughts in speech, in writing, in pictures, and by other means" it has to be" by the provisions of the law." What this accordance with the law meant was that without prior screening by state authorities, nothing could be published. At the same time, the King made sure to forbade any "matter implying defamation of the principles of Islam or was defamatory to the King."

King Mohammad Zaher Shah

In 1973, after Mohammad Daud led a coup d'etat that ended the country's monarchical system, the media and journalism fell into the control of Soviet influence during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet regime used the Afghan media for their purpose. However, just like other colonists powers, the Soviets too did not last too long as other groups such as the Mujahideen and the Taliban became in power. Until the Taliban regime, other groups did allow some form of media to operate; however, the press became very limited under the Taliban Regime as they saw it against the culture. They even banned having television or radio because of being "morally corrupt". During this era, the Taliban destroyed television sets and radios. They also punished those who were caught listening to music. 

Russian Invasion of Afghanistan

Upon the fall of the Taliban regime, in early 2002, a relatively free diverse media emerged. The new government held a national jirga (gathering) and declared a committee to develop law for media and start operating television stations. This was the start of a new wave of journalism in Afghanistan that would weave itself into the Afghan society more potent than ever before. Journalism became popular across the country and its social position rose considerably. 

The Taliban Regime

This populism did not stop the fundamentalist from attacking journalists. To this day, journalists live amidst challenges such as working within the culture, getting their work censored by those in power and having to abide within the religious framework. The other major obstacle in the way of journalists is a lack of security. According to Reporters Without Borders, Afghanistan is ranked second-worst place for journalisms to be. The reality is that at least about 10 reporters are killed every year. National security cannot assure the safety and protection of those dedicated in this line of work. Additionally, working in the red zones such as Kandahar, Helmand and the northern provinces makes it impossible for journalists to be protected as they become the number one target of terrorist organizations.

Journalism Today

Despite these difficulties, journalism has made its way into the Afghan culture, encouraging people to become journalists, including the women. In the past ten years, it has become easier for women to find jobs with media outlets. Most of the current television stations have female reporters and anchors. Given the rise in popularity to serve as journalists, the number of journalism students is also rising. Today, there is an estimate of 500+ students currently in the faculty of Journalism at Kabul University. What was considered as a stain on the Afghan culture, now journalism has become an essential part of the Afghan society; acquiring a better reputation in the Afghan community.

Female Journalists

Sources:

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~azizi22m/classweb/afgmedia/history.html

http://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2007-03-21-voa56-66770772/564215.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2016/02/targeting-free-journalism-afghanistan-160201102215331.html

https://www.ifex.org/afghanistan/2016/03/22/reporting_perils/

http://www.afghanistan-today.org/en/articles/54/338/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mo-scarpelli/post_5411_b_3785729.html

For my last cultural post, I thought I would explore a really popular topic that I have not yet really discussed, kpop groups. BTS is a kpop group also known as Bangtan Boys. They are a seven member group formed in 2010. The seven members include 정국, V or 태형, 지민, Suga, J-hope, 진, and Rap Monster or 남준 who is their leader. They were originally a hip-hop group when they debuted but now they have branched out to other genres with each member contributing to writing of the songs and directing the dances. They debuted in 2013 and became more well-known in the world in 2015 through 2017. They seem to be the most well-known Kpop group known worldwide at this moment. 

I learned that Kpop culture started with a boy idol group called H.O.T. in 1996 and after a slump started up again with the groups TVXQ and BoA who expanded to Japan. Since then Kpop has spread throughout the world. The most interesting thing about Kpop groups to me is that they work so hard to achieve the success and fame they have reached. They practice long hours, and work hard perfecting their singing and dancing for many years before they are able to debut. Some groups aren’t even able to reach the sought after success after working hard for many years. BTS is one of the groups that has been able to reach the success they have worked extremely hard for. Their group is especially special because everything they have produced from music videos to songs follow a storyline of the BTS Universe. Another special thing about kpop groups is that they will make videos specially to their fans which are a major part of the support system to success. Kpop groups will always thank their fans for the continuous love and support because without the help of their fans, it would be hard to reach any success. 

I think I learned about kpop shortly after I started watching Korean dramas. I would listen to their music and wish that I understood the language. The first group that I learned about was GOT7 who are similar to BTS in that they are a seven membered boy idol group. The difference with GOT7 is that they have three members who are from different Asian countries which made them especially special. The members consist of those from South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan. I think this was a good strategy to make them more well-known in those countries. It seems like the Kpop groups that have gotten the most success are the ones that have something special and unique about them. Kpop is also different from American music in that their music videos and dance have a story behind them or some artistic background to them. American music videos are very different in that aspect. I think the topics that are discussed in the songs are also different. A lot of the songs are mostly about love but American songs can be more about partying and other things like that. For the artifact I thought I would link a music video from BTS to showcase the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeFrLSkMm8  

During the past few weeks, the main task that I worked on was differentiating between formal and informal use of language. My language partner (Zari) assigned a few homework and lessons from the grammar book called Intermediate Persian: A Grammar and Workbook by Saeed Yousef.  The second task that I completed was working on my typing in Persian. I spent most of my time analyzing the difference between the use of formal and informal written and spoken Persian then took the time to practice my typing on the keyboard. 

