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Sun, May 29, 2022 | 05:25

Korean Mental Health: Stranger Things

Season 4 of Stranger Things doesn't hold back on the content. Despite being set in mid-1980s America, the drama depicts the use of marijuana, ketamine, lesbian relationships, eating disorders, alcoholism and mental trauma. It's a somewhat anachronistic view of the past because actual movies and dramas from the 1980s were generally not that open to such issues. But, as has bee...

2022-05-28 13:44

K-pop stars and Korean Politicians: Standards of morality

The word 'idol' is used here for a reason. South Korean pop stars are expected to live up to almost impossible standards of behavior. They present themselves as an image of something beyond human: A Platonic ideal standing in stark contrast to the corruptible and damaged existence we present in our more mundane lives. Those in the Korean music spotlight are required to refrai...

2022-05-21 13:41

Le Sserafim: Whisper-pop techno

Starting the recent EP from Le Ssefarim, I must confess I wasn't expecting to be greeted with dirty techno, Japanese lyrics, the word bitch in a single, and a chorus unashamedly declaring “I don't give a shit.” After all this is K-pop. However, it probably explains why the video had 16-year olds gyrating on the floor in sweaty clothes, but I'll leave the analysis of sexuality...

2022-05-07 16:04

Korean dramas vs K-dramas: What is a mother?

What is a mother? Are there certain standards regarding age or socio-economic class that determine when it is acceptable or desirable to become a mother? Do these standards differ by country and over time? Finally, do Korean dramas have a responsibility to show us reality or fantasy? There will be various answers to all of these questions and it is for that reason that a popu...

2022-04-30 14:28

The Korean kids are alt-right

Transcultural diffusion is real: ideas, technology, beliefs and styles move between cultures and nations all the time. Sometimes this diffusion is generated by expansion as powerful nations stretch outward, increasing their influence over a growing number of countries and peoples.

2022-04-23 16:39

Is Kim Jong-un progressive?

As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I've generally understood human rights to be a good thing. Freedom of thought, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and to not discriminate against people on a political, racial, gender, sexual, or class basis are good for us and the people around us.

2022-04-16 12:08

Korean grand narratives: the problem of ideology

Much of modern politics and discourse has become a question of morality. When people vote, they are not simply expressing a preference over economic policy or the correct distribution of limited resources. Instead they are seen as taking a side in a Manichean battle of good versus evil. This environment has been fostered by social media and is reinforced daily by ideologues o...

2022-04-09 18:13

Mark Fisher and stagnation of K-pop

The slow cancellation of the future is an idea that echoed through Mark Fisher's work. It points to a condition in which life continues but time has somehow stopped. Cultural progress is halted. There is no longer any real or significant development taking place. Instead, we find ourselves repeating the past. Afraid of moving forward, we take refuge in yesterday.

2022-04-02 13:24

Moon, Yoon and a load of crackers

When President Moon Jae-in came to power, there was a great deal of optimism about what he would achieve. Many people here felt the country was finally turning a corner and a man of the people would wrest control from out-of-touch elites and place it in the heart of those who had fought for democracy and freedom.

2022-03-26 13:59

The beauty of Korean democracy

Many of us take democracy for granted, believing it to be the natural state of man or the logical progress of all and every society and culture around the world. Such beliefs, however, do not always conform to reality.

2022-03-19 15:34

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