Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Play: Santaland Diaries


David Raymond Sedaris (born December 26, 1956) is an American hunorist, comedian, author and radio contributor nominated for a Grammy Award. Sedaris has been described as 'the rock star of writers'. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public radio broadcast his essay "SantaLand Diaries". He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. His next five essay collections, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997), M Talk Pretty One Day (2000), Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004), and When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2008), became New York Times best sellers. In 2010, he released a collection of anthropomorphic stores, squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary. By 2008 his books had sold seven million copies. Much of Sedaris's humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating, and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, Greek heritage, jobs, education, drug use, obsessive behaviors and his life in France, London and the South Dawns.

About the play ...

Sedaris first read the essay on National Public Radio's Morning Edition on December 23, 1992. The piece was well-received, and provided Sedaris with his first major break. Sedaris later published the essay i the collections Barrel Fever (1994) and Holidays on Ice (1997). A much longer version of the piece first aired on December 20, 1996 on Public Radio International program This American Life. In 1996, Joe Mantello adapted Sedaris' essay for the stage as a one-man, one-act play, which debuted (as The SantaLand Diaries) at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York on November 7, 1996.
 
In this one-man, one-act play Kirk Dickens, a former Theater Arts teacher from the US, shares his humorous interpretation of the play. Needing a job, he applies as an elf for department stores promotional of selling Christmas and all jazz. As Crumpet the Elf, he laughs at the idiocy of his fellow elves and the Santa's, at people whose snobbery made them order Crumpet to do certain things they thought elves and santas must do for their children. He points a derisive finger at the lunacy of the marketing system and surprisingly shows character and conscience development at the events of Christmas he never questioned but now sees as fake.
 
Crumpet the Elf is witty and thought-provoking.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Pica Foods and Diversity

Anthropologists identify pica foods as foods within one society or culture that are considered normal or ordinary, and yet are considered strange, bizarre and sometimes savage by outsiders. I would guess that all cultures have pica foods. In discussion with my students we sometimes talk about what is really acceptable and what is really weird. Pizza is a topic that invariably comes up! When most westerners, myself included, first arrive in Korea, we are royally shocked by how Koreans take our western food and eat it their bizarrely weird way:  For one of a million examples, Koreans enjoy pickles with pizza (NO! pickles are for hamburgers!), and tobasco sauce on pizza (why the killer heat when WE want subtle Italian herb flavors and tangy tomato sauce?), and then we find corn kernels thrown all over the pizza ... (WHAT?! Vegies on pizza, but not THAT vegie!) Well, these are examples of pica foods, although they are rather strange examples as all of the ingredients eaten, but in different contexts, are perfectly acceptable to us.

Then I ask my students what they consider strange, weird and/or revolting that Americans eat. The common food that Koreans used to bring up as culturally weird for them was peanut butter or even the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Even now some people shake their heads at that combination, but for the most part and especially recently, American foods have been eagerly assimilated into the Korean diet. Yes, often as "fusion food" but assimilated nevertheless.
But usually pica foods are what one cultural palate would absolutely rebel at eating but which another cultural palate considers as perfectly acceptable - for example, edible insects. Then, for the full shock effect of what pica really is, I tell my students about some hidden gastronomical pleasures in isolated areas of the US, the 'prairie oysters' also in other topographies called 'mountain oysters', and when my students don't understand, I simply clarify the meaning by using the more vulgar name 'bull's balls'. Yep, they agree.  THAT'S PICA!

Well, two of my students - Kim Yuna and Oh Chanho - put together a very interesting introduction to pica foods identifying four well-known pica foods in the international setting and then identifying five Korean foods that are culturally disgusting to many other ethnic groups.

World Famous Pica Foods


Norway → "Smalahove" made of whole sheep's head and served on special days, particularly before Christmas. Originally for the poor, now smalahove is considered a great delicacy. One head is equivalent to two servings with the eye and ear eaten first as they are the fattiest and are best eaten when warm. When there is only one head or a limited number of heads, the eye and ear are given to the eldest and the communal eating of smalahove and how it is apportioned is a way of showing family hierarchy.


The Phillippines → "Balut" is eaten in many southeast Asian countries and the practice of eating egg embryo is thought to have been introduced from China where "1000-year-old" duck eggs are enjoyed. In the Phillippines, the egg which has been kept warm in the sun is considered at its best at 17 days when it is said to be balut sa puti, or "wrapped in white", that is, still wrapped in the egg which may or may not be eaten, thus, the nomenclature of "balut", "to wrap". At this point, the undeveloped chick is not old enough to have beak, feathers or claws and its bones are undeveloped. The Vietnamese, on the other hand, prefer their "balut" to be more mature - at 19-21 days when the chick is old enough to be recognizable and with bones firm and yet tender when cooked.


China  → All sorts of fried insects and surprises. China has a reputation as being a country where almost anything can get into the pot. Street stalls vie with their different fried insects (spiders, grasshoppers, scorpions ... ), sea creatures (sea horses, starfish, sea urchins, eels ...), and the list goes on. China does not stop at just fried insects and creatures from the sea, but for this presentation, the list must be short.


France → "Foie gras" literally 'fat liver' is a delicacy in French cuisine. Tasting rich, buttery, delicate and unlike ordinary duck or goose liver, foie gras is now enjoyed in countries outside of France, although France by far consumes the largest of the world's consumption. Even French law states that "foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France". There's a huge controversy over the practice of eating foie gras and it originates from the almost universal act of force daily feeding ducks/geese to create a very unhealthy fatty state, and then the liver is enjoyably consumed by people [the evil irony of giving pain to get pleasure]. People for animal rights heartily protest the eating of foie gras.
 


