Hypothetical:
You leave work around or slightly before peak rush-hour. The narrow subway cars that remind you of cattle chutes because of how cramped they are plus the ambiguity of where they may lead makes the Metro a non-choice. That leaves you with the buses. Five buses provide direct service to your destination: 140, 408, 470, 471 and the 1005-1 with two types to choose from: regular (blue) or express (red; 1005-1). There are usually (99% of the time) no seats available at this time on the blue buses, but the express bus always has a seat open. Also, the express buses have a base fare of 1,850 KRW with the blue buses running a far cheaper 1,050 KRW. There is a digital billboard that provides the time until arrival for all buses. Yesterday you decided to take bus 140 because all other blue buses were 10+ minutes out, and the express bus was 9 minutes out. While you were 4 minutes out from reaching your destination, still standing in a tightly packed 140, with no stops before you disembarked, you saw the 1005-1 pass by full of open seats.
Standing at the bus stop tomorrow at around the same time you see that a blue bus again will arrive around 10 minutes earlier than the 1005-1 express bus. Which bus will you end up taking, the blue bus or the express bus? Why?
There are a number of factors here, and organizing them briefly will help us find a way to an answer. The facts are as follows: 1) you took the blue bus yesterday, 2) the blue bus is 800 KRW cheaper than the express bus, 3) the blue bus will most likely not have an open seat while the express bus will, 4) despite the 9~10 minute head start, the two buses will arrive at your destination at essentially the same time. While it was not said whether this was the first time for you to take a bus from this spot, however, given the intimate knowledge you have regarding the bus routes available from that particular departing point, it is safe to assume the choice described above was a repeated behavior. In memory formation, there is a concept known as re-consolidation. When confronted with a reminder of the past (in this instance a memory of a particular circumstance or situation), the original memory becomes "unstable" for a brief time. If nothing is done (differently) that memory will stabilize for a second time and will in turn become ingrained. Therefore, when posed with the same situation again, based on the previous memory of what action you took, it can be surmised that your behavior is also likewise "ingrained" and thus you will take the blue bus again.
Ok, that is obvious, but what is interesting to me is this: what were the original factors that influenced your decision to take the blue bus the very first time you were posed with this situation? Time is obviously the dominant factor, that is the belief that the blue bus, being 10 minutes ahead of the express bus, would negate the fewer stops and thus more direct and quicker route of the express bus. The other factor - latent I suspect - is the comparative cheapness of the blue bus. It gets interesting when the second confrontation of this situation occurs. Because then, the factor of time saving due to the earlier arrival of the blue bus becomes illusory - non-existent thus a non-factor - which then leaves cost savings as the de facto dominant factor that influences the final decision at precisely the time when the original memory wavers and is most malleable. So then, we are left with cost savings - and minimal savings at that - being perceived by you as a greater benefit than both guaranteed comfort and the knowledge that either choice will result in arriving at essentially the same time. Or, is Time still the dominant factor since you repeat the same choice, thus ingraining the original memory in its entirety (including original influencing factors) regardless of ex post facto knowledge of the original circumstances sorrounding the memory?
Interesting, huh? Ok, now that this intellectual masturbatory excercise has concluded, I'd say it's time to get back to work.
2014년 2월 24일 월요일
2014년 2월 23일 일요일
Pyeongchang 2018 Covered in Toxic Sino Ejaculate?
So today in a Bloomberg Opinion piece Adam Minter raised his criticism against China for pursuing its bid for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games to be held in Zhangjiakou city.¹ For those of you who don't know, that city happens to be located in Hebei Province, the most polluted province in all of China.
Ok. That is bad, but what about the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that will be held in Gangwon Province, South Korea? Seoul and Gangwon Province to be sure are right smack dab in the middle latitudes of Hebei and are separated only by the West Sea. So for example on a day like February 24th 2014, when winds from the northwest - and more importantly all the shitty ultra-fine and fine dust floating in the atmosphere around mainland China's polluted eastern coast (e.g. Hebei Province) - ride the high pressure system over the West Sea and mix with all the pollution already conveniently on top of the Korean Peninsula, the result is toxic air for Korea. To be precise the recorded high so far today (13:00) from Gangwon Province and Seoul in terms of fine dust is 203㎍/㎥ and 218㎍/㎥ with averages at around 111㎍/㎥ and 146㎍/㎥ respectively.² The recorded highs are both "very bad" according to the scale of fine dust levels that ranges from 0~201+㎍/㎥ with both averages falling in the "kinda bad" category of 81~120㎍/㎥.
As I indicated above, the host province of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics sits uncomfortably in the line of fire of these periodic Sino-ejaculations of toxic smog that seem to flare up in the Winter months for reasons I have mentioned in a previous post.³ While the argument will surely be made that the air levels are better in the mountain areas where the competitions will take place, even if levels are in the "normal" range of 31~80㎍/㎥, I can tell you from first hand experience from running outdoors during "normal" 76㎍/㎥ - on the side of a mother fucking mountain mind you - for a duration of no longer than 18 minutes at a speed of approximately 13km per hour, blows hard. From the yellow/greenish snotty discharge in the hours immediately following the run to the wheezing that lingers into the next day (full disclosure: I have had asthma since I was a child, but had not experienced symptoms as an adult, until now) it is no for those of us who are sensitive to toxic smog.
In conclusion I just want to take my hat off to Mr. Minter for raising awareness on the issue of China's toxic smog. At the same time, more attention should be paid to those nations that are affected by it as well, like by those same nations themselves! It kills me how Viktor Ahn (a.k.a. 안현수 선수) can become a top national agenda pursued by the President herself,⁴ but toxic smog receives mere lip-service from apathetic talking heads during the news discussed like some necessary evil that we should learn to live with (or more likely die from).
