This is Korean Culture

A look at Korean culture, as an unfetishized whole. Blogged by a Korean.

[thisiskoreanculture]

The Long Post of Korean Romanization Systems (i.e. The Mess)

Basically because I want to show how hard it is to romanize, and the best way to do that is to explain the various systems and why it’s so hard to understand. I should also note that contemporary Korean uses spaces differently than English does (though technically you can do without spaces in Korean.) This may confuse things…

And most Koreans don’t understand romanization. (romaja)

Basic Hangeul (not combined as usual) ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅅㅇㅈ(basic consonants) ㄲㄸㅃㅆㅉ (double consonants) ㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ (aspirated Consonants) ㅏㅓㅗㅜㅡㅣㅐㅔ (simple vowels) ㅑㅕㅛㅠㅒㅖ (Y+vowel) (an additional short line compared to the simple vowels) ㅘㅙㅚㅝㅞㅟㅢ(W+vowel) (two combined vertical and horizontal vowels)

Name of Consonants ㄱ- 기역 (giyok) ㄴ- 니은 (nieun) ㄷ- 디귿 (digeut) ㄹ- 리을 (rieul) ㅁ- 미음 (mieum) ㅅ- 시옷 (siot) ㅇ- 이응 (ieung) ㅈ- 지읒 (jieut) ㅊ- 치읓 (chieut) ㅋ- 키읔 (kieuk) ㅌ- 티읕 (tieut) ㅍ- 피읖 (pieup) ㅎ- 히읕 (hieut) ㄲ- 쌍기역 (ssang giyok) ㄸ- 쌍디귿 (ssang digeut) ㅃ- 쌍비읍 (ssang bieup) ㅆ- 쌍시옷 (ssang siot) ㅉ- 쌍지읒 (ssang jieut) Bright v. Dark vowels of Korean This helps with conjugation later... since it follows these rules. yang (bright) ㅏ and ㅗ series (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅘ) yin (dark) ㅓ and ㅜ series (ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅝ) neutral ㅡ and ㅣ Construction You have three basic constructions to make a syllable. The last consonant is optional, the first one is not. If there is no initial sound then ieung is used. 웅 straight down (consonant, vowel, [consonant]) This is for the horizontal vowels. 엉 vowel to the right side. (consonant, vowel, [consonant]) 읭 or like this. side and in the middle. (Consonant vowel left and right, [consonant]) Anything before the slash is the initial sound representation in the romanization. Anything after is the final sound representation in the romanization. McCune–Reischauer romanization This system was rejected because no one can type diacritical marks over the vowels, plus it make no sense that some get it and some don't. It also didn't represent the sounds in Korean correctly. ㄱ- k/k ㄴ- n/n ㄷ- t/t ㄹ- r/r ㅁ-m/m ㅅ- s/t ㅇ- [silent]/ng ㅈ- j/t ㅊ- ch/t ㅋ- k' ㅌ- t' ㅍ- p' ㅎ- h ㄲ- kk ㄸ- tt ㅃ- pp ㅆ- ss ㅉ- tch ㄳ- ks(h) ㄵ- nj ㄶ- n ㄺ- lg ㄻ- lm ㄼ- lb ㄽ- ls(h) ㄾ- lt ㄿ- lp' ㅀ- l ㅄ- bs(h) ㅏ-a ㅑ- ya ㅓ- ŏ ㅕ- yŏ ㅗ- o ㅛ- yo ㅜ- u ㅠ- yu ㅡ- ŭ ㅣ- i ㅐ- ae ㅒ-yae ㅔ- e ㅖ- ye ㅘ- wa ㅙ- wae ㅚ- oe ㅝ- wŏ ㅞ- we ㅟ- wi ㅢ- ui Yale version Yale came a decade after McCune... but repeated the same kind of errors of McCune and added some issue of its own. (Personally, I think this doesn't represent the sounds of Korean correctly) ㄱ- k/k ㄴ- n/n ㄷ- t/t ㄹ- r/r ㅁ-m/m ㅅ- s/s ㅇ- [silent]/ng ㅈ- j ㅊ- ch ㅋ- kh ㅌ- th ㅍ- ph ㅎ- h ㄲ-kk ㄸ-tt ㅃ-pp ㅆ-ss ㅉ-cc ㅏ- a ㅑ-ya ㅓ-e ㅕ-ye ㅗ-o ㅛ-yo ㅜ-u/wu ㅠ-yu ㅡ-u ㅣ-i ㅐ-yay ㅒ-yey ㅔ-ey ㅖ-ye ㅘ-wa ㅙ-way ㅚ-oy ㅝ-we ㅞ-wo ㅟ-we ㅢ-uy Revised Romanization System (of