Korean Pica Foods

"Bosingtang" → The most pica Korean food known to westerners is the eating of dog meat. Korea has a long history of westerners criticizing the practice, and for this reason, just before the 1988 Seoul Olympics the Korean government tried to erase this negative Korean image by outlawing "bosingtang" (dog meat soup) but which literally means "invigorating soup". Bosingtang restaurants didn't close but euphemisms of dog meat were created to mask the eating of dog from the critical western eye, names like youngyangtang "nutritious soup", meongmeongtang "woof woof soup" and others. Koreans still eat dog meat today but it is not as widely practiced, namely due to the sensitivity of their international image but also and probably more affected by the fact that Korea now has alternative meat selections to choose from for boosting their energy.


Fermented Skate Koreans, being residents on a peninsula, really enjoy seafood and pretty much all seafoods find their way in some kind of Korean cuisine. However, there is one seafood preparation that even many Koreans might lift an eyebrow at, and that is the fermented skate served principally on Heuksando Island in the Yellow Sea. This dish is quite popular for people in Jeolla Province but it is not universally popular. I'm not clear on the preparation as the skate seems to be served raw and yet undergoes some kind of fermentation process, which gives it a tangy flavor created by the ammonia, which is used for the sterilizing action.


Sundae (순대) → Sundae is a type of blood sausage and is made from pig or cow intestines. The fecal matter is scooped out and a preparation of many things like (blood, barley, rice, green onions, garlic, kimchi, cellophane noodles, sesame seed leaves, among others) are stuffed into the intestines and steamed or boiled. Sundae is commonly served as a drinking side dish and/or street food. It is also very commonly found at parks, along hiking trails and near recreation sport centers as well as being a hot item for making soups with.


Chicken feet (닭발) → Chicken feet used to be a very common delicacy and street food. It's still available but not so readily anymore, and this is because Koreans now have access to a wider selection of meats and inside of paltry chicken feet, fat juicy chicken breasts and wings are found in restaurant window after restaurant window now. For the most part now, chicken feet are served as as an anju (side dish) when drinking or along hiking trails. Few street stalls sell them now, but all you have to do is ask, and likely someone knows where you can find these 'tasty' items. For a foreigner's experience on eating chicken feet, check out his "food of the weird" where he comments, "If you are nervous about the chicken feet, try the [silkworm] larvae first."


Live octopus (삼낙지) → Seafood restaurants are everywhere in Korea, and live octopus is frequently sold at them. However, when Koreans take vacations to seaside areas, the seafood restaurants get a lot of clientele from the inland dwellers and the inland dwellers are hot in pursuit for the plates of raw seafood. Octopus is even cooked, but when eating it raw, caution must be taken to chew well so that a sucker on the octopus arm does not get stuck inside the esophagus, which of course results in ... death. But then that's part of the attraction - to wrest with one's food and triumph!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Korean Words Borrowed into English

The Korean language, heavily influenced by western cultures, has liberally borrowed from foreign languages, namely English, to pad its own language, words related to technology, business, development, and more. It's so obvious that English has become embedded in Korean, but the question is, has there been only language borrowing from English or has there been some language sharing? The English language, which is Germanic in origin, is definitely a language that has borrowed and continues to borrow heavily from others, specifically Latin and French from 1000 - 1300 A.D., so it seems likely that it would have found some useful concept or material culture suitable to be included in the English language and find permanence there.

Korea opened in the late 1870s and by the 1880s there were established missionaries and businessmen in Korea, and their exposure to Korea resulted in kimchi, a strong and highly fermented food typically found offensive by Westerners, and which was written about by an American in 1898, and surprisingly, for its "memorable" odor it was listed as one of the world's top five healthiest foods. Although Korea opened at the end of the 1800s to Westerners, few Westerners actually visited Korea until the Korean War in 1950-1953, and it was at this time that kimchi came to have more popular usage, particularly as the American military personnel living in Korea created the idiom "I'm in deep kimchi" to express trouble or a dangerous situation. It was also through this military contact that a word came into being. "Gook", which is actually a corruption of migook (the US), hangook (Korea), yanggook (England), weigook (foreign country), and other 'gooks' is a shortened and corrupted word, literally meaning 'country', which took on a derogatory meaning of "Korean" to Westerners, and so Korea contributed its second word to the English language, albeit one not of their own creation or one having a very polite meaning.

I was able to identify three other Korean words borrowed into English: two relate to martial arts, taekwondo, which literally translates as "trample-fist-way" and was borrowed in 1967, and hapkido, which I'm not sure of the meaning but suspect "hap" + energy + way. The other word borrowed is, like kimchi, related to the material culture of food -- soju, the distilled liquor that originated in 1300 A.D. in Gaesong, now in North Korea. Soju, a very intoxicating liquor and cheap to produce, has become popular outside of Korea. It is now sold under American liquor license in California and New York, as long as the alcoholic proof is under 25%. Although still not as popular as vodka, Korean liquor is cheaper, has a high proof, and is rapidly gaining in popularity in cultural drinking circles.

Although Korea has principally been the borrower of words from the English language, there has been some material cultural sharing which has influenced the likewise borrowing of five Korean words into the English language. And these words, with the exception of the derogatory gook, have established permanence in the English language. For more clarity on Korean loan words, read Korean Words in English.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

AIDS in Korea and Korea's Responses

The speaker of the night was a sister working for God, of whom I shall leave anonymous as she must work in high risk areas where prejudices are rampant and her identity must remain undisclosed. Even when she gave a seminar back in August, not with the open-minded researchers at the RASKB but with the typical people she was trying to raise recognition to of a social problem, she wore a beaded red mask so that she couldn't be inadvertently recognized later as the speaker and as the one who worked side-by-side and hand-in-hand with the PILWHA (People Living With HIV and AIDS). The sister is extremely compassionate and connected with her AIDS friends. Her voice caught at the end and she ended her presentation in near tears. She is a living witness to a lot of suffering in life, not only physcial suffering but the worst of all, the mental suffering and condemnation of people with AIDS, the social pariahs ... stigmatized ... outcasted ... and self-righteously judged by others.