¹ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-23/goodbye-sochi-slush-hello-china-smog-.html
² http://search.naver.com/search.naver?where=nexearch&query=%EB%AF%B8%EC%84%B8%EB%A8%BC%EC%A7%80%EB%86%8D%EB%8F%84%ED%99%95%EC%9D%B8&sm=top_hty&fbm=1&acr=2&acq=%EB%AF%B8%EC%84%B8&qdt=0&ie=utf8
³ http://kayageetheworld.blogspot.kr/2014/01/air-pussy_4.html
⁴ http://news.sbs.co.kr/section_news/news_read.jsp?news_id=N1002238284
Ok. That is bad, but what about the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that will be held in Gangwon Province, South Korea? Seoul and Gangwon Province to be sure are right smack dab in the middle latitudes of Hebei and are separated only by the West Sea. So for example on a day like February 24th 2014, when winds from the northwest - and more importantly all the shitty ultra-fine and fine dust floating in the atmosphere around mainland China's polluted eastern coast (e.g. Hebei Province) - ride the high pressure system over the West Sea and mix with all the pollution already conveniently on top of the Korean Peninsula, the result is toxic air for Korea. To be precise the recorded high so far today (13:00) from Gangwon Province and Seoul in terms of fine dust is 203㎍/㎥ and 218㎍/㎥ with averages at around 111㎍/㎥ and 146㎍/㎥ respectively.² The recorded highs are both "very bad" according to the scale of fine dust levels that ranges from 0~201+㎍/㎥ with both averages falling in the "kinda bad" category of 81~120㎍/㎥.
As I indicated above, the host province of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics sits uncomfortably in the line of fire of these periodic Sino-ejaculations of toxic smog that seem to flare up in the Winter months for reasons I have mentioned in a previous post.³ While the argument will surely be made that the air levels are better in the mountain areas where the competitions will take place, even if levels are in the "normal" range of 31~80㎍/㎥, I can tell you from first hand experience from running outdoors during "normal" 76㎍/㎥ - on the side of a mother fucking mountain mind you - for a duration of no longer than 18 minutes at a speed of approximately 13km per hour, blows hard. From the yellow/greenish snotty discharge in the hours immediately following the run to the wheezing that lingers into the next day (full disclosure: I have had asthma since I was a child, but had not experienced symptoms as an adult, until now) it is no for those of us who are sensitive to toxic smog.
In conclusion I just want to take my hat off to Mr. Minter for raising awareness on the issue of China's toxic smog. At the same time, more attention should be paid to those nations that are affected by it as well, like by those same nations themselves! It kills me how Viktor Ahn (a.k.a. 안현수 선수) can become a top national agenda pursued by the President herself,⁴ but toxic smog receives mere lip-service from apathetic talking heads during the news discussed like some necessary evil that we should learn to live with (or more likely die from).
¹ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-23/goodbye-sochi-slush-hello-china-smog-.html
² http://search.naver.com/search.naver?where=nexearch&query=%EB%AF%B8%EC%84%B8%EB%A8%BC%EC%A7%80%EB%86%8D%EB%8F%84%ED%99%95%EC%9D%B8&sm=top_hty&fbm=1&acr=2&acq=%EB%AF%B8%EC%84%B8&qdt=0&ie=utf8
³ http://kayageetheworld.blogspot.kr/2014/01/air-pussy_4.html
⁴ http://news.sbs.co.kr/section_news/news_read.jsp?news_id=N1002238284
Supermen of Sadness
I guess we're all supermen and superwomen, now. So what's your super power?
Are you one of them whizzes who develops those confounded algorithamajigs that saves millionths of a cent a million times because you were able to initiate a trade or buy or whatever of millions of whatever a thousandth of a second quicker than a million other people?
If so, well then that's cool, it's just - how should I put it - after you die, computers, or robots with computer hearts, will probably do what you do, right? So you are the last superman of your kind. You will have just been a man; that is when people look back upon you from the future. Assuming that you will be remembered at all.
As for me? I am the Superman of Sadness. You heard me right, I see sadness everywhere.
In the 76 year old grandmother's eyes sitting behind the grill peddling spicy rice cakes along the side of the street. Or in the forced laugh of that highschool senior as he tells me he doesn't have an opinion on this or that or even that and that other thing. I even see it in the unfortunately located restaurant tucked slightly too far around that corner alley which specializes in so-so Italian cuisine, whose 55 year old owner is sitting in the window looking defeatedly out from the patronless space he sunk every last cent he painstakingly saved over the last 27 years of his life in the dream grinder that is a top-tier Chaebol.
I see sadness and feel sadness everywhere, always and forever. Forever.
But, when I am dead and gone, another Superman of Sadness will walk this earth!
Are you one of them whizzes who develops those confounded algorithamajigs that saves millionths of a cent a million times because you were able to initiate a trade or buy or whatever of millions of whatever a thousandth of a second quicker than a million other people?
If so, well then that's cool, it's just - how should I put it - after you die, computers, or robots with computer hearts, will probably do what you do, right? So you are the last superman of your kind. You will have just been a man; that is when people look back upon you from the future. Assuming that you will be remembered at all.
As for me? I am the Superman of Sadness. You heard me right, I see sadness everywhere.
In the 76 year old grandmother's eyes sitting behind the grill peddling spicy rice cakes along the side of the street. Or in the forced laugh of that highschool senior as he tells me he doesn't have an opinion on this or that or even that and that other thing. I even see it in the unfortunately located restaurant tucked slightly too far around that corner alley which specializes in so-so Italian cuisine, whose 55 year old owner is sitting in the window looking defeatedly out from the patronless space he sunk every last cent he painstakingly saved over the last 27 years of his life in the dream grinder that is a top-tier Chaebol.
