Korean-Wave celebrities between global capital and regional nationalisms

This article examines conflicts over the transnationalization of South Korean celebrities in the wake of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) in the twenty-first century. I consider a number of celebrity controversies to argue that the demands placed upon Hallyu celebrities by domestic observers, foreign audiences, and global capital are fundamentally irreconcilable. South Korean nationalist appropriation of Hallyu, as well as the local celebrity culture, demand that Hallyu stars firstly be exemplary Korean patriots, whereas international audiences expect sympathy for their own causes. Local nationalist agendas have proven particularly troublesome because of postcolonial sensibilities and ongoing territorial disagreements between South Korea and its neighbors. Finally, as circulating commodities and commercial assets, Hallyu stars are also pledged to global capital. Their value is highest when they appeal to as broad an audience as possible and alienate no one with their politics. An apolitical neutrality on regionally controversial issues, however, is an untenable position when antagonistic geopolitical interests are concerned and nationalist passions flare. I situate this argument within critical scholarship on cultural globalization flows within Asia, while engaging celebrity studies to frame Hallyu stars as transnational commodities.     

The Evolution and Cultural Characteristics of Korean Professional Soccer

Abstract

Since it was introduced in the late nineteenth century, soccer has been one of the cultural driving forces for Koreans in overcoming national hardships during the dark ages marked by imperial occupations, war, and division during the modern era. This study was carried out to investigate the cultural backgrounds and characteristics due to which soccer has entered an era of professionalization under the name of the Super League. Korean professional soccer started in 1983 under the name of the Super League, not by popular demand but by from political backgrounds. The sport was off to a bad start, and this became an inherent limitation and the reason Korean professional soccer did not flourish. In addition, although Korean professional soccer had grown rapidly in terms of quantity based on a consistent increase in professional teams and the introduction of advanced systems, the cultural limitations of an incomplete local franchise system and a lack of public attention were revealed. Korean professional soccer has shown a variety of sociocultural limits while rapidly developing in its short history. Nevertheless, having a short history indicates the system is young, which means it has the opportunity to mature. Korean professional soccer has sufficient potential and it can be directed toward a brighter future.     

A true original

Abstract

This study analyzes Japanese and Korean ethno-national (minzoku-kokumin) education in postwar Japan. During a period of political unrest in Japan (1945–1955), some of the Korean residents and Japanese worked together to overcome the culture of Imperial Japan and its assimilative education. They also regarded themselves as people colonized by the United States, and pursued a political-cultural movement for their liberation and independence from American imperialism. The Koreans in Japan rejected compulsory education in the Japanese language. As a result, since 1956, Korean schools (Chōsengakkō), funded and supported by North Korea, were founded all across Japan. Their ethno-national education was in fact incorporated into North Korean politics, and has been considered in many studies as having overcome Japanese assimilation and ethnic inequalities. Such a view was a result of many academic Zainichi Korean studies that come from an “insider's perspective” to criticize Japanese colonialism and discrimination. In order to go beyond this insider's view, I focus on the political alliance between Zainichi Koreans and the Japanese people in their pursuit of ethno-national education. Since 2010, the Japanese state funding for Korean schools has become a major controversy in Japan. By tracing the historical background, this article intends to explain why this political issue has arisen. The ultimate purpose of this article is to suggest an ethical perspective to resolve the current political conflict regarding Korean schools in Japan.     

Rajnikant in Japan: Indian “superstardom” and low value markets

This paper draws attention to some questions thrown up by the increased circulation of mass-produced cultural commodities sourced from Asia in the relatively new markets of the region. Juxtaposing the short-lived success of the Indian star Rajnikant in Japan in the late 1990s and the unsuccessful attempt to promote Korean films in the Indian theatrical circuits a decade later, the paper argues that in spite of their considerable differences both instances foreground the difficulties cultural industries of Asia have in generating revenues in the region's markets. The paper goes on to elaborate on a model of stardom, exemplified by Rajnikant, which has evolved as a direct response to the challenges posed by low value markets.     