The social prejudice and discrimination suffered by those living with HIV are indescribably serious. If their infection is made public, the deep-rooted social prejudice makes it impossible for sufferers to lead normal lives. The cuase may be complicated having to do with Korean traditional values which keep sexual matters very private and also the fear of AIDS which may be due to ignorance about HIV in general.

What led the sister to work with AIDS began in 1988 (the year of the Olympics) when she returned to Korea and was given the opportunity to seek out some area of real need in society. She was quickly led to the women sex workers (매춘부 or prostitutes but the word comes from Chinese and literally means "selling spring wife") and deeply challenged by what she saw. She found it heart-rending to work with the women who had little freedom in the many brothels. The women were exploited and abused by owners and customers alike. They were also exploited by others too: dry cleaners, hair dressers, even street vendors who sold them their goods at inflated prices to take advantage of the fact that they had little choice or mobility in who they bought from. The young women were not free to go out shopping like other women, and so life with choices was curtailed.

Picture of Miari Texas, which, when she started had 200 brothels and each had 5-20 prostitutes.
Taking this picture was only possible during the daytime as at night, the doors are well watched and picture
taking is very much prohibited.
Words appropriately describing these exploited women are: stigma, discrimination, violence, lack of freedom. These women are used by customers and pimps, money lenders and many others who profit from the sex industry. Their human dignity in most cases is seriously damaged. This leaves them feeling that there is no way out for them. And of course they are vulnerable to infections, including HIV.

What the sister hoped to achieve by her presence in and around Miari Texas was first and foremost to be friends. She wanted them to know that she was not there to exploit them or to force her will upon them in any way. Her approach was to visit the brothal area alone so that she was not a threat to anyone, but was in fact vulnerable and powerless herself. She set up a small house, and when the opportunity arose, she would give a young woman her phone number and invite her to come, and of course anyone who came, she would invite them to stay.

HIV/AIDS and Women Engaged in Sex Work

Back in 1988, AIDS in Korea was very rare. There were only 38 recorded cases in a population of 48 million. Aware, however, of the devastation AIDS was causing in the world and in others who did sex work, it seemed imperative that something must be done to lessen the spread in a society vulnerable but not yet afflicted. She knew she had to do two principle things:
  1. protect these women from HIV
  2. prevent the spread of HIV in Korea even before it took hold
She and other sisters and volunteers educated themselves on HIV and AIDS. They then gave seminars and lectures in churches and to nurses. The sister felt the nurses were more important to educate than the doctors, because (1) doctors have achieved higher education and don't listen to people with less, but most importantly (2) it is the nurses who do the most interacting with patients and so educating them so they could counsel and advise patients more informedly was considered very important. Then in 1990, the first booklet on HIV awareness was published.

Korean Catholic HIV/AIDS Committee

In 1995, there was the establishment of the Korean Catholic HIV/AIDS Committee, which is comprised of church members (lay, clergy and priests). All of the volunteers were engaged in other full time ministries. The doctor was running a free clinic offereing services to PLWH. A brother was visiting prisoners and took on helping prisoners living with HIV. A sister started visiting PLWHA in hospitals and at their homes. A dentist offered treatment at a Catholic run clinic. And another sister who had severe physical challenges wanted to help also but because of her lack of mobility started counseling one-on-one at her home or by phone.

The objectives of the committee was to set up a system of response for the basic needs of PLWHA; to network and support each other so as to ease the heavy burden of always being the one to provide succor; to encourage more people to become involved; and to educate ourselves while carrying out preventative education.

Back in Miari Texas, the public outcome and appreciation of their work was .... in 1990 (and even today), NO RESPONSE. They were avoided. Not until 1997, when they got a call from Korean Catholic HIV/AIDS Committee did they start getting some external support. The committee offered to stipend them W50,000/mth to help with the Miari Texas work. At that time the sister was converting a small store room into a prayer room, a quiet place for women to spend some time. This was the beginning of Samaria House. However, the first person to come to Samaria House was not a woman, but a man, and soon four men were staying in the tiny house. So in 1999, the sister and those working with her bought an eight-bedroom house for PLWHA. In 2000, Samaria House changed to New Light Community Shelter for Women Living with HIV/AIDS.

Facts of Korea and Its HIV and AIDS Population

The first known case of HIV/AIDS was in 1985. In 2011, there were over 8,544 PLWHA in a population of about 50 million. However, this number reflects the reported or known cases, but in actuality, in Korea there is a very large guestimated population modestly set at 25,000 but in reality, the number is likely to be higher because of shame and therefore underreporting. Men are the primary transmitters of the dreaded disease, and in 2011, men having AIDS was 7,544, eleven times higher than women who reported at 684. In 2011 new infections of AIDS in men was 827, while it was 61 for females. In 2011, there were 148 deaths resulting from AIDS. Since its presence in Korea in 1985 until 2011, 1,514 people in Korea have died from the virus.
 
The government documents a slow but constant increase in new infections, and on average, two new cases are diagnosed each day. At the UN level, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon gives the quote in his High Level Meeting on AIDS address in June 2011:  "Today we have a chance to end this epidemic once and for all. This is our goal: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS related deaths."
 