I see sadness and feel sadness everywhere, always and forever. Forever.
But, when I am dead and gone, another Superman of Sadness will walk this earth!
2014년 2월 20일 목요일
Prelude to Spring in Seoul
April 20, 2013
So I just saw this. No, peeped would be a more apt past participle verb to employ in this instance. From my prime seating on the blue 408 bus - usually taken as a back-up plan to the express 1005-1 since it comes in fucking 20 plus minute intervals (thereby negating any express benefits unless the hand of fate decides to intervene on those rarest of rare occasions) - I spot them. Although a good 70~85 meters away, my blue-greens focus squarely upon the towering twin peaks.
For those readers who may not know, in Seoul, while not exceedingly rare - as say weed - exsquisite breasts demand attention of the highest order. How can I say this? Dear reader, these breasts were not locked down. By that I want to say that the fortunate transporter of said breasts did not constrict them in order to "blend in" with the local habitat. Unlike so many amply endowed transportors (and they are, like a valet of a stretch limo, merely carrying those marvelous expressions of perfection around from 'a' to 'b' for all to see; but I digress) who treat their otherworldly sisters not unlike how former generations of Chinese did in regards to women's feet - fucking disfiguring the shit out of them - this wise woman announced them to the world in their full glory.
A well worn, washed-out purple, high thread count cotton shirt, with the following words inscribed on the upper portion in what I believe to be Akzidenz Grotesk font: "NOT SILICONE."
All caps. Nuff said.
So I just saw this. No, peeped would be a more apt past participle verb to employ in this instance. From my prime seating on the blue 408 bus - usually taken as a back-up plan to the express 1005-1 since it comes in fucking 20 plus minute intervals (thereby negating any express benefits unless the hand of fate decides to intervene on those rarest of rare occasions) - I spot them. Although a good 70~85 meters away, my blue-greens focus squarely upon the towering twin peaks.
For those readers who may not know, in Seoul, while not exceedingly rare - as say weed - exsquisite breasts demand attention of the highest order. How can I say this? Dear reader, these breasts were not locked down. By that I want to say that the fortunate transporter of said breasts did not constrict them in order to "blend in" with the local habitat. Unlike so many amply endowed transportors (and they are, like a valet of a stretch limo, merely carrying those marvelous expressions of perfection around from 'a' to 'b' for all to see; but I digress) who treat their otherworldly sisters not unlike how former generations of Chinese did in regards to women's feet - fucking disfiguring the shit out of them - this wise woman announced them to the world in their full glory.
A well worn, washed-out purple, high thread count cotton shirt, with the following words inscribed on the upper portion in what I believe to be Akzidenz Grotesk font: "NOT SILICONE."
All caps. Nuff said.
2014년 2월 19일 수요일
Welcoming Solitude
What is most certain in our time? To my mind it is the "Always heading forward." The "where to" is not determined - not by a longshot - but, set in it's fixedness; that is the Certainty.
In such a time what thought is most radical? Is it not the unthought - that which is not thought? Namelessness. Silence. Not silence for something; rather silence awaiting silence. Silence that is ready for silence.
In such a time what thought is most radical? Is it not the unthought - that which is not thought? Namelessness. Silence. Not silence for something; rather silence awaiting silence. Silence that is ready for silence.
Post-Modern Progress
Ubiquitous Connectivity
How it shits on Life: Reason No. 63
You are crossing the Han River on February the 19th 2014; after leaving work early - which is to say on time - for the first time in ages. Traffic is not bad. The air quality is the best it's been in months. Slight cloud cover ahead but, you see this passionate, pale crimson hue tinging the sky in the west. Northbound, sitting in a two person seat, by yourself, near the rear door, you are about half way across the river, and you see the setting sun, again, for the first time since the long winter nights took hold; and... it is beautiful! Dipping half-way down the horizon and bold! This is beaut ~ ring ring ~ 아 여보세요? You try to steal one last glance, but alas, you are asked if you will come back to the office again tonight. Now you are on the other side of the river. And the beautiful is gone. Again.
Progress.
How it shits on Life: Reason No. 63
You are crossing the Han River on February the 19th 2014; after leaving work early - which is to say on time - for the first time in ages. Traffic is not bad. The air quality is the best it's been in months. Slight cloud cover ahead but, you see this passionate, pale crimson hue tinging the sky in the west. Northbound, sitting in a two person seat, by yourself, near the rear door, you are about half way across the river, and you see the setting sun, again, for the first time since the long winter nights took hold; and... it is beautiful! Dipping half-way down the horizon and bold! This is beaut ~ ring ring ~ 아 여보세요? You try to steal one last glance, but alas, you are asked if you will come back to the office again tonight. Now you are on the other side of the river. And the beautiful is gone. Again.
Progress.
2014년 2월 13일 목요일
어느날의 드라마 한편
에피소드 1
시간 : 퇴근시간
장소 : 370번 버스 (서대문 역에서 다시 종로로 돌아가 노선을 재시작하기 직전)
여승객 : (어색하고 조조한 미소를 풍긴 표정으로 일어나고 평균 잃었듯이 어렵게 뒷자리에서 기사님까지 걸어감) 죄송한데 혹시 광화문 지나갔나요?
기사님 : (루드하지 않지만 개무시하듯한 목소리로) 예~
여승객 : (마치 도듬거리 자주하는사람인데 왠지 이번에 단 한번만 도듬거리 없이 명확하게 말하도록 결심 냈듯이 몇 초 동안 준비해 보인데 동시에 다른 사람입장에서 보인다면 그 여자가 몇 초 동안 모음해서 완전 어색해 보임) 과.과. 광화문 다시 지나가세요?