What I hoped to accomplish this week was to improve my understanding of when to use formal language and when not to. As a native speaker, it’s very easy to find yourself speaking informally in a professional setting especially if all your practising is in an informal manner. So Zari and I took the time to understand and remember when it is necessary to use formal vocabulary. While in some languages, the difference between formality and informality may not be a big deal in language, in Afghanistan and Iran, it is a big sign of respect and etiquette. So regardless of where I live, it’s important to not lose a track of this topic. Here is an example of what I mean in regards to formal and informal use of language in Persian.

Understanding such differentiations can be very helpful when meeting new people, people who are older than you or when you are speaking in a formal setting. For example, if you saw an elder person, it would be disrespectful to say خودت  [khodat] or [khode tu] were referring to them as “you”. Instead, you should use شما [shuma]. While this rule is flexible for non-native Farsi/Dari speakers, it can be frowned upon if spoken by those from the culture. If you do end up using an informal word when it is necessary to use formal, one may reply saying “am I your child that you are speaking to me that way?” While this may sound funny, it actually is something to take in consideration. Certain formality rules also apply to when speaking to your parents. This again has to do with respect. 

After the completion of the tasks in the grammar book, I spent about 2 hours typing in Persian. I tried typing all the keyboard letters from memory. This exercise was for me to just focus on my typing and try memorizing the keyboard in Farsi. I have noticed that I am getting better in recalling where certain letters are at. I am still challenged by my fingers wanting to type the Dari phrases in English but it has been a great process. 

At the end of the week, my community partner and I narrowed some of our goals for the remainder of the year. We decided that we will work mostly on speaking and typing for the rest of the classes.  We have come a long way from where I first started especially in regards to my typing and am set for the rest of the classes. The upcoming homework that I have been assigned is writing about a topic of interest on the computer. The strategies that we used during this week were mainly through the grammar book and typing in Persian. I will continue to work on my typing so I can (hopefully) memorize where all the letters are by May. 

During the past few weeks, the main tasks that I worked on were writing, reading and speaking. Zari assigned a few songs to listen and watch. The second task that I completed was translating those songs from Persian to English. Then we spent most of our time discussing why literal translation of one language into another would not depict the real meaning behind something in its native language. The three songs that I watched were of Aryana Sayeed, Siavash Ghomeishi and Jamal Mubarez. The third task that I completed was reading poetry in Farsi. 

What I hoped to accomplish during the past few weeks was to critically analyze translation from one language to another. One of the major ways that I did this form of analysis was reading Persian poems and then trying to convey a similar meaning in English. The second way that I approached this task was to closely listen to Persian (Farsi/Dari) songs and try to translate it to English. The approach that I took into translating these items was by imagining that I would have to tell what this song says to a non-native Persian speaker. I have attached below one of the poems that were sung by Siavash Ghomeishi. What I learned from this experience was that it doesn’t make sense to translate word to word but rather one has to translate in a way that (sometimes) it requires summarizing or using other phrases to convey the true meaning of a song or a poem. For example, take a look at the stanza below which is taken from a Persian poem. If I were to translate word to word, it would not make much sense, however, to show what that would sound like, I am going to do that here. 

So when you read the word to word translation in English of the poem, it sounds a bit awkward and lacks the actual meaning that the poem conveys in Persian. So there are two things that need to be done in order to truly understand the meaning and value behind this poem. One is to summarize the poem in a way that brings the true meaning of what it says in the native language. Second, for those interested in Persian poetry, you have to dive into this aspect of the culture to understand the history behind Persian poetry and why certain types of words are used. Words like fountain, mirrors, fantasy and clear have many meanings that are beyond the common meaning in English. Persian poetry is truly an art. 

In a similar manner, I listened to the song by Aryana Sayeed (link below) and went through a similar process as the poem. All these were great exercises of the use of language in Persian. At the end of the week, Zari and I discussed the importance of these songs and poems in the native countries and how it plays a role in everyday life. I think once a non-native speaker starts understanding what songs mean in another language, that is one of the highest levels of proficiency in learning a language that can be achieved. It shows that you know what words mean, you can listen, understand and interpret it into your own language.

Overall, we are on a great path with our learning goals. The strategies that we used during this week were mainly through listening, writing and speaking. We used videos, poetry and songs for our lessons. These items can be found on Persian poetry websites and the youtube channel.  For homework, I spent a couple of hours listening to more songs and took the time to reflect on what I heard. 