However, as the HIV/AIDS epidemic slows down in Africa, it is on the increase in Asia and the Pacific. There are also more young people being infected. The three zeros seem a long way off. But realistically, the hope can be achieved in Zero Mother to Child Infection set by 2015. [The sister thinks this is achieveable as Korea still has a relatively low HIV rate, and she has known of only two babies with it, one in 2010 and the other in 2011.]
 
In Korea, it is said that a person diagnosed with HIV has three choices: suicide, leave family and friends, and try to adapt. Many choose one of the former two, suicide probably accounting for more deaths of those with HIV than those dying of the disease. Many others are afraid to come forward for testing even though the first test is anonymous. Even those who knew they are at risk do not come forward. Those risk factors include:
  • men having sex with men (MSM)
  • sex workers
  • those having multiple partners
  • migrant workers
  • young people (because they are experimenting but not knowing "safe sex" measures)
Some world statistics on the outbreak of HIV/AIDS are:
  • 7,400 new infections every day
  • 1,150 children infected every day
  • half of all new infections are in the young, ages 15-24
 
Responses to HIV/AIDS 
 
The Korean government is starting to provide more education to enhance HIV/AIDS awareness. However, it seems that less is done at the preventative level than the medical treatment level. Free testing is provided for people at risk, and the first testing is done anonymously. For those diagnosed with HIV there is free Anti-Retroviral Therapy, as well as nurse counseling.
 
Other Christian groups are responding too: the Salvation Army, shelters and also various second-hand clothing shops. Christian Minister provides hospice and nursing care facilities; they also provide free dental care.
 
The development of the Catholic ministries started at the organizational level in 1995 with seminars on AIDS prevention. In 1997 the first shelter for AIDS patients was built (operated by our sister speaker). From 2000 to the present, three live-in shelters have been established, which evolved into three day centers offering various programs, which led to the establishment of 2 hospitals with limited beds for hospice care.
 
In 2009 the Korean Catholic Red Ribbon Corporation (한국가톨릭레드리본) was established by the Korean Catholic HIV/AIDS Committee. The Red Ribbon Corporation is now the central Catholic body working with HIV/AIDS and most brothers and sisters in Korea try to work through this organized body. So far, one group home has been established, three day centers, and three shelters. The activities in the shelters are to provide 24-hour care for a limited period and to make efforts to:
  • raise self confidence
  • provide spiritual and psychological healing
  • retrain, where necessary, for individuals to return to the work force and live independent and useful lives in mainstream society
The Treatment: HAART
 
The treatment often called HAART (HIV/AIDS Anti-Retroviral Therapy) is intended to recover the immune system and reduce the number of viruses in the blood. There are three important advantages to using this treatment, provided the virus is caught in time:
  • recovery of health
  • 95% reduction rate in the spread of the virus
  • reduction rate in mother-child infection
However, there are drawbacks in administering the medication. Not all indivuals can stomach this strong medication and taking it means following a regemented schedule to keep the antriviral drugs high in the blood to check the further spread of the disease. Also, over 60% of the people with HIV/AIDS are discovered when they come to the hospital for other ailments or when they are already seriously ill. The medication also is NOT a cure, but merely can keep the virus under control, but with the regular and timely use of the medication, HIV/AIDS can now be seen as a chronic condition like diabetes or high blood pressure instead of the destined-to-iminently-die disease it once signified.
 
Problems for PLWHA in regard to employment are the absolute need for annual/regular checkups and make frequent trips to the hospital. PLWHA fear others seeing them take their medication or will see them with the government-provided free medical card, which is labeling. PLWHA sometimes become too weak to work, don't respond to the medicine because they were diagnosed too late, develop other chronic conditions because of their weakened immune system, and find it very difficult to maintain the timely medication-taking schedule. PLWHA are often rejected by family and friends; they often have no one to talk with as they must keep their difficulties private or others fear or are shamed by the topic. PLWHA suffer from depression and often alcoholism, and then for the alcoholics going to AA for treatment, there would be great stigma to talk about their HIV/AIDS infection so their problems are never discussed or addressed and without identifying and treating the core problem, their social problems can never be resolved.
 
HIV/AIDS can be prevented. The first stage prevention methods are through safe sexual practices, abstenance before marriage, faithfullness after marriage, and the education and encouragement for people to delay sexual intercourse. Second stage prevention steps include male circumcision which reduces the passing of AIDS by 40%, the use of condoms although this is not 100% safe and because of alcohol and other factors, condoms are often used ineffectively.
 
Up until 2009 foreigners who tested positive with HIV were deported, and the outcome of that was the reluctance to come forward and yet the continual sexual practices furthering infection in society. When many foreigners did finally come forward, they were in the final stages of AIDS and many were too sick to return home and so died in Korea. In 2009, the policy on deporting foreigners with AIDS changed and the act of deportation was revoked. Though they are still reluctant to come forward, and many still wait till very ill, there is still effective treatment. And as they have no money when they are discharged from the hospital and have no place to go, the Shelter can take them in for a limited amount of time. They are given pocket money but after 6-9 months, they must return to their home country. The Shelter provides them with travel fare and puts them in contact with HIV/AIDS centers in their own country.
 
 
There is also an education program for migrant workers, KINHA, as the migrants are considered at very high risk. KINHA (Korean Interfaith Network on HIV/AIDS) was set up in April 2011 in a joint effort between the Salvation Army and the Catholic church, but it is not limited to Catholic volunteers but is rather interdenominational, being also represented by Protestants, Won Buddhist, Chogye Buddhists and others. This education movement was started to dispel fears and prejudices about HIV/AIDS, and the current research on the impact of the stigma and prejudice of PLWHA is being done through interviews of women LWHA, questionnaires filled out by social workers and students, and also questionnaires completed by PLWHA.
 