South Korea) This system makes probably the closest sense, but has a few faults to it. This was released by the South Korean government. But given the previous systems plus those imposed by both Russia and China, some names still are spelled with the older systems. ㄱ- g ㄴ- n ㄷ- d ㄹ- r ㅁ-m/m ㅅ- s ㅇ- [silent]/ng ㅈ- j ㅊ- ch ㅋ- k ㅌ- t ㅍ- p ㅎ- h ㄲ- kk ㄸ- tt ㅃ- pp ㅆ- ss ㅉ- jj ㅏ- a ㅑ-ya ㅓ- eo ㅕ- yeo ㅗ- o ㅛ- yo ㅜ- u ㅠ- yu ㅡ- ey ㅣ- i ㅐ- ae ㅒ- ye ㅔ- e ㅖ-ye ㅘ- wa ㅙ- wae ㅚ- oe ㅝ- wo ㅞ- we ㅟ- wi ㅢ- ui The use of u (and confusion therein) ㅡ,ㅜ,ㅓ can all be confused with "u" Some also try to make ㅆ and ㅅ have an sh, which BTW, is inaccurate is is most likely trying to make it easier on the speaker... but it's like saying "sit" and then adding the h after the s... you just don't do it. And it's not that hard. (The Korean s is slightly stressed which is different from the s or the sh of English) Also there are issues because revised doesn't reflect reality of sounds in Korean. Therefore, many subbers modified the Revised to have it this way.... ㄱ- g/k ㄴ- n/n ㄷ- d/t ㄹ- r/l ㅁ-m/m ㅅ- s/t ㅇ- [silent]/ng ㅈ- j/t ㅊ- ch/t ㅋ- k/t ㅌ- t/t ㅍ- p/t ㅎ- h/t ㄲ- kk ㄸ- tt ㅃ- pp ㅆ- ss ㅉ- jj ㅏ- a ㅑ- ya ㅓ- eo ㅕ- yeo ㅗ- o ㅛ- yo ㅜ- oo ㅠ- yoo ㅡ- ey ㅣ- i ㅐ- ae ㅒ- ye ㅔ- e ㅖ- ye ㅘ- wa ㅙ- wae ㅚ- oe ㅝ- wo ㅞ- we ㅟ- wi ㅢ- ui Crazier Systems In the Chinese derived system some spelled the jj sound as "z" (which makes absolutely no sense since it doesn't even sound close to "z") Modified Systems ㄱㄲㅋ g, gg, k ㅂㅃㅍ b, bb, p ㄷㄸㅌ d, dd, t ㅈㅉㅊ j, jj, ch system is also sometimes used. In either case, you can see the folly of trying to put it into English letters. It just doesn't work and the sounds are represented correctly because there isn't a one to one. Thus, I'll go over a basic pronunciation guide.... and resplit it to make it easier. Pronunciation guide ㄱ- initial sound is close to a g, but has a little k in it. final sound is like a k (english) ㄴ- n is the usual n sound in English. It does match one for one. Non-nasal. (Not the Japanese final n sound) ㄷ- initial sound is between a d and a t. (less air than a t in English) final sound is a t. ㄹ- initial sound is like an r/l *similar to Japanese* but not the same. the tongue is a touch forward for the Japanese r/l sound. the final sound is an l sound. ㅁ- m sounds like m. No changes, not that nasal. ㅅ- initial sound is a soft s. It may be stressed a little as in ss in princess, but softer. It is NOT sh. *bangs people's heads* some lazy actors do say is sh, but they are overworked and tired anyway... final sound is a t ㅇ- initial sound is silent. 오 would be o. (oh) final sound is ng. 응 ong ㅈ- j for initial. t for final. ㅎ- h is h. ㄲ- double up k/g sound. gone is similar. (though the sound is too low). DO NOT SEPARATE the double consonant. ㄸ between a double d and a double t sound. marry ladder and later and that's close. DO NOT SEPARATE the double consonant. ㅃ- double b/p sound. closer to a double b. DO NOT SEPARATE the double consonant. ㅆ- ss is in princess. It is NOT an SH. (Ajusshi is incorrect pronunciation. It should be ajussi)  DO NOT SEPARATE