Here is a funny example of what literal translation can do. 

Link to Aryana Sayeed's Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ZQ1PFTaCA

This journal entry is a catch up of the entry that was supposed to be uploaded for the latter part of January.  During the third week of January, some unfortunate incidents related to racism took place that caused an uneasy feeling among many students of color and international students. Due to my involvement in leading an open-mic discussion to bring attention to the weight of those actions and give students a platform to share their concerns with the university, I was not able to attend one of the scheduled language classes.  However, my language partner and I were able to reschedule another time to meet for class.

My language partner took the time to hear about the incidents on campus and the activism that students showed in response. Our conversation was in Dari/Farsi. Upon hearing the background story behind everything, Zari and I discussed the root of such issues and why some people may engage in certain racist actions. Additionally, we connected this conversation to the ongoing injustices that are taking place in countries like Afghanistan and Iran. Minority groups in Afghanistan too become the target of hate crimes due to their religion, identity or physical appearance.  Additionally, immigrants, especially those who are from Afghanistan get treated very poorly by the Iranian government. During the time that my family were refugees in Iran, they recall seeing a sign on the entrance of a park that said “No Dog or Afghan Allowed”. We discussed how experiences like this shape the people that we are and how we will go about standing up to racism and discrimination. This is similar to my experience and why I saw the need to speak up. I shared with Zari that most students who did speak during the Open-Mic were international students who came from countries that are associated with stereotypes. For example, my own country of Afghanistan is associated with terrorism and 9/11. While most Afghan people are not responsible for any of these acts, we have been criticized so much that we have started internalizing the feeling of being the enemy or “other”. 

Additionally, we discussed the pressure on immigrants to learn the language or the dialect of the host country in order not to be the target of discrimination. I am a big fan of people diving into the society of a host country to learn the language and the culture of that country, however, when the pressure is put on through racism, it’s never a great feeling for immigrants. The example that Zari shared was about the Afghan refugees living in Iran who are forced to speak in the Farsi dialect or they will get poor treatment for the government and most of the people. She said that sometimes even Afghan refugees get called names and curse words for speaking their own dialect. This reminded me of how different our dialects are seen in our native cultures compared to outsiders. While in the eyes of the world both Iran and Afghanistan speak Farsi, there is a great divide among these two groups. Afghan people would not agree with speaking the Farsi dialect while the Iranian would claim that they speak the “original” way of Persian. 

Overall, the strategies that we used during this week were mainly through conversation in addressing tough situations related to one’s identity and even language. I hope to get back into the learning plan next week.

Recently, my language partner and I have been focusing on endings that express emotion in phrases such as surprise or realization.  The two that we chose are very similar but have nuanced differences. Adding ‘네요’ after a verb stem expresses surprise or admiration while adding ‘구나, 군 or 군요’ after a verb stem expresses realization of new information.  The endings are differentiated by levels of 'self-speech'.  The ‘군요’ ending implies that the person speaking is talking to themselves or directing the speech at the situation instead of the other person.  These phrases do not prompt a response as much as those that end in '네요’.  While phrases with this ending are still considered self-speech, they more directed at another person, making it more likely to get a response. 

For example, let’s say your friend tells you they go to sleep at 9 pm every night.  One response to that would be ‘아,일찍 자는구나’ - ‘ah, you sleep early’ as you are realizing this new information.  Another response would be ‘와! 일찍 자네요!’ - ‘wow! You sleep early!’ which might prompt a confirming response like ‘네, 그래요’ – ‘yes, that’s right’.  What’s helpful about learning the meaning presented by these endings is that the emotion in the nuanced phrases is easily translated into English, making it easier to understand the implications and differences.  My homework is to write a couple of example sentences for each ending to practice getting the feel for the phrases and the situations that would warrant them. 

This week, I furthered my learning of Korean phrases by completing two lessons by Talk To Me In Korean that covered the difference between the particles ‘에’ and ‘에서’ and the different ways to use the word ‘언제’ - ‘when’.  Although I’ve had a general idea about the grammar presented in the lessons, there were some nuances that I hadn’t picked up on before.  There were also several useful examples of common phrases using ‘에’, ‘에서’, and ‘언제’ that I can see myself using in daily conversation.  Many of the phrases incorporate the past tense, and I realized I don’t have that much practice using it in daily phrases.  I’ve made it a point to review the past tense recently, so I was able to understand the example phrases quite well.  Some basic ones include ‘I went to school’ – ‘학교에 갔어요‘ and ‘When did you arrive?’ – ‘언제 도착했어요?’.  The lessons also provided some vocabulary to practice using in the phrases to get a better feel of the structure.  I find this resource very useful and I will utilize it in the future.