OTHER IMPORTANT FACTS
 
Some other facts the sister shared concerning HIV/AIDS are:
  • it takes 3-10 years before the symptoms appear but during that time a person can infect others
  • in sexual contact, according to research, 1 in 100 gets infected
  • in sexual contact with HIV-infected blood, about 100% chance of getting infected
  • sharing noodles, tattoos and body piercing, unless blood is involved, does not spread the infection; however, these behaviors are not recommended
  • mother-to-child infections by carrying the child, by vaginal birth, and by breast feeding register a 30% chance of infection
  • medical accidents (doctors or nurses getting stuck by needles) can result in the spread (the sister commented that as yet not one case in Korea has been the result of a medical accident)
  • HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted by tears, sweat, saliva (if there are no cavities), cup sharing, bathing together, hand shaking, coughing or sneezing, or even by mosquitos
  • What is not recommended is the sharing of razors, toothbrushes, nail clippers (because of where the cuticle is cut and then the tool may not be sterilized)
In our immune system there are cells called CD4. These cells fight off infection and disease. The HIV virus directly attacks these cells. Therefore, a nourishing diet feeds and nurtures the body's cells, so eating well does ironically serve also as a kind of preventative.
 
The last piece of trivis is that today, Dec 1, is AIDS day in Korea. Hence, waiting for a few months to post this presentation on a most propitious day!

Dec 1 - AIDS day in Korea

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Play: A Doll's House

The Norwegian play "A Doll's House" which premiered in Denmark in December 1879 is a play much like William Russell's "Educating Rita", first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in June 1980 in London, nearly a century later. Both plays have been selected in the last few months to be acted out in The Probationary Theater, and
both plays depict the growing awareness of a woman who was curbed by the social confines of her era, her social class and the men in her lives. Both plays deal with an awakening to self-awareness, self-development and the need for self-pride, not the kind that is cast off from the man she is attached to but deserving by her own existence and state of contribution to society. Institutional marriages become the object of discussion, not acceptance, the male-female hierarchy totters, and the women seek to explore what it is to be a woman beyond the confines they have hitherto not questioned.

While "Educating Rita", set a century later, was more about a woman fighting the mental confines of her low social class, "A Doll's House" was about a woman objectified into being a beautiful little doll, purposeless, functionless except as an armpiece and for the social setting, and sadly, voiceless. The "doll" in the house is told how to decorate, how to dress, how even to greet her squelchingly condescending husband upon his return every evening. The "doll" becomes a little bird that flutters and makes half-hearted attempts to be seen for what she is beyond being a "doll" without life of her own, until at the end of the play, the "doll" becomes animated with action, and flings herself against the gilded bars of her household cage and she flies out to discover ... herself. The play closed with the soon-to-be tasted freedom. The audience seemed hesitant at first before clapping at such a hint of the future, but not being given the satisfaction of knowing it.


When Ibsen wrote his play, this was such a magnificent ending for no one would know where the escape from the traditional male-dominated home could lead, so what a climax! UNESCO recognized in Ibsen's play quality of such value that the autographed manuscripts of "A Doll's House" were inscribed on the Memory of the World's Registry in 2001, in recognition of its historical value. I recognize it as a great play, especially as it invoked in me the rising frustration and anger that the "doll" was starting to feel. While she awakened to awareness of what her husband had made of her, I felt anger (perhaps the more modern emotion triggered by the obvious inequality of the relationship) for the husband's cloyness amplified as his repeatedly tried to soothe and coddle his wife as if she were a toy, a little doll. The last twenty minutes of the play were so cloying with his condescending tones, his meaningless but controlling sweet-nothings while she struggled to assert herself and rise above the blankets of sappy codependent-power obsession that my fists were clenched, and wow was I proud when she swung on her coat, stated clearly why she was leaving and walked, head held majestically high, out the door!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Decision on War in Korea: Revelations from Russian Archives

Dr. Kathryn Weathersby, a Professorial Lecturer in Korean Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University, Adjunct Professor at Korea University and Visiting Professor at Sungshin Women's University in Seoul, holds a PhD in modern Russian history from Indiana University (1990) with a second field in modern East Asian history. She taught Russian and East Asian History at Florida State University before founding and directing the Korea Initiative of the Cold War International History Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. She has published widely on the Korean War, North Korean history, and the Cold War in Asia, and has consulted for several documentary films on the Korean War.

Kathryn presented on the politicosocial factors that determined the initiation of the Korean War. The write-up by the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) on the lecture gives a clear overview of how the war started and how scholars now know that "secret" knowledge. The RAS writes:
"The decision to launch a full-scale assault on the Republic of Korea in June 1950 brought incalculable suffering to Korea and its allies and continues to shape the life of the peninsula. Yet it was not until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 that records of this fateful decision became available to scholars. Dr. Weathersby, the first Western historian to examine Soviet documents on Korea, will discuss what Russian archives reveal about when and why Kim Il Sung, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong decided to use military force to bring all of Korea under communist control. She will conclude with thoughts about how knowledge of this history can inform our approach to inter-Korean relations today."  
The Lecture

Kathryn received a research grant to go to Moscow right after finishing her PhD. She got to Moscow two weeks after the collapse of the Soviet Union and would continue to do sporadic research in Moscow from 1991-1995. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin, desperately needing money for Russia and good relations with South Korea, thought to offer South Korea invaluable archived historical records, of course for a price.

These records include correspondences with Pyeongyang, the location of Japanese industries before the arrival of the Russians, the minute details of the establishment of the DPRK (North Korea), in fact, EVERYTHING, as Russia had control mittens on the total relations of the DPRK and therefore, reflecting the detail work common to Russian communism, systematically documented all Russian-North Korean interactions and correspondences. The records show that North Korea was extremely dependent on Russia for all development (as it was within Russian control), that is, for permissions to travel, for Russian military defense, for educators to seek approval and assistance to study such topics as metallurgy in Moscow, to name a few. Decision were not made in the Korean homeland but through contact and with approval from their Russian overseers.