the double consonant. ㅉ- double j sound. DO NOT SEPARATE the double consonant. ㅊ- ch/t ch as in Chuntney. final sound is a t. add air to the double j. It's not the ch of Hannukah though. (sound starts middle of the mouth and moves forwards) ㅋ- k with air. (take it from the throat and move it forward. If you get phlegm, you are getting there) ㅌ- t, sound is aspirated in the throat and has air. ㅍ- p as in princess, only with slightly more air. ㅏ- ah as in ah! You ruined my brand new carpet. ㅓ- eo say eh~ *keep your tongue in that position.* Round your mouth while keeping your tongue there and your get eo. ㅗ- oh (tongue down, mouth rounded) ㅜ- oo. Ooo~ You're in trouble. ㅡ- eu- hut is similar in sound. (tongue same position as eh, mouth relaxed.) ㅣ- sort ee sound. It's short as the short i sound in English. ee as in meet is too long. No equivalent I know of. (So, no it's not Kim as in Kimberly. It's keem, k closer to a g, ee is short with final m.) ㅐ- say ah- (as in doctor's office) move *lips, not tongue* to say "eh" you get ae. ㅔ- eh ㅑ- ya (Ya! Don't you run away) ㅕ- Yeo (Same with a y) ㅛ- yo ㅠ- yoo (You and me) ㅒ-yae ㅖ- ye ㅘ-wa ㅙ- wae ㅚ- oe ㅝ- wuh (Wonder) ㅞ- we (web) ㅟ- wee (Short ee sound) ㅢ-uey Final Consonants ㄱ, ㄲ, ㅋ, ㄳ, ㄺ are all pronounced as ㄱ ㄴ, ㄵ are pronounced as ㄴ ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ are pronounced as ㄷ ㄹ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ are pronounced as ㄹ ㅁ, ㄻ are pronounced as ㅁ ㅂ, ㅍ, ㅄ, ㄿ are pronounced as ㅂ ㅇ is pronounced as ㅇ Pronunciation Exceptions Korean *does* have exceptions to pronunciation rules and also lazy pronunciation. (English has a lot of exceptions... so don't say it's so hard when you have English) ㄴ as a final consonant before the ㄹ makes an l sound. 전라도- Jeolla-do, not jeonrado. final ㄹ with a beginning ㄹ ends with an l sound. 알라 ahlah (rather than ahl-rah) final ㅂ before an initial ㄴ becomes an m sound. 감사합니다 (kam-sah-ha[p]m-ni-dah) final ㄴ before an initial ㅂ sound becomes a m. a final consonant followed by an initial consonant ㅇ negates the consonant ㅇ 생각에 is pronounced: [생가게) meaning to think. --except in the case of ㅇ--which is special.... 꼬맹이  is pronounced 꼬맨기 (for the small figures... also 꼬마) a final h before a consonant makes the next consonant aspirated. 어떻게-->어떠케 Pronunciation Cultural exceptions 누구 (noogoo) meaning "Who" can sound like 두구 (doogoo) with some people when they are being lazy. 아 파 (ah-pha) (to hurt) can sound like 아퍼 (Ah-pheo) This has to do with the Korean belief of "bright" and "dark" vowels. "ah" is a "bright" vowel. and "Eo" is a dark vowel. Getting hurt is a dark moment, so it gets a "dark" vowel. Also, I hypothesize that maybe it has to do with 아빠 (ah-ppa) sounding similar which means father. A few of them follow this rule... though it's technically not correct in spelling. Personally, I find it much easier because of the confusion to use hangeul. I lean towards a modified version of the revised otherwise with the best representation of the actual sounds, even if you can't type it into hangeul one to one.            

