Kim Jong-Il's death

On December 19th, North Korea's Chosun Joongang TV reported that leader Kim Jong-Il, 69, had passed away. The anchorwoman, in black clothes of mourning, emotionally reported that the leader passed away from a stroke, a result of fatigue and overwork. He passed away on a express train on December 17th at 8:30 P.M. KST.

Kim Jong-Il

While the people of North Korea are in grief, many people around the world are simultaneous happy and fearful of what this means for the future of North and South Korea. The South Korean military has been put on alert, and the National Security Council has met for an emergency meeting. Kim Jong-Il's song, Kim Jong Un, will now take over his father's role, as the leader of North Korea.

The new North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un

Personally, I am shocked that Kim Jong-Il has died. I feel ambivalent as well, and I wonder what this will bring to North Korea. Will it mean more of a military presence? How will the policies of North Korea change?

Included are two news clips. The first shows the anchorwoman of North Korea's Chosun Joongang TV emotionally announcing the leader's death. The second shows North Korean's response to their leader's death.

religion

In 2005, a survey of religion in South Korea found that while 46.5% of the Korean population said they had no religious preference, the two biggest religious groups in South Korea were Buddhism (22.8%) and Christianity (18.3%).

Since we have often talked about the role of Buddhism in class, I wanted to focus on Christianity in South Korea and how it came to have a strong presence there. Although Roman Catholicism appeared at the end of the Chosun dynasty, many believers were persecuted because the religion was seen to be subversive to the government. However, after Korea began to open itself to the outside world, many Protestant missionaries came to the peninsula. The first Protestant missionary in Korea was Horace Newton Allen, who came in 1884 and stayed until 1890. Other missionaries came to Korea as well: Douglas Brav Avison, Henry Dodge Appenzeller, and Homer B. Hulbert. These missionaries had a great impact, because as the statistics show, Christianity now has a high prevalence in Korean society.

Horace Newton Allen

The gravestone of missionary, Homer B. Hulbert

I thought that it was interesting that Christianity, a now common religion in Korea, was once seen as a subversive act against the government. However, I quickly realized how this had happened before in Korean history. At the end of the Koryo dynasty, Buddhism was seen as a lower religion and was seen as a religion that brought the fall of the Koryo dynasty. Therefore, the Korean people were highly discouraged to practice Buddhism, and, instead, were encouraged follow neo-Confucian ways. In general, I think it is interesting to see how religion can either be means to propagate or threaten a government.

plastic surgery

Plastic surgery has existed in South Korea for decades. Many women would keep it a secret and would insist that they were born with their features. However, in recent years, more and more women have become more open and proud about their experiences with plastic surgery. There are many reasons why plastic surgery has become more acceptable in Korean society. However, one reason is that celebrities themselves have become more open about their procedures, stating that it is okay to get plastic surgery and that it should not be looked down upon.

Miss Korea 2006, Honey Lee, is a Korean celebrity who has supposedly gotten plastic surgery

Today, plastic surgery is thought of as such a common practice, that it is not even considered surgery anymore. In 2010, 31. 5% of residents 15 or older were willing to undergo plastic surgery. In a 2009 survey, one in every five women (ages 19-49) in Seoul, South Korea had gotten plastic surgery.

A common form of surgery is the double eyelid surgery. Women get this procedure to get more wider-looking, Westernized eyes.

People have debated the ethicalness of plastic surgery for years now. The common debate has been that plastic surgeon are now playing the role of "god" by transforming people's appearance. However, a new concern is that Korean women are now increasingly looking the same. There is a common consensus that an attractive face in Korea is a small, more sharply defined face- pretty much a more Westernized face. Since no one is born with that kind of face in Korea, more and more women are getting plastic surgery.

Personally, I think it is sad that so many women believe they need to get plastic surgery to be beautiful. Even more importantly, I believe that it is sad that society believes that there is only one kind of face that is beautiful. I do not see this upward trend of plastic surgery dying down in South Korea any time soon. However, I hope that some people will see that there is more than one kind of beauty, and I hope that they will be more vocal about it.