The Cold War International History Project in the Wilson Center is a digital online library that was started by Kathryn Weathersby and posts records, research and scholarly discussion, etc. on any country involved in the Cold War. Kathryn discussed her research "Soviet Aims in Korea and the Origins of the Korean War, 1945-1950: New Evidence from Russian Archives" and demonstrated how to locate resources digitalized from the Russian archives.

Among the resources, Kathryn pointed out dates and content and gave brief summaries of the content, mostly correspondences from North Korea to Moscow, while explaining the political and social unrest affecting decisions made concerning the correspondences. She started with an entry in 1949 when Stalin visited the DPRK as Kim Il Sung asked for military assistance from Russia. In this meeting Kim Il Sung raised the question of military invasion of South Korea, but Stalin said, "No, there are still Americans stationed there." A few months later in September Kim Il Sung contacted Stalin and said they could have a military strike anywhere to the south of them. This suggested military strike was not only limited to South Korea.

In the following two months, discussions initiated by Kim Il Sung for a military invasion and takeover of the south was never a question as being wrong from within their country or from Russia. Bolsheviks had taken power by invasion and that had worked out. The question was about timing, but there was consideration of an immediate attack because by this time the Americans had pulled out of South Korea. There remained questions about how to take over rapidly in order to win large territories so that the Americans principally couldn't fight to win it back.

January 1950, China had accomplished their liberation (with Mao), and Kim Il Sung then felt his situation was intolerable! Kim Il Sung requested permission to go to Moscow to discuss an invasion with Stalin. Stalin's overwhelming fear was the risk of causing financial problems to Russia, a financially unstable country, and the risk of war (and losing) with the Americans. By the end of January, Stalin was willing to discuss because the international relations had changed. That is, the internal struggle had been resolved with China so Russia could then focus its attention on helping North Korea, especially as China had signed a treaty in January 1950 with the Soviet Union so would be in alliance with DPRK and Russia against the Americans to forever expulse those Americans from Asia. (BTW, the American military wasn't large in the Pacific as it is now.)

Russia considered the priorities of the U.S. in Asia, principally there were two:
  1. Japan - Japan was strategically located for accessing the inner parts of Asia, was viewed as valuable for the American economy, among other reasons.
  2. The Philippines - The Philippines was American territory and had been an American colony and still remained a great site for an American naval base.
Russia also considered that the areas further west of Japan and the Philippines (all of mainland Asia and Taiwan) could be taken relatively easily. Americans had limited resources, so these places were thought of as 'outside the American defense parameters'. Stalin looked at the dynamics and thought the time was right, not only to attack South Korea but to gain control of all of Asia. Stalin's ultimate aim was also to occupy and take over Japan. (Japan had controlled much of Siberia barbarously, and was of primary location for maintaining control of all of Asia.) So, the Soviet Union made the decision to support DPRK and in the spring of 1950 moved massive amounts of machinery to North Korea, but Stalin did specify that supplies and weapons would be supplied by the Soviet Union but under no circumstances was Russia supplying troops; troops would have to be supplied by China, and this was approved by Mao.

Kim Il Sung and Mao weren't totally happy with this decision delineated and approved by Stalin to attack on the peninsula first. Kim and Mao wanted to attack Taiwan to get control of the perimeter first, but were forced to follow Stalin's lead. The fear about this was that Americans would return to South Korea.



Both of these pictures are Russian T-34 tanks, the kind of tanks employed during the North Korean invasion of South Korea. These picts, however, are not of the invasion (I couldn't find a picture of it, but then whoever took that kind of pictures probably wouldn't live to show it.) Picture source is Wikipedia.
So, when the DPRK attacked South Korea and wave upon wave of Soviet tanks crossed the DMZ, the world (Americans, French, Turks ...) were stunned and were reminded of the Nazis pouring tanks into Europe, so Americans galvanized as well as Europeans to prevent the communists from spreading across the Korean peninsula and ultimately across all of East Asia. In outcome, the US and 15 United Nations countries rushed to defend the South Koreans and contain communism from spreading.

Q&A with additional information by some participants

Russia finally did consent to provide troops but only because the Chinese absolutely refused to send their troops across the many unprotected bridges. And because the Chinese had not a single plane or pilot (no air force or even money of any kind, but they were great as guerrilla fighters), Russia did consent to send planes and pilots, but on conditions.

Through the course of the Korean War, 17,000 Russian troops participated in the war, but Stalin, not wanting to be militarily "involved" in the war made stipulations that Russian planes were to be painted as DPRK planes and marked with DPRK symbols, the Russian pilots were to dress in DPRK uniforms and not carry any identification of any kind, and, the Russians were to speak Korean so that the Americans would not know the Russians were involved in the war. (The Americans did know but kept the knowledge quiet so as not to start World War III.) The Russian pilots were told under no circumstances were they to be caught. They were not to fly within 60 miles or kilometers of the DMZ, and if they were going to crash and be captured, they were to commit suicide by blowing off their faces so as to be unrecognizable. None are known to be captured.