기사님 : (여전히 개무시하고 아까처럼 똑같은 목소리로) 예~
나 : (기사님 얘기하자마자 정차하고 뒷문열고 서대문역에서 매일 하는 것처럼 아무 문제가 없고 기사와 그 여자에 대해 아무 인정없이 그냥 내려버림)
시간 : 퇴근시간
장소 : 370번 버스 (서대문 역에서 다시 종로로 돌아가 노선을 재시작하기 직전)
여승객 : (어색하고 조조한 미소를 풍긴 표정으로 일어나고 평균 잃었듯이 어렵게 뒷자리에서 기사님까지 걸어감) 죄송한데 혹시 광화문 지나갔나요?
기사님 : (루드하지 않지만 개무시하듯한 목소리로) 예~
여승객 : (마치 도듬거리 자주하는사람인데 왠지 이번에 단 한번만 도듬거리 없이 명확하게 말하도록 결심 냈듯이 몇 초 동안 준비해 보인데 동시에 다른 사람입장에서 보인다면 그 여자가 몇 초 동안 모음해서 완전 어색해 보임) 과.과. 광화문 다시 지나가세요?
기사님 : (여전히 개무시하고 아까처럼 똑같은 목소리로) 예~
나 : (기사님 얘기하자마자 정차하고 뒷문열고 서대문역에서 매일 하는 것처럼 아무 문제가 없고 기사와 그 여자에 대해 아무 인정없이 그냥 내려버림)
2014년 2월 12일 수요일
Thursdays
So. What's the deal when you approach an open urinal and, due to the fact that there are only two urinals to begin with, the guy occupying the other one all of a sudden stops his flow?
I'm talking stops - apparently out of some fear that has been with him since childhood, which he has somehow learned to fight, unsuccessfully - and so tries to start again but only manages an awkward drizzle-stop-drizzle-stop effort.
Finally, after soaking a Kennedy silver dollar sized area on the front of his beige trousers, obviously without having sufficiently emptied his bladder, he stuffs himself back inside borderline angrily, and then with a forced cough simply walks out probably thinking to himself, "Well, I'll try that again later."
Thursdays, I guess.
I'm talking stops - apparently out of some fear that has been with him since childhood, which he has somehow learned to fight, unsuccessfully - and so tries to start again but only manages an awkward drizzle-stop-drizzle-stop effort.
Finally, after soaking a Kennedy silver dollar sized area on the front of his beige trousers, obviously without having sufficiently emptied his bladder, he stuffs himself back inside borderline angrily, and then with a forced cough simply walks out probably thinking to himself, "Well, I'll try that again later."
Thursdays, I guess.
A Mountain and City
There is a mountain and a city. The mountain is the star and the city the backdrop.
Above all is the mountain's peak; ascending out of the mountain base the city is high too, but less so.
Solitude is up there if you seek it. Down here? No time for that.
Paths run through, up and down the mountain with hidden trails for all. Boulevards, streets and alleyways grid my city too, but they aren't for me or you, so much.
Even the air is better up there, except when the city makes it sick.
But.
Sparkling at night the city shines! The mountain must too, and was thus stabbed with a tower that now hypnotizes the city bats with brilliant LED hues...
Above all is the mountain's peak; ascending out of the mountain base the city is high too, but less so.
Solitude is up there if you seek it. Down here? No time for that.
Paths run through, up and down the mountain with hidden trails for all. Boulevards, streets and alleyways grid my city too, but they aren't for me or you, so much.
Even the air is better up there, except when the city makes it sick.
But.
Sparkling at night the city shines! The mountain must too, and was thus stabbed with a tower that now hypnotizes the city bats with brilliant LED hues...
2014년 2월 9일 일요일
Chicks Without Dicks
What's the deal with the leitmotif of chicks pretending to be dudes in popular(?) Korean tele-dramas?
Like for reals. Nowadays with SBS's < 잘키운 딸 하나 > or MBC's 2007 super-hit < 커피프린스 1호점 > starring 윤은혜 as well as probably a few or so other dramas that I am probably omitting, both female protagonists are compelled to conceal their gender for the sake of their entire immediate family's survival, no bullshit. The similarities don't stop there; it never fails that there is always a hetero male lead who, despite not having a single clue that the androgynous "male" is really a female, always manages to fall madly in love despite his deeply ingrained Korean attitude to view homosexuality as both socially unacceptable and personally repulsive.
In all likelihood, this is probably not a purely Korean creation. I am sure the Japanese thought of it first and had a more empowering story-line for women to boot. Something along the lines of a girl who pretends to be a boy in order to gain admission to a certain prestigious all male high school, or something to that effect. Now, why would I make such an assertion? Because I saw a Japanese porno parodying that exact plot line, that's why.¹
Ok, that said, for the sake of starting an arbitrary argument let us posit that the Korean contribution to this pseudo-social phenomenon is the creation of the 'conspicuous absence of a viable male bread winner' to serve as the plausible impetus for the gender concealment to take place in the first place. Again, this is in direct contra-distinction to the notion of 'autonomous female empowerment' that serves as the driving factor for gender concealment in the example of the Japanese drama.
Now then, let's move beyond the fact that the shared sexual affinity to androgynous males between these two nations could serve as a potential diplomatic plank towards reconciling historic animosities; instead let's focus on what light is shed upon Korean society, it's gender politics and just because we can how about we try to make a stark connection with life in general.
Obviously the deeply engraved subordinate role of women in society is the most glaringly obvious fact made clear through such stories; to the extent that as long as a woman is seen as being a woman she is for whatever reason thought to be incapable of supporting a family.
Boring.
