Jerry Back to Korea from 15th to 18th in 2020

Last January my sister moved to a new apartment and I felt like joining her housewarming party. Because of the widespread concern over Corona virus, there were fewer people at the party. Most of the close friends of mine cancelled coming to the party because most of them are married and have kids. I felt sorry, but a bit relieved to know that they are wise and mature enough to be responsible parents.

From Fukuoka to Incheon it took a bit more than expected. I guess it was because of the bad weather. Arriving at the airport, I headed straight to Seoul, which I usually do. I was born in Seoul and it feels like Seoul is my eternal hometown even though either I or anyone in my family doesn’t have a house there anymore.

A cool thing I want to mention is an app called Ctrip. It is so convenient to use. I booked my flight ticket and a highspeed train ticket from Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station. There are many apps for booking flight tickets, hotels and so on that I have tried, but Ctrip is the easiest one ever that I have used. I heard ‘Ctrip’ is a Chinese brand. Innovative!

I just roamed around Kyobo Bookstore in Guanghwamun(광화문) and took a bus in Gangnam(강남). Waiting for the bus to Jije Station(지제역) in Pyeongtaek(평택), I just looked around and found Korean ladies were so beautiful and one of the reasons for their beauty might be flourishing plastic surgery clinics. Frankly speaking, I didn’t feel good when my Japanese coworkers asked me if almost every woman in Korea get plastic surgeries. But looking at the commercials on the street and so many signs of plastic surgery clinics, I thought I couldn’t either deny or agree with my Japanese coworkers’ arguments.

Cathy(my sis)’s apartment was so cool. Hyunah(Cathy’s daughter) introduced me IT things adopted in the apartment and I felt overwhelmed. I had lived quite old apartments when I had lived in Korea, so the IoT things in apartments were just fancy future things that are show in enterprises’ exhibitions in Seoul. But at the same time, I had heard a lot of economic news that major