Just an aside: the 17,000 Russian troops fighting the Americans was the largest military interaction to date between Russia and the US.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Pooja, a Nepalese Restaurant

In the Dongmyo station vicinity there are many middle-eastern-Asian types of restaurants. Coming out exit 8 of Dongmyo station and directly above the exit on the third floor is the Himalayan Restaurant. This is perhaps my favorite of them all; it's cozy, rustic and nostalgic, and has pretty decent seating meaning wood and not plastic, which I hate in ethnic restaurants. Out of all the restaurants in this area, they also have the best palak paneer, my favorite, so course they would be my favorite restaurant! Also out exit 8 and a few minutes walk crossing one road is the Pooja restaurant, which several of my friends and I when to tonight. I understand there is an Everest restaurant out the same exit; I haven't been there yet, and then Naamasa (spelling - oops!) is out another exit and a quick 4 minute walk from the station.
 
Anyway, one of my friends is engaged to a Nepalese and insisted on trying this restaurant and sampling their interpretation of their ethnic food. She was able to explain why we were served in metal bowls, an act giving great honor to the customers and used only in ceremonies in their country, and she introduced special foods, sometimes giving a little cultural snippet about its origins and variations. And because of her use of some Nepalese and having visited some of the same villages the owners were from, we got special service which included lassis for everyone! Yum!
 


I ordered polau, a delightful Indian basmati rice, peas, carrots, red pepper and cashew stir-fry, and sampled the less spicy curries brought to the others. The curries we ordered tonight were palak paneer (green - spinach with "cottage cheese-like curds"), paneer butter masala (orange-red - spicy "cottage cheese-like curds" with butter, onions, tomato and red pepper), dal makhani (yellowish-brown - black beans with cream and herbs), and chicken makhani (bright red). Even though a couple of my friends had said 'cut the heat', then seriously wondered if they had been misunderstood and heat had actually been added. In any regard, the food (except for the palak paneer by unanimous vote) was very good! I'm still partial to the Himalayan restaurant but this was definitely a nice treat, especially because of our culture-guide friend who raised awareness of some of the culture mixed in with the food.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

"Note-taking" : The Modern Day Students

The modern-day students have deplorable hand-writing. The students we're now getting as freshmen in our university classes have been exposed to computers from perhaps elementary school, and so instead of being taught penmanship classes - which was very important to the Confucian scholarly education system that placed great emphasis on control of mind and body through proper penmanship and Chinese calligraphy - some of our students now have the handwriting of kindergarten students ... large, unshapen and scrawlly.
 
Another detriment to the students' lack of proper penmanship is their present-day note-taking methods ... by cell phone! Few students actually take notes anymore. The formerly auditory society that had few or limited books now has become a visual society that has plentiful books, unlimited writing materials, computers, a wide variety of recording devices, both visual and auditory, so students are tasked in writing. Here are some of my students employing their modern note-taking "skills". At the end of every class I write the homework on the board, often specifying certain points that are important for the learning process, and do the students write their assignments in their notebooks? No! They often don't even have notebooks. At the end of class they whip out their phones in unison, snap a shot of the board and then shoot out the door. Wow ... modern students!
 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Ballet: Swan Lake

Ballets are majestic. Ballerinos and ballerinas have undergone such rigorous training to have fluid and graceful body movement that I sit in awe when I go to a ballet. I'm certainly not an authority on dance or ballet but I have seen ballet transitions in Korea since coming in 1991. Back in the early 1990s I went to a ballet - yes, just a single one, but I was surprised that the movements in the ballet were rather choppy and abrupt. For example, the dancers would make quick arm or leg movements away from the body, pause faintly, and then jerk the appendage back. Several of my colleagues and I were rather surprised that the movements weren't fluid and flowing.
 
From what I saw years ago and what I'm seeing now in the theater, there are big differences in fluidity and grace. Now, the dancing is gentle, gliding and ethereal.
 
Another difference I'm noting is that Korean ballet performances employ more dancers than the performances in the the US. I haven't been to many ballets in the states, so am not sure whether this is true or not, but Korea does seem to fill the stage in big performances with a lot of background dancers. This might be because the dance culture in Korea is so popular, even pop stars have large groups of backup dancers dancing, which is kind of culturally accepted for music performances here, so why shouldn't a ballet be profoundly glorious with many graceful background dancers too?
 
Tonight's performance was Swan Lake. And the swan glided around the lake "singing" her final song. Note the final picture below or the large number of ballerinas, and just imagine them floating around the lake in simultaneous choreographed graceful dance!
 
 

 


Friday, October 12, 2012

Breast Cancer Quadruples in 15 Years

Friday, October 12, 2012, the article "Breast Cancer Quadruples in 15 Years" in the Korean Herald really shocked my co-workers and was talked about in the hallways and probably just as noisily off campus. People I came into contact with were rocked by the astonishing escalation of breast cancer and the conversations extended to other types of cancers becoming some commonly diagnosed nowadays. I'm not a person who posts newspaper articles, but this one must be documented for the wider reading public. It not only documents an underlying problem that needs identification within Korea, but mirrors a major problem that is epidemic in developing and developed countries.


The Article by Cho Chung-un

Number of patients in their 50s and 60s has sharply increasedThe number of Korean women diagnosed with breast cancer quadrupled over the last 15 years due to a more westernized lifestyle and lower birth and breastfeeding rates, health experts said.

According to a report by the Korea Breast Cancer Society, the number of patients with the disease surged to 16,398 in 2010 from 3,801 in 1996. The number of breast cancer patients in the population per 100,000 people also jumped to 67.2 in 2010 from 16.7 in 1996, it added.
The association said the number of breast cancer cases in Korea would pass the 20,000-mark soon ― possibly within this year or the next.

The research also found that the disease is increasing at a more rapid rate among women in their 50s and 60s, particularly after they reach menopause, a pattern often detected in western countries. Meanwhile, the rate of patients in their 40s dropped to 37 percent from 40 percent. Previously, the growth rate of breast cancer in Korea was relatively high among women in that age group.