This issue has been brought up over and over again, with no real change unfortunately.² It is easy to harp on the social strictures (both implicit and explicit) that reinforce the subordinate social role of Korean women: beginning with the resignation from birth that a daughter will inevitably "leave" the family to enter her future husband's family, to the "experiential points" added to men's resumes upon completion of their compulsory two year military services that potentially could give them an advantage during the interview process for a future job where applicants are "scored," all the way back to the subordinate role she will enter into after marriage to her husband's family where she will be at the mercy of her mother-in-law.
The interesting corollary to all this, however, is that any man in Korean society, regardless of how effeminate or actually feminine they either appear or act, is seen as no less a man within society at large.³ There is no denying that there are limits to how masculine a woman, especially a woman like 윤은혜 - a sex symbol if I may say myself - can hope to portray. In the diagetic world of the drama as well, no attempt is made to deny the lack of traditional masculine signifiers when it comes to the male guise the woman is attempting to inhabit. However, in the Korean context, as well apparently for the Japanese and most likely Chinese, it doesn't matter and moreover realism is not sacrificed because of it.
To repeat: Despite Korea's total lack of acceptance when it comes to homosexuality, straight men in Korea - because there is no alternative - have an amazing breadth and range of socially acceptable "gender personas" that they can inhabit. No one seems to have even come close to broaching a discussion, let alone a dialogue as it pertains to this aspect nor (getting back to the Korean dramas we were briefly discussing) the love that develops between the male protagonist and the other lead character who, except for the viewer, has only been seen, thought of and interacted with as a Korean man.
Despite all the talk in the US as of late of "equality" and "progress" in securing same-sex couples the rights that had been unceremoniously hoarded by the antediluvian union of Men & Women - and believe me I am happy that this change occurred - the one thing that hasn't changed is the incredibly narrow range of both gender and sexual orientation identifying behavior an average American is allowed to exhibit. I am sure it has been changing, slowly, but I still get the feeling that men who for example take an interest in fashion or engage in certain grooming habits are viewed by many (both men and women?) as being "gay." Likewise, homosexual men who due to this or that gender identifier happen to strike many who see them as being "straight." What's more, from time to time I see debates regarding "Queens" and the attention that they draw away from the other "types" of homosexual personas(?) that people self-categorize themselves into pop-up on my Facebook feed.
To be clear: labels abound in Korea regarding individuals; the difference being that no secondary sexual assumptions underlie the initial label. Someone who is well manicured, wears tight, kinda preppy clothes is a follower of 간지 style and is thus 간지. Full Stop. This doesn't lead to an association with Metro-sexuality nor does it lead to a tertiary association with homosexuality. Huge generalizations being made here, but given the scope of what this blog aims for in addition to time constraints, what do we have at base besides our experiences?
Experience implies eundo assequi: in latin, literally going and being underway and the attaining or getting to something along that way. The above mentioned Korean dramas go to the (unconscious?) extreme in indicating the broad range of experiences a man can openly embody (albeit incredibly indirectly); and the man doesn't even have to be a man! Actual case in point: 하리수, a well-known Korean transgender (formerly a man) who some people label an entertainer.4 5 Now obviously there is a lot of tongue in cheek action going on here now, but there is something seriously refreshing and liberating about the fact that every member of a particular gender (unfortunately here we are only referring to Korean men) can live on a level plain without worrying about falling into the confining and segregating netherworld that sub-assumptions tend to create.
Granted, the "level plain" is more like a heavily fortified kingdom occupying a rather large body of land; with access not granted to open homosexuals most conspicuously. Despite deeply imbedded and reinforced attitudes that de facto determine social inclusion/exclusion - or at least what we have assumed to be both deep rooted and reinforced - the lotharios in the Korean dramas we have been talking about, at least for a fleeting moment within the narrative, all witnessed those divisions evaporate instantaneously the moment they declared their unequivocal love to another man; before those arbitrary divisions appeared once more after finding out the true identity of the man they thought was their man(love). The metaphysical implications for each and every individual on this planet, let alone a "conservative" country such as Korea, are so close and immediate that most people tend to walk past them: human society and it's effect on shaping the most basic assumptions about how we should live can disappear in an instant, with such an effect being wrought solely by the individual themselves, leaving everything completely different then it had been up until that very instant, but still unchanged at the same time. In that moment the two characters were not man and man, nor were the man and woman; they were the Same in that they were truly autonomous individuals led not by culturally ingrained patterns, but by themselves as lead actors of their own lives.
Of course, most viewers of any mass cultural product tend to walk away with experiences vastly different from mine, let alone one another. Even purportedly "deep thinkers" may assume a critical stance via a social/behavioural psychological critique wherein they point out how such dramas are nothing more than the product of a repressive modern society which exerts unbearable sadistic pressure on woman to the point that in pursuit of their goals, which are not actually their own but the internalized goals of men/male society, they direct destruction not only against themselves but towards their own gender as a whole and in the most drastic masochistic act possible they completely throw away their own real life in the attempt to become half of a man. A more cursory glance may even elicit the observation that you don't see or couldn't see a drama where a man conceals his identity to become a woman let alone one where a lesbian romance resulted. All true, and all points interesting enough to at least get you an 'A' on your next paper in you Asian Studies class.
In the end, such criticism, whilst valid, and maybe in some instances even helpful, does not seem to be a great deal different from the material is seeks to criticize, because to put it bluntly: What the fuck do they really expect to change? The dramas that we have been talking about were made, and their plot lines recycled for no other reason than people watch them, a lot of people. And a lot of viewers means a lot of advertising revenue. Period. Maybe this then is the answer to why people merely offer criticisms of everything "new" based off of or supported by recycled theoretical apparatuses. Or not. I suspect not, actually. Now I just hope more than a few people begin to approach thinking and open there eyes to what is and what is constantly looked over and passed by. Maybe that's the deal with chicks pretending to be dudes on Korean television nowadays.