浅析“教学做一体”教学模式在《韩语写作课程》上的应用

为了打破传统的“一言堂”教学模式,近几年在国内高职院校悄然兴起了“教学做一体”教学模式改革。这是中国学习德国职业教育模式后,对中国高职院校教学方法的深度改革。每个教学方法都有它自己的优点和缺点,本文深度分析了《韩语写作课程》引进“教学做一体”教学模式后的教学效果,探讨这一教学模式的优缺点。     

奥巴马政府的核政策与朝核问题

第二届首尔核安全峰会的召开,激起国际社会对朝核问题的关注。作为重要的国际核安全问题,朝鲜核问题在美国新的核安全政策中处于何种地位,奥巴马政府将如何处理朝核问题成为国际社会关注热点。本文旨在探讨朝核问题自身的特殊性,分析奥巴马政府核安全政策的本质与内在矛盾,进而揭示美国新的核安全政策仍旧很难解决其在朝核问题上面临的困境。     

Perceptions of tutoring roles and psychological distance among instructors,tutors and students at a Korean university

This study explores issues related to the tutor’s role when initiating tutoring as an institutional strategy at a conventional university. Based on a pilot tutoring program implemented in four college courses, we investigated the perceptions of instructors, tutors and students regarding the role of tutoring and whether it affected the psychological distance between the different types of participants. The results indicated that instructors’ perceptions of the tutor’s primary role and the psychological distance from the students and the tutors differed from the perceptions of the tutors and the students, perhaps because the instructors perceived tutors as a source of instructor support rather than student support. Implications and suggestions are discussed.     

韩国祭祀活动考察

韩国的祭祀活动具有多样性特点,从时间上看有的固定日期,有的则不固定日期;从空间上看,有的在城市或重要的遗址中,有的在家庙,有的则在乡村或神灵活生地;从规模上看,有国家主导的王室祭祀,也有民间家庙祭和灵物祭;从祭祀的目的看,王室祭祀重视政治权威,民间家庙祭祀重视血缘秩序,普遍存在的灵物祭祀强调区域性的消灾保平安功能。     

“Happy Seoul for foreigners”: scenes from multicultural life in South Korea

Abstract

Since the mid-2000s, multiculturalism has become a prominent buzzword in South Korea as the nation, which was founded on the myth of a single bloodline, tries to come to terms with its growing foreign population. This article looks at the figure of the industrial migrant worker who, despite being ignored by the mainstream media, has appeared in a handful of independently produced Korean films, including three—Bandhobi (2009 Bandhobi [???]. 2009. Directed by Shin Dong-il. Seoul: IndieStory Inc. [Google Scholar]), Hello, Stranger (2007 Hello Stranger [?? ?? ???]. 2007. Directed by Kim Dong-hyun. Seoul: IndieStory Inc. Host and Guest [???]. 2005. Directed by Shin Dong-il. Seoul: LJ Film. [Google Scholar]), Where Is Ronny? (2008 Where Is Ronny? [??? ???]. 2008. Directed by Sim Sang-kook. Seoul: JinJin Pictures. [Google Scholar])—that will be discussed here in detail. These films, as I will show, not only provide an alternative perspective on immigrant life in Seoul and other parts of the country, which is more often than not represented through the privileged world of the Western “expat,” but also reveal the underlying tensions and contradictions in Korea's approach to multiculturalism as it tries to regulate diversity through the fiat of legislative policy while ignoring the moral and political choices confronting its citizens as they decide whether or not to befriend the other.     

浅析中朝小说之婚恋观——以明清和李朝时期的爱情小说为中心

任何时期文学现象的出现及其文学内涵的演义,都离不开所处时代政治、经济、思想、文化等大环境的变化和支撑。小说作为一种叙事的艺术,是反映和阐释生活大环境的一种方式,它不能不提及人世间十分重要且人人向往的爱情主题。如果以"爱情"为主题,分析明清和李朝时期的小说中有关婚恋的态度观,进而剖析两国民众在民族感情等方面的异同所在,则有利于揭示两国其特定的文化内涵与文化价值。