2018 Olympics

In July 2011, it was announced that PyeongChang in South Korea would be hosting the Winter Olympics 2018. South Koreans have been very happy to hear this news, as it will bring worldwide attention onto their home country. In November 2011, the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee Olympic Games (POCOG) representatives updated the European Olympic Committee (EOC) on their preparations for the Winter Olympics 2018.

South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, and others celebrate after hearing that PyeongChang would be hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Jin Sun Kim represented POCOG as president, along with Dong Hoo Moon, vice president and secretary general, and Yong Sung Park, South Korean National Olympic Committee (KOC) chief and vice-president of OCOG. Both Kim, Moon and Park addressed the assembly and showed two presentations with demonstrated the overall plan and venue explanations. This meeting occurred just four months after PyeongChang was named host of the 2018 Winter Olympics on July 6th.

In four months, POCOG has organized an IOC Orientation Seminar (led by Gunilla Lindberg and Gilbert Felli); had an executive board meeting in Seoul; and has made a Games Master Plan through the IOC (which includes conference calls and meetings related to the Olympic Games Knowledge Management [OGKM]). In March, the IOC will make its first inaugural site visit to PyeongChang.

The mountains of Pyeongchang.

Moon encouraged the committee by saying, "I also wish to reassure the IOC and the members of the EOC present today, that we, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee, will spare no efforts in delivering one of the most memorable Winter Games ever."

Hopefully, it will be just that. I truly enjoy watching the Olympics. Therefore, when I discovered that the 2018 Winter Olympics would be in South Korea, I was overjoyed. It was encouraging to hear the developments in planning. In addition, I believe that this informed that public that there are many steps into planning the Olympics and that POCOG is being very careful with its planning in hopes that the 2018 Winter Olympics will be the best Winter Games ever.

budget cuts

Government budget cuts in South Korea may lead to less foreign teachers at Korean high schools. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) announced that it plans to cut around 4 billion won ($3.5 million) in personnel expense for 225 foreign high school teachers in 2012. If this new budget plan goes through, the number of foreign high school teachers will eventually decrease. Only high schools that are designated by the government to specialize in the English and Seoul Global High School- a high school specialized in international studies- will have government funding.

Currently, out of the 1, 245 current foreign teachers in Seoul elementary and secondary schools, 895 are supported by the Seoul education office in salaries, housing and airline expenses. It is also important to note that at the present time, the budget cut will only affect secondary teachers, not elementary or middle school teachers. In addition to this, it is important to recognize that this cut will not lead to a layoff of foreign teachers; these teachers will be able to stay for their contracted period. Rather, new high school foreign teachers will not be hired.

A foreign English teacher with her Korean student at a "hagwon"

This cut came about because the SMEO found that the effect of foreign teachers was not very high. Therefore, to increase "quality education." The SMOE found that Korean students preferred Korean English teachers, rather than foreign English teachers. Therefore, the government plans on substituting foreign teachers with Korean teachers with high English proficiency and good teaching methods.

However, this cut does not come with any criticisms. Some experts believe that this government move will mean that underprivileged students will miss the change to learn from foreign teachers. They also believe that this will increase the number of students going to private academies, "hagwon." They also believe that students will miss the chance of having a deeper understanding of English with commonly used English terms that are not found in textbooks.

This was particularly interesting to me because I often thought about teaching English in Korea. Not only that, but I also have had numerous friends who were interested in teaching English in Korea as well. I do agree with critics saying that students may not have a deeper understanding of Korea by having Korean teachers with high English proficiency. However, I do believe that students may still have quality education. Only time will tell whether the budget cut will actually bring more quality education to Korean high school students.

Jeju Island

On November 11, 2011, the New7Wonders announced Jeju Island, which is located in South Korea, as one of the new 7 wonders of nature. The results were based on votes between July 2009 and November 11th, 2011 via text messaging, phone calls, and an online voting system.

Although the results are only provisional based on the first count of votes, the chances of the results changing are highly unlikely. However, they will still carefully tally the votes, and the official winners will be announced in 2012.