¹ Despite my best efforts to identify the JAV (Japanese Adult Video) serial number, alas, I could turn up nothing. However, there are a number of Japanese original creations that did apparently set off this chicks with no dicks trend. A few notable titles include 2007's Hanazakari no Kimitachi e based on the 1996~2004 Manga entitled Hana-Kimi. The Japanese were actually behind the Taiwanese who serialized the same manga in 2006 under the same name the Japanese used a year later while using the Chinese title 花樣少年少女 (presumably meaning the same thing). What is more is that Korea ended up serializing the SAME manga in 2012 under the name 아름다움 그대에게.
² See here: (http://m.news.naver.com/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=101&oid=076&aid=0002441944) and here: (http://ko.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%95%EA%B7%BC%ED%98%9C) for notable recent exceptions, however, as nothing has notably changed in society at large, I wouldn't advise anyone to hold their breath waiting for a change to occur to the status quo.
³ (See example 1: 2am's 조원 or example 2: 광희, example 3: 이종석)
⁴ http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harisu
5 Random fact, the current Korean word processor I am writing this entry on doesn't even recognize 'transgender' as a word. Extrapolate amongst yourselves.
Like for reals. Nowadays with SBS's < 잘키운 딸 하나 > or MBC's 2007 super-hit < 커피프린스 1호점 > starring 윤은혜 as well as probably a few or so other dramas that I am probably omitting, both female protagonists are compelled to conceal their gender for the sake of their entire immediate family's survival, no bullshit. The similarities don't stop there; it never fails that there is always a hetero male lead who, despite not having a single clue that the androgynous "male" is really a female, always manages to fall madly in love despite his deeply ingrained Korean attitude to view homosexuality as both socially unacceptable and personally repulsive.
In all likelihood, this is probably not a purely Korean creation. I am sure the Japanese thought of it first and had a more empowering story-line for women to boot. Something along the lines of a girl who pretends to be a boy in order to gain admission to a certain prestigious all male high school, or something to that effect. Now, why would I make such an assertion? Because I saw a Japanese porno parodying that exact plot line, that's why.¹
Ok, that said, for the sake of starting an arbitrary argument let us posit that the Korean contribution to this pseudo-social phenomenon is the creation of the 'conspicuous absence of a viable male bread winner' to serve as the plausible impetus for the gender concealment to take place in the first place. Again, this is in direct contra-distinction to the notion of 'autonomous female empowerment' that serves as the driving factor for gender concealment in the example of the Japanese drama.
Now then, let's move beyond the fact that the shared sexual affinity to androgynous males between these two nations could serve as a potential diplomatic plank towards reconciling historic animosities; instead let's focus on what light is shed upon Korean society, it's gender politics and just because we can how about we try to make a stark connection with life in general.
Obviously the deeply engraved subordinate role of women in society is the most glaringly obvious fact made clear through such stories; to the extent that as long as a woman is seen as being a woman she is for whatever reason thought to be incapable of supporting a family.
Boring.
This issue has been brought up over and over again, with no real change unfortunately.² It is easy to harp on the social strictures (both implicit and explicit) that reinforce the subordinate social role of Korean women: beginning with the resignation from birth that a daughter will inevitably "leave" the family to enter her future husband's family, to the "experiential points" added to men's resumes upon completion of their compulsory two year military services that potentially could give them an advantage during the interview process for a future job where applicants are "scored," all the way back to the subordinate role she will enter into after marriage to her husband's family where she will be at the mercy of her mother-in-law.
The interesting corollary to all this, however, is that any man in Korean society, regardless of how effeminate or actually feminine they either appear or act, is seen as no less a man within society at large.³ There is no denying that there are limits to how masculine a woman, especially a woman like 윤은혜 - a sex symbol if I may say myself - can hope to portray. In the diagetic world of the drama as well, no attempt is made to deny the lack of traditional masculine signifiers when it comes to the male guise the woman is attempting to inhabit. However, in the Korean context, as well apparently for the Japanese and most likely Chinese, it doesn't matter and moreover realism is not sacrificed because of it.
To repeat: Despite Korea's total lack of acceptance when it comes to homosexuality, straight men in Korea - because there is no alternative - have an amazing breadth and range of socially acceptable "gender personas" that they can inhabit. No one seems to have even come close to broaching a discussion, let alone a dialogue as it pertains to this aspect nor (getting back to the Korean dramas we were briefly discussing) the love that develops between the male protagonist and the other lead character who, except for the viewer, has only been seen, thought of and interacted with as a Korean man.
Despite all the talk in the US as of late of "equality" and "progress" in securing same-sex couples the rights that had been unceremoniously hoarded by the antediluvian union of Men & Women - and believe me I am happy that this change occurred - the one thing that hasn't changed is the incredibly narrow range of both gender and sexual orientation identifying behavior an average American is allowed to exhibit. I am sure it has been changing, slowly, but I still get the feeling that men who for example take an interest in fashion or engage in certain grooming habits are viewed by many (both men and women?) as being "gay." Likewise, homosexual men who due to this or that gender identifier happen to strike many who see them as being "straight." What's more, from time to time I see debates regarding "Queens" and the attention that they draw away from the other "types" of homosexual personas(?) that people self-categorize themselves into pop-up on my Facebook feed.