[thisiskoreanculture]

100 Years of Korean Beauty

Also check out...

The Research. BTW, done by someone Korean and explaining the differences.

The 1910′s make up and hair.

2010, a description of the Make up with the model speaking for herself.

[thisiskoreanculture]

Hanbok--modernizing it for everyday wear.

Traditionally hanbok were worn everyday until the Japanese occupation and then men fled like the cowards they were--or maybe it’s because the men’s hanbok is a torture device made by women. *grins* (Yes, yes, in-joke most people won’t get). Anyway, hanbok used to be made of everything from cotton to ramie to silk. It also varied over time as it took influences from mostly China. I, personally, as a Korean, think it’s a shame that Korean culture has given into the thought that colorful clothes are for old people--because this is buying into the Japanese occupation ideals of erasure. Why are modern clothes not as colorful in Korea? It’s one part Western culture and one part Japanese occupation... and I say screw that! Why can’t we have pride in our clothing and remake it so it is like a tiny nod to people in the know? Why can’t we remake the chima into something that looks like a fusion sundress and wear it day in and day out? Sure we should wear the finer stuff for special occasions--that’s what they did in the past... but why can’t we make a hanbok that we can wear everyday--- OK, maybe not the men, because I don’t know a single Korean man that loves wearing hanbok 24-7, even the monks don’t like wearing them 24-7 and might even cheat and wear a durumagi over the top of their modern clothes...

But seriously... a chima doesn’t look that far from a sundress? Why not make the hanbok out of cotton and modernize it? I don’t like the idea of giving into Western and Japanese shame about our own heritage and clothing.

[thisiskoreanculture]

Some people don't get it...

Korean flag is me. Blacked out is the other person. Consider the amount of likes and you can see the problem. Look, you can be an outsider and have Korean friends, marry someone Korean, speak the language, live in Korea, have a half Korean child. That won't make you Korean. Nothing in the world you can do can make your blood Korean. Sorry. And you shouldn't get all self-righteous about it either.

Can't we get some respect? You came into our territory, not the other way around.

Oh and stop using Japanese on Korean videos and Korean on Japanese videos and then Korean and Japanese on Taiwanese and Hong Kong Videos. It's just so wrong in so many ways.

[thisiskoreanculture]

Korean words I wish were in English...

My wishlist is short... but some words that I wish I could use in English... Note: I use revised romanization...

밀당 (mildang)- means push pull. And refers to the push-pull in a relationship. It's a shortening of these two words. : 밀다 (milda) (push) and 당기다 (danggida) (pull). Usage: Guy calls and the girl doesn't answer. That's mildang.

It would be useful in English because we often refer to this type of thing in conversations and people ask "Why?" instead of a long drawn out explaination, we can say, "You need more mildang."

So for example:

"You just got that number from him, you can't call him."

"Why?"

"He should call you to show he's interested."

"Why? I really like him."

Instead of saying, "Because you'll look desperate and then how do you know if he really likes you." You could sum it up and say, "Show him some mildang, then he'll stay interested in you."

See... it's shorter. Plus you don't have to call your friend anything. Just remind them it takes some push pull...

정 (jeong)- the feeling of a place being attached to you, or you being attached to a place. You could say to an effect that a place has psychometry over you. But it's more than just belonging, but that place calls to you in your heart and the fiber of your being. You can sometimes see people who are like this. Where if they go anywhere but home, they look absolutely lost, unconfident, and they feel like they stick out like a sore thumb.

The concept is already in English, but there isn't a way to directly talk about it. The closest we have is there is no place like home, but the feeling of Jeong goes deeper--that places call to people, to their mind/heart in such a way they can't help but feel attached to it.

Usage: Despite the years apart, seeing the corner liquor store, the smiles on Ms. Hisakawa's face, Kaleb knew what he was trying to escape from. The way the town sucked his being in. The way the town called to him. And he to the town. The feeling of jeong.

눈치 (noonchi) - literally means eye measure. You use this to read the situation and then figure out the best solution for it. It's like reading the air. It's more than just perception or just intuition, it's those two things combined to read the entire situation *and* engage your brain for the best solution AND come up with the best situation.

When you lack noonchi, then you're a dork. 눈치없다. (Nunchi eopda)

Usage: Lee Seung Ki is a really a dork. He couldn't realize that the solution to the puzzle was on his shoe the entire time.

He had really good noonchi. Not only could he see that everyone was mad, but that asking everyone to go to their favorite restaurant would solve the problem.