“There are still many cases of breast cancer found in patients in their 40s but we need to focus on the growth rate of the disease in women over their 50s, which clearly reflects the patterns of Western countries,” said Park Chan-heun, chairman of the cancer society in Korea.

About 49 percent of cases occurred in post-menopausal women in 2010, a more than 10 percentage point increase from 39.1 percent in 1996. The median age of Korean breast cancer patients also increased from 46 to 49 in the same period.

“More breast cancer cases have been recently found among middle-aged women or baby boomers because they were active in joining the workforce, leading to the low birth and breastfeeding rates,” he said.
The good news is that the proportion of cancers detected early ― diagnosed in stages 0 and 1 ― is also on rise, thanks to an increase in breast cancer screening rates. Patients diagnosed with breast cancer stages 2-4 made up 47.5 percent of those diagnosed in 2010, down from 76.2 percent in 1996.

The proportion of patients with asymptomatic cancers also surged from 6.4 percent in 1996 to 32.7 percent in the same period. An increasing number of women opted for breast-conserving therapies rather than radical mastectomy, or removing the breast.

The increase in early detection has contributed to lowering the death rate of the disease. The death rate for breast cancer in Korea remains one of the lowest among OECD-member countries. About 5.3 in a population of 100,000 die, the report said.

Watching for breast cancer is necessary for every woman over 30.

“Women in their 30s need to start self-examinations for breast cancer every month while those in their 40s need to do a breast screening once every year,” Park said.

Three or five days after menstruation is the right time for a self-examination because the texture of breasts becomes soft at that time, experts said. Those who have had breast removal or who have reached menopause need to set regular dates three times a month for a self-examination.

To lower the risk of breast cancer, doctors suggest having the first child in the early 20s, breastfeeding and maintaining a healthy weight.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Sculptures around Kyungpo Lake

On the southern side of Kyungpo Lake are a long line of culturally crafted sculptures depicting traditional scenes of Joseon culture. Most are a humorous rendition of an age that's passed and remembered in textbooks but not in the nostalgic memory of living Koreans today. I find the sculptures clever and enjoy reconstructing the meaning of each, which are not shared because it would take just too much time.

아버지 홍판서와부인 유씨
길동을 아끼는 이복형 홍인형
길동일 어릴 적동네 친구들
   
긴동의 친어머니 춘섬
홍판서의칩기생 초란
부자간을 이간하는 관상녀
길동의 방을 침입하는 자객
도적 텁석부리와 졸개들
재물을 나뉘주는의적 활빈당원들
활빈당에게 곤장 맞는 탐과사또
재물을 나눠받고 좋아하는 백성들
백성을 괴롭히는 홍청앙청 포졸을
푸대 속애 갇힌 포도대장
고민하는 조선국 임금
망탄산의 요괴 우농들
길동의 부인이 부인이 되는 백룡의 딸
평화로운 율도국 백성
울도국 충신 김현충 장군
나라를 내 준 율도국의 임금
총명하고 힘찬 청년 홍길동

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Kangneung Vicinity Hiking Trails

I've been visiting Kangneung for its beauty and a quick place to escape with water, sunshine and nature for the past several years. By express bus it takes about 3 hours from Seoul, add an hour for subway transportation in Seoul and an hour of local bus to get to the lake/beach and the 5-hour trip is doable, even for a day-trip if arriving early and leaving on one of the late buses.
 
Anyway, in the past year or two there has been a lot of development around Kangneung area. The path circling the lake has been broadened and exercise equipment set up in a couple of spots, scenic benches and tiny pavilions are scattered around the lake, but even better is the growing number of extensive hiking trails connecting the lake, different parts of Kangneung and wandering out to various beaches and through rice fields. So far, 14 color-coded trails have been built, varying from 9.4 kilometers to 18.5 kilometers. At present, there are 74.4 kilometers of trail for people to wander along. When a person gets to the express bus terminal in Kangneung, a tour map of the trails can be picked up at the tourist information booth in front of the terminal. The pictures below are snippets from the tour map. And would I just love love love to hike all of these trails as the setting can be quite picturesque here still. 
 
 
This map is the extensive 74.4 kilometer network of hiking trails that have been built so far in the Kangneung area. (I think construction is mostly complete although I did see evidence of landscaping in some spots and wonder why when nature in its raw beauty is so much more beautiful - and easy to 'care for' - than human landscaped scenes.)

 
These particular trails that weave through or go near the relatively newly built wind-power generators are some trails that I would like to go on to see the great (but very destructive) generators. So far, these generators have not been productive, and since they are no longer one or two years old, tours don't seem to be offered anymore. I spent hours trying to figure out how to get a tour of the compound but it seems they've been curtailed. I am very much against these generators for several reasons, the first being that they are built in air-streams which birds use for flight, which means that birds fly into these things all the time and dead birds pile up under them. I wanted to see if people were allowed near enough to see this kind of destruction of wildlife and wanted to ask questions about the bird population before and since. However, I don't think people would be allowed near the generators as I've read that these cause great buzzing in the head and are harmful for humans biorhythms. I have so many questions about these things!


Trail #5 goes around Kyungpo Lake, connects with the yellow marked trail or goes kind of along the east sea beach down to a neighboring village. Trail #5 is the one I plan to walk first, and then spend the night in 슨바람다리 and then the next day take Trail #6 inland. Trail #6 goes along a relatively unpopulated stretch so the clean air, the leisurely or brisk walk and just the pleasure of being away from stifling Seoul would such a pleasure to enjoy!

 
OK, I've taken many pictures and shared them from Kyungpo Lake, but here are some more. The beauty of the lake is so spectacular in the fall. Some of these pictures were taken in a light autumnal rain. The birds didn't mind so I didn't either.