To be clear: labels abound in Korea regarding individuals; the difference being that no secondary sexual assumptions underlie the initial label. Someone who is well manicured, wears tight, kinda preppy clothes is a follower of 간지 style and is thus 간지. Full Stop. This doesn't lead to an association with Metro-sexuality nor does it lead to a tertiary association with homosexuality. Huge generalizations being made here, but given the scope of what this blog aims for in addition to time constraints, what do we have at base besides our experiences?
Experience implies eundo assequi: in latin, literally going and being underway and the attaining or getting to something along that way. The above mentioned Korean dramas go to the (unconscious?) extreme in indicating the broad range of experiences a man can openly embody (albeit incredibly indirectly); and the man doesn't even have to be a man! Actual case in point: 하리수, a well-known Korean transgender (formerly a man) who some people label an entertainer.4 5 Now obviously there is a lot of tongue in cheek action going on here now, but there is something seriously refreshing and liberating about the fact that every member of a particular gender (unfortunately here we are only referring to Korean men) can live on a level plain without worrying about falling into the confining and segregating netherworld that sub-assumptions tend to create.
Granted, the "level plain" is more like a heavily fortified kingdom occupying a rather large body of land; with access not granted to open homosexuals most conspicuously. Despite deeply imbedded and reinforced attitudes that de facto determine social inclusion/exclusion - or at least what we have assumed to be both deep rooted and reinforced - the lotharios in the Korean dramas we have been talking about, at least for a fleeting moment within the narrative, all witnessed those divisions evaporate instantaneously the moment they declared their unequivocal love to another man; before those arbitrary divisions appeared once more after finding out the true identity of the man they thought was their man(love). The metaphysical implications for each and every individual on this planet, let alone a "conservative" country such as Korea, are so close and immediate that most people tend to walk past them: human society and it's effect on shaping the most basic assumptions about how we should live can disappear in an instant, with such an effect being wrought solely by the individual themselves, leaving everything completely different then it had been up until that very instant, but still unchanged at the same time. In that moment the two characters were not man and man, nor were the man and woman; they were the Same in that they were truly autonomous individuals led not by culturally ingrained patterns, but by themselves as lead actors of their own lives.
Of course, most viewers of any mass cultural product tend to walk away with experiences vastly different from mine, let alone one another. Even purportedly "deep thinkers" may assume a critical stance via a social/behavioural psychological critique wherein they point out how such dramas are nothing more than the product of a repressive modern society which exerts unbearable sadistic pressure on woman to the point that in pursuit of their goals, which are not actually their own but the internalized goals of men/male society, they direct destruction not only against themselves but towards their own gender as a whole and in the most drastic masochistic act possible they completely throw away their own real life in the attempt to become half of a man. A more cursory glance may even elicit the observation that you don't see or couldn't see a drama where a man conceals his identity to become a woman let alone one where a lesbian romance resulted. All true, and all points interesting enough to at least get you an 'A' on your next paper in you Asian Studies class.
In the end, such criticism, whilst valid, and maybe in some instances even helpful, does not seem to be a great deal different from the material is seeks to criticize, because to put it bluntly: What the fuck do they really expect to change? The dramas that we have been talking about were made, and their plot lines recycled for no other reason than people watch them, a lot of people. And a lot of viewers means a lot of advertising revenue. Period. Maybe this then is the answer to why people merely offer criticisms of everything "new" based off of or supported by recycled theoretical apparatuses. Or not. I suspect not, actually. Now I just hope more than a few people begin to approach thinking and open there eyes to what is and what is constantly looked over and passed by. Maybe that's the deal with chicks pretending to be dudes on Korean television nowadays.
¹ Despite my best efforts to identify the JAV (Japanese Adult Video) serial number, alas, I could turn up nothing. However, there are a number of Japanese original creations that did apparently set off this chicks with no dicks trend. A few notable titles include 2007's Hanazakari no Kimitachi e based on the 1996~2004 Manga entitled Hana-Kimi. The Japanese were actually behind the Taiwanese who serialized the same manga in 2006 under the same name the Japanese used a year later while using the Chinese title 花樣少年少女 (presumably meaning the same thing). What is more is that Korea ended up serializing the SAME manga in 2012 under the name 아름다움 그대에게.
² See here: (http://m.news.naver.com/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=101&oid=076&aid=0002441944) and here: (http://ko.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%95%EA%B7%BC%ED%98%9C) for notable recent exceptions, however, as nothing has notably changed in society at large, I wouldn't advise anyone to hold their breath waiting for a change to occur to the status quo.
³ (See example 1: 2am's 조원 or example 2: 광희, example 3: 이종석)
⁴ http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harisu
5 Random fact, the current Korean word processor I am writing this entry on doesn't even recognize 'transgender' as a word. Extrapolate amongst yourselves.
2014년 2월 2일 일요일
The Good Life
What is the function of a city? More precisely put, what should the human function of a city be?
This is a question that I presume will have a vast array of possible answers that are predicated in no small measure upon each persons respective position in life. Moreover, for most people the city is something that has long since transcended the limits of individual conception, leaving a mere sliver for them to inhabit let alone conceive of. This conception - or rather misconception - allows individuals in turn to view the city simply as a sort of rudimentary means towards fulfilling singular needs. For example, Manager Kim has a home in Mok-dong¹ in order to secure educational opportunities for his children. (full stop). Any other advantage(s) secured by happening to reside in a specific space is simply the happy result of pure coincidence. To this mind at least, such binary 'choice making' - because to consider this sort of behavior as something even approaching thinking would merely indicate how much one is not thinking to begin with - is a direct refutation to (of?) life itself. Like, why are you even living, guy?