I'd personally vote against, "Han" 한 which is pretty much used to talk about collective suffering, but is pretty much talking about permanent collective victimhood for the rest of one's life (in a positive manner--it has no negativity associated with claiming it.) without trying to move on to the survivor, etc stage. Look, you get to be a victim only ONCE. That's before you speak. After you speak, you are a survivor. Don't hold onto victimhood. Because after that, you are whining. Work on thinking about how to overcome.

[longmoreinstituteondisability]

South Korean pianist Yeaji Kim has been completely blind since the age of 13 and learned to play piano using Braille scores, meaning that each page of music was covered with three-dimensional bumps that made it possible for her to read printed music. But Braille has its limits; there are some important musical elements that Braille can’t transmit, like timing, piano pedal markings and other performance notations. So Yeaji Kim came up with the concept of a complete 3D score for blind students, as part of her doctoral dissertation at the US American University of Wisconsin. Her 3D pen makes ordinary sheet music 3D by slightly elevating the staff and the notation printed on it. She hopes this will mean blind musicians will have access to all sheet music, instead of being limited to what is specially produced in Braille.

3D scores for blind musicians (via dangercupcakemurdericing)

[thisiskoreanculture]

Muism Concepts of Time

From the mostly White European Perspective, time is linear. It has a beginning, middle and end. In Muism, the idea of time is a bit different. It's a cycle. This post will walk you through it. BTW, from the book: Korean Shamanism-- Muism Kim Tae Hon Translated and edited by Chang Soo Kyung. Bought from Hanbooks.com: http://www.hanbooks.com/korsham1.html Summary of pages 107-112, or the beginning of Chapter V.

In Korean Muism there are 2 types of souls, the Saryeong "Dead Soul" and the sangnyeong "live soul". The dead soul goes to the "otherworld" when the body dies while the living soul ceases to be.

The dead soul is the one called up in ceremonies to honor the ancestors.

While the soul is in the body, it can wander in and out of the body, especially while its sleeping, which is why there is a belief if you disguise the body in any way while it's sleeping, it is possible for the person to suffer a severe illness or go into a coma.

Of these, there are three kinds of "dead souls" or classification. "Chosang" is a soul that has led a good life and become a "good" soul which includes most ancestors.

won'gwi is a soul which has animosity because of premature death, violent death or death in a strange or foreign land. They wander around, so need an extra ceremony to help them pass. This is done with a small funeral and then a large one. Wollyeong have so much animosity, that they need three years of funerals to enter the Other World.

The fundamental important thing about souls in Muism is that when the soul is not attached to a body, it's not constrained by space or worldly time. It's able to escape the body, it's shapeless and it's omniscient and immortal. Whereas the body is constrained to time and space. It's momentary. So when a person dies, they are freed from time and space. This means Muism sees time as circular, not linear. It also means that Muism honors the cosmos and universe as a circular system of a complex and orderly system between the visible world and chaos. Time and space become constraints that make things visible.

Thus the soul wants to return to the origin, to the chaos. Gods call them into being and gods call them back into chaos.

I should note that many countries in East Asia, in general also traditionally believed that time was a cycle. Northern Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism all view time as a cycle. Similarly, when a lot of time travel stories are written, they are often using the branching model of time. This means that often in Korean traditional stories that events of the past will repeat in the present.  And the fact that "history repeats itself" becomes part of the idea of time cycling and emphasizes this. This also means because of this, Time isn't seen as a beginning middle and end. It's seen more like a tree, growing organically, and that one's choices branch from each other, creating something new if one were to go back in time, but that certain events probably are either inevitable, or that parts of the past will repeat itself, even as one tries to change it. This further means that most views of time are inevitability are a combination of fate (inevitable) and destiny (partially chosen from the choices made, making for X event.) This is still reflected in much of Korean Media, like the book, The Sun and the Moon by Jeong Eun-gwol, which emphasizes the repetition of events, and of fate and destiny. To some effect, this also shows that though the beliefs of Muism are not longer universal in Korea, they still affect and effect lives in Korea today, though perhaps in more subtle ways.

[thisiskoreanculture]

Soysauce

is an example of how it's done. It's always done in the dark.

