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| Courtesy of Simon Evans |
By David A. Tizzard
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The new normal is constantly refreshing the app on your phone in a desperate attempt to track down an unwanted vaccine in your neighborhood, only to see it disappear before your finger reaches the screen. The new normal also wonders why workers at conglomerates get preferential treatment over "regular" citizens.
The new normal, however, is looking at South Korea's accelerated vaccination rate and thinking the end might be in sight soon because the new normal is also flexing your first vaccination shot in an Instagram story.
The new normal is that instead of it being racist to say that that the COVID-19 "might have" started in a laboratory, some people with Ph.D.'s and U.S. President Joe Biden are now considering it a real possibility. The new normal is certain media outlets going back and redacting their headlines from last year hoping that nobody is really paying attention.
The new normal is not simply doubting politicians can solve the housing price bubble in Seoul, it's understanding that some of them are actively contributing to it, by using insider information and amassing personal fortunes. I'm not sure if this is actually a "new" normal though; it just seems normal.
The new normal is that the conservatives in South Korea somehow appear to be popular again; and they're young and Harvard-educated. That particular new normal is weird considering a lot of social media commentators had written the party's obituary a year or so ago.
The new normal is when you see something stupid on Twitter, you don't write a serious rebuttal, but instead use a combination of upper- and lowercase letters to register your disdain and contempt: tHis aRtIcLe is Soo eDgY!
The new normal is sections of the British public booing their own national athletes on the eve of a tournament for having the temerity to take a knee in an effort to combat racism.
The new normal is choosing what virtual Zoom background you'll use for today's meetings instead of which pair of socks you'll wear. The new normal is wondering how much one can drink while social distancing at home ― and then telling yourself you'll think about it later as you pour your next one.
The new normal is everyone having a podcast, YouTube channel or blog. The new normal is that we are no longer individuals; we are personal brands seeking hearts and interaction for dopamine hits. The new normal is being told to "hit the button, like and subscribe…and don't forget to click the little bell" but never really doing it because it's just a reaction video for a 25-year-old song by Seal.
The new normal is that like Gorillaz before them, K-pop bands are now also computer-generated virtual creations. And the new normal is that groups once praised for addressing domestic social issues and writing their own tunes in Korean and Japanese now pay western hit machines for their hugely successful, global chart-topping, English-language bops about cups of milk in the morning.
While Korean artists are still getting jailed for smoking marijuana this week, the new normal is Justin Bieber topping the Korean domestic music charts singing about getting his "weed from California," and local companies working out how best to translate this. The new normal is to call such things "experience" according to the music video I watched.
The new normal is that, while the nation's current most popular drama touches on greed and selfishness transcending social class, it is also now normal for the citizens to watch a primetime drama which deals relatively maturely with the concept of lesbian love. Unfortunately it is also the new normal for the actor's husband to have to come out (no, not that way) and say that despite his wife's successful portrayal of the character, they are both "against" homosexuality.
Unlike the more outspoken public figures decades before, it is the new normal for those in the Korean spotlight to often stay quiet on political issues and not lend support to domestic causes that seek to protect social and ethnic minorities. Whereas just a few years ago it was commonplace for Korean media outlets to post charts demonstrating how much their stars earned through advertisements and product placements in China, the new normal is actively and publically to reject Chinese funding and any association with Beijing, to the point of xenophobia.
The new normal is that we've apparently forgotten about what's happening in Myanmar.
Is the new normal apparently writing columns in which every sentence starts with the same bloody phrase? No. Normal service to resume next week, hopefully.
Dr. David A. Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) has a Ph.D. in Korean Studies. He is a social/cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.