The simple answer to why we are living, why we who have been afforded the accident of life at this particular juncture in this particular form with the sum total of human actions so far (i.e. history) serving as our latent potentiality + α is simply thus: to have our total life etherialize² into impact itself. What this abstract statement looks like is quite simple: an idea, usually in written form, that aims to better life or put simply, the pursuit of the good life³. It was in ancient Greece that this idea of the city as the container of this so called 'good life' found it's own voice, and as the fates would have it, it was none other than Aristotle who said, "People come to the city to live; they stay in order to live the good life." Of course ancient Greece is respected more for the fact that this ideal was allowed to form, conspicuously within Athens, but no less in Cos or Rhodes for example, as opposed to serving as a direct model because, err well, slavery.
Obviously the good life cannot be static; it must be something inherently dynamic and organic in the sense that it can only exist and can only be brought about through a continuous, free dialogue between citizens and the city itself. This dynamic presupposes a few things: Firstly, both the psychic and physical possibility of withdrawal and return and Secondly, a truly autonomous city. From the collapse of the medieval guild societies the ancient universitas⁴ for long was the means for withdrawing and returning to society. The layout of Oxford in super blocks, quite nearly another world within a world, not only allowed for physical freedom from the city at large but existed for the mind to focus on concerns completely other than the normal (for that particular period) day-to-day matters at hand. Today, are not the university and city itself just two cogs in the wheel of global capitalism? This is not to imply that the pursuit of capital ipso facto is inherently negative; this is merely a call to resuscitate the dialogue of what the good life can or should be, and towards that end the collective as well as individual questioning of our basic assumptions that must occur, for questioning is the piety of thought.
¹ 'Dong' or '洞' refers to a single administrative area whose amalgamation with other similarly demarcated areas make up one of the twenty-five larger municipal districts or 'gu(區)' of Seoul.
² Etherialization, according to Arnold Joseph Toynbee (A Study of History), is the counterpart of 'Materialization' wherein a (material) idea is refined closer into its essential aspect (e.g the church was the etherialized form of the ancient city that allowed the culture of a particular city to be transposed across long distances as well as through time, or the mp3 file as the ultimate etherialized form of music itself, etc.).
³ The 'good life' spoken of here is none other than that earthly place where everything that is good co-exists as the Same, in that everything benefits life, or what is known as eutopia which is derived from the Greek εὖ + τόπος (meaning literally the good place); differentiated from the purposefully abstract and ambiguous conception of utopia (οὐ + τόπος literally meaning 'no place') as that ideal which has no earthly counterpart.
⁴ Universitas being the collective name for all guilds, originally.
This is a question that I presume will have a vast array of possible answers that are predicated in no small measure upon each persons respective position in life. Moreover, for most people the city is something that has long since transcended the limits of individual conception, leaving a mere sliver for them to inhabit let alone conceive of. This conception - or rather misconception - allows individuals in turn to view the city simply as a sort of rudimentary means towards fulfilling singular needs. For example, Manager Kim has a home in Mok-dong¹ in order to secure educational opportunities for his children. (full stop). Any other advantage(s) secured by happening to reside in a specific space is simply the happy result of pure coincidence. To this mind at least, such binary 'choice making' - because to consider this sort of behavior as something even approaching thinking would merely indicate how much one is not thinking to begin with - is a direct refutation to (of?) life itself. Like, why are you even living, guy?
The simple answer to why we are living, why we who have been afforded the accident of life at this particular juncture in this particular form with the sum total of human actions so far (i.e. history) serving as our latent potentiality + α is simply thus: to have our total life etherialize² into impact itself. What this abstract statement looks like is quite simple: an idea, usually in written form, that aims to better life or put simply, the pursuit of the good life³. It was in ancient Greece that this idea of the city as the container of this so called 'good life' found it's own voice, and as the fates would have it, it was none other than Aristotle who said, "People come to the city to live; they stay in order to live the good life." Of course ancient Greece is respected more for the fact that this ideal was allowed to form, conspicuously within Athens, but no less in Cos or Rhodes for example, as opposed to serving as a direct model because, err well, slavery.
Obviously the good life cannot be static; it must be something inherently dynamic and organic in the sense that it can only exist and can only be brought about through a continuous, free dialogue between citizens and the city itself. This dynamic presupposes a few things: Firstly, both the psychic and physical possibility of withdrawal and return and Secondly, a truly autonomous city. From the collapse of the medieval guild societies the ancient universitas⁴ for long was the means for withdrawing and returning to society. The layout of Oxford in super blocks, quite nearly another world within a world, not only allowed for physical freedom from the city at large but existed for the mind to focus on concerns completely other than the normal (for that particular period) day-to-day matters at hand. Today, are not the university and city itself just two cogs in the wheel of global capitalism? This is not to imply that the pursuit of capital ipso facto is inherently negative; this is merely a call to resuscitate the dialogue of what the good life can or should be, and towards that end the collective as well as individual questioning of our basic assumptions that must occur, for questioning is the piety of thought.
¹ 'Dong' or '洞' refers to a single administrative area whose amalgamation with other similarly demarcated areas make up one of the twenty-five larger municipal districts or 'gu(區)' of Seoul.
² Etherialization, according to Arnold Joseph Toynbee (A Study of History), is the counterpart of 'Materialization' wherein a (material) idea is refined closer into its essential aspect (e.g the church was the etherialized form of the ancient city that allowed the culture of a particular city to be transposed across long distances as well as through time, or the mp3 file as the ultimate etherialized form of music itself, etc.).
³ The 'good life' spoken of here is none other than that earthly place where everything that is good co-exists as the Same, in that everything benefits life, or what is known as eutopia which is derived from the Greek εὖ + τόπος (meaning literally the good place); differentiated from the purposefully abstract and ambiguous conception of utopia (οὐ + τόπος literally meaning 'no place') as that ideal which has no earthly counterpart.
⁴ Universitas being the collective name for all guilds, originally.
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