However, Korean meju blocks are left out in the sun and it's theorized that the rice straw seeded the meju blocks. This means traditional Korean soy sauce has a stronger taste. The sun makes the meju blocks ferment more, collect lactobacilli more and mold (though black mold is bad)

The thing is that Soy sauce is hell to make. A good bottle of soy sauce made from scratch can take at a minimum 3 months, though I, personally think if you have it at around 5 months to a year you get a better batch, especially if you leave it in glass jars in the sun.

1-2 months to let the meju blocks dry.

1 month to let the meju block salt and cure in the brine (and flavorings)

1 month for the soy sauce to not taste so thin.

This is why many manufacturers don't use the traditional method of making soy sauce. It takes too long. Most manufacturers make it this way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=queVlA4xLgI

Even in Korea... because the result is faster to make. You don't have to worry about byproduct, etc.

But in insisting on external ingredients like wheat, yeast/starter and soy beans, the flavor of the ancient taste changes with that addition.The flavor for the Korean soy sauce lover isn't as deep and rich. Plus they add chemicals, etc.

Though it takes a huge amount of effort, I swear that wheatless soy sauce tastes better... and you can get a deeper savory flavor without the wheat in the way. It's not that hard to make, it's just a little tricky around the edges and if you hit the right season and right fermentation, it can be excellent--exceeding the store-bought stuff they mass produce.

Plus, personally, I think it's sad that people don't do it as often and prefer the industrial method. Knowledge can be lost this way. And I do enjoy the differences between the kinds of soy sauce made in different methods.

[18mr]

I watched The Interview with a North Korean defector

By the end of 2014, everybody in the world had said their piece on the controversial James Franco and Seth Rogen film The Interview. Is it offensive? Should it be banned? Is America committing an “act of war" just by making a movie that about assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un? Typically, the only people left out of the conversation were actual North Koreans.

I teach English to North Korean defectors living in New Malden, a suburb of southwest London. Two of them were planning to watch the film anyway, so I asked if I could join them. We meet at the offices of Free NK newspaper, described on its English website as “a newspaper of hope and democracy with the goal of liberating the people of North Korea suffering in distress”. My student Kim Joo-il founded the newspaper after escaping from North Korea in 2005.

Joo-il joined the army as a teenager. As the famine of the 1990s and 2000s took its toll, soldiers deserted their units to try and escape starvation. Joo-il’s job as captain was to track them down. Most North Koreans are not allowed to travel. This, combined with a lifetime of government propaganda, means that they are unaware of the situation outside their hometowns. While Joo-il was travelling around North Korea in search of deserters, he realised that people were starving everywhere. Every train station had piles of bodies lying around.

He knew something was wrong. But what really triggered his decision to escape was a trip home. To welcome him back, his sister gave him a meal of rice, meaning that her own family had to go without. A few days later, Joo Il’s starving niece stumbled across some raw corn and ate it. It swelled up in her stomach and killed her. She was four years old.

Diana Bang with Dave (James Franco) and Aaron (Seth Rogen) in The Interview Sony/Columbia Pictures

In 2005 Joo-il was sent to Hamgyong province, near the Chinese border. He knew this was his one opportunity to escape. He waited for a cloudy night and crept past border guards to swim across the Yalu river, arriving in China four hours later. Joo-il went to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand before being granted asylum in the UK, and finally settling in New Malden. His family in North Korea are constantly watched by the government.

Joo-il tells me through Seonju, our South Korean translator: “I don’t really want to watch this film. But after all the media attention and the hacking incident, I wondered what the controversy was about.” His friend, another defector who works at the Korean supermarket next door, doesn’t turn up at the last minute.

This was probably a wise decision.

Joo-il, Seonju and I proceed to sit through all 112 minutes of The Interview in awkward silence. As the only Westerner in the room, I am painfully aware of the lazy Asian jokes, stereotypes and cardboard North Korean characters. Constant crude sex jokes, combined with the high-ranking female Korean official’s inexplicable horniness for Seth Rogen made for a distinct “watching Masters of Sex with your grandparents” vibe.

The only laugh comes from Seonju, when Seth Rogen falls out a window. Though that might have been a cough. When Kim Jong-un is finally blown up in a much-discussed helicoptor scene, I look over and see Joo-il yawning. I’m pretty sure that two women and a 41-year-old North Korean defector were not the target audience for this film.