The beautiful scenery of Jeju Island

This win for Jeju Island came after a long period of promotion. Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan was named the island's ambassador to the New7Wonders campaign. He effectively did this by specifically encouraging Chinese, Japanese and other Asian citizens to vote for Jeju Island as a new world wonder. During his promotion, Chung announced that Jeju Island becoming one of the New 7 wonders of Nature would have many benefits. Not only would tourism increase, but the win would bring "eternal pride and glory" to Korea. He also highlighted the island's environmental resources in his letter addressed to the public, "We must let the world know of Jeju's beauty." He listed how Jeju Island achieved the triple crowns of UNESCO in the nature and science field: the designation of the Biosphere Reserve in 2002, inscription to the World Natural Heritage sites in 2007, and the designation as a World Geopark in 2010.

The New7wonders also announced the other new wonders of nature in non-rank order: the Amazon of Brazil, Vietnam’s Halong Bay, Argentina’s Iguazu Falls, Korea’s Jeju Island, Indonesia’s Komodo Park, The Philippines’ Puerto Princesa Underground River, and South Africa’s Table Mountain.

Personally, I was really excited to hear that Jeju Island became New 7 Wonders of Nature. I have always wanted to go there, and I am planning on visiting the island this summer. Therefore, the fact it is one of the New 7 Wonders makes me even more eager to go there.

Here is a clip that displays Jeju Island's beautiful nature and gives additional information about the island:

Hallyu wave

5 years ago, music in South Korea was very much contained within the borders of its country. However, thanks to the Internet and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the music of South Korea has very much extended to various continents. This spread of Korean music has allowed many people all over the world to be exposed not only to Korean music, but also Korean culture.

Although the Hallyu wave is often generally referred to as the spread of Korean culture to other countries, it has recently been defined by the explosion in popularity of Korean music. In the fall, the popular Korean girl group, Girls' Generation, came to France and performed for a packed out audience. They expressed how they were so impressed by the American audience who knew all the lyrics to their songs in the original Korean. One of the members, Sooyoung, especially expressed how proud she was because she felt like she was representing her own country. Therefore, through the Hallyu wave, other countries are not only exposed to Korean music, they are also introduced to Korean culture.

French fans wait patiently in Paris, France for a Girls' Generation concert.

A sign for the popular girl group in Korean writing can be seen on the right hand side.

From personal experience, I do find that the Internet has increased my exposure to Korean culture. Even 5 years ago, before the Internet became even more increasingly pervasive in every day life, if I wanted to find new Korean music, I could not due to limited resources. However, today, I can just go on the Internet and instantly find new Korean music. For this reason, the Hallyu wave has had an even greater global impact.

The attached clip shows a member of Girls' Generation, Tiffany, commenting on the Internet's impact on the Hallyu wave.

Chuseok vs. Thanksgiving

With the American Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to compare the American Thanksgiving with Chuseok the "Korean Thanksgiving."

Food
In the American Thanksgiving, turkey is the main dish surrounded by stuffing, rolls, green bean casserole, cranberry and pumpkin pie.

During Chuseok in America, Songpyon, a crescent shaped rice cake, is the main dish. In addition to songpyon, one can easily find kimchi, bulgogi and fruit amongst the many side dishes.

Day of Celebration

In the American Thanksgiving, the holiday is celebrated every fourth Thursday in November, whereas in Korea, Chuseok is celebrated every 15th day of the 8th lunar month.

History

The origins of both the American Thanksgiving and Chuseok are very unique and interesting. The American Thanksgiving traces its origins back to a 1621 celebration in present-day Massachusetts. It is often thought of as the day where Pilgrims gave thanks to God for bringing them safely to the New World- America. However, whether the first Thanksgiving actually occurred in the United States has been debatable. Many scholars believe that Chuseok originated from ancient shamanistic celebrations of the harvest moon. However, today, it is typically thought to be a celebration with family of the good harvest.

A depiction of the First Thanksgiving in America.

Family

In both the United States and Korea, families spend their respective national holidays with their families. Whereas Americans usually spend time in their homes with one another, Koreans will often times go to the tombs of their immediate ancestors to pay their respects.

Games
In America, the most common game to play during Thanksgiving is American football. It is very common to find families spending the afternoon watching or playing this fun American sport. In Korea, a variety of folk games are played during Chuseok. Many people often play tug of war, archery, and ssireum (a form of wrestling). However, the games that are played vary from region to region.