Joo Il looked like this throughout most of the film Lucy Edwards

"By making a film about the assassination of Kim Jong Un, I think Sony Pictures deliberately set out to create a media storm," Joo-il says afterwards. "With this subject matter, it could be an effective film, but I’m disappointed. Maybe Sony paid the North Korean government to create a scandal."

Joo-il is also unconcerned by Sony Pictures Entertainment’s decision to cancel the release in cinemas. “Sony Pictures Entertainment is a private company,” he explains. “They can do what they want. Whether they choose to release it or not, it’s OK it’s not an important point.”

So does he see The Interview having any positive impact for the people of North Korea? “It cannot help us to understand North Korean people,” he tells me. “Not in a serious way. And it will not have any impact on spurring western governments or the UN to take action either against the North Korean government or for the North Korean people.”

Thrown in with the smutty one-liners and “Frosty Nixon” (Frost/Nixon, geddit?) gags, there’s a running joke that Kim Jong-un is scared people will think he’s gay because he likes Katy Perry and cocktails. According to Joo-il, nothing about the film would chime with ordinary people in North Korea.

"North Korea is a closed society," Joo-il explains. "Our culture is influenced by Confucian values of reverence and respect. The crude sexual content would get an adverse reaction. Most North Korean people wouldn’t even understand the concept of homosexuality." 

In a recent Good Morning America interview, Seth Rogen said: “In the movie we go to great lengths to separate the regime that rules North Korea with the North Korean people themselves. And they are not bad; they are the victims of a horrible situation. Part of me thinks that they themselves would really enjoy the movie. Maybe. Who knows? I wonder if we’ll ever find out.”

A still from The Interview (with Korean subtitles) Lucy Edwards

"I myself am a defector," Joo-ill says. "But when I watched this film, I felt insulted. I understand it’s a comedy, it’s not serious. But even though they are laughing, it demeans North Korean people."

He adds that he has read reports that defectors in South Korea have sent copies of the movies to their relatives in North Korea via instant messaging – but after seeing the movie himself, Joo-il believes these reports are untrue. “I heard Americans know little about North Korea,” he says. “North Koreans are always portrayed as obedient robots. So with all the vulgar words, it’s like there is a subtext which demeans Korean people. In this movie it looks like we are too stupid to realise our government is bad.”

As for those plans to airdrop copies of the film over North Korea? ”This idea would just be for show, there would be no positive effect.” And no, cultural differences aren’t what’s stopping Joo-il from enjoying The Interview. ”Actually,” he says, “I have seen many American movies but this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of shit.”

Joo-il specifically singles out the moment where Franco’s character tells his new puppy, “We’re going to America, where they don’t eat dogs”. Here there is a moment of confusion as Seonju, our interpretor, had fallen asleep and missed this obviously riveting part of the movie. But were she awake, she tells me, she would also find this offensive. (She loves dogs.)

Punchlines about dog-eating Koreans isn’t satire – and it’s definitely not the kind of comedy that disarms a feared dictator. I ask Joo-il if North Korea could flip the tables on Sony and make a comedy about assassinating Obama could work in North Korea. He muses: “In North Korea all visual media; art, theatre and cinema comes from the central government. There is no cultural code whereby people could enjoy the assassination of Obama in the form of comedy. Maybe there could be a serious film, designed to arouse North Korean people’s rage.”

But maybe this won’t be necessary. As Joo-il puts it: “If they spread The Interview in North Korea, it will make people hate America much much more.”

[thisiskoreanculture]

This is Korean Culture

is a blog about South (and sometimes North) Korea, both in a historical (Not just Joseon, but events far into the past and into the present) and modern sense that does not focus solely on K-pop culture, but looks deeper into Korean culture as a whole.

And unlike others blogs is written by someone Korean.

There will be ugly sides of Korea and beautiful sides of Korea and images from Korea. Sometimes it will give one single perspective of Korea, but as a whole will not splice Korea into a fetishistic nightmare.

Because if you truly love Korea, you will accept the ugly as truth, embrace the beautiful and understand everything else in between. You will come to understand that ugly might be ugly, but there is a RANGE of possibilities within Korean culture. Whether its the slavery conducted over the Gisaeng and systemized later in Joseon, the current situation with Single Mothers, or its the coolness of Koreans helping strangers and going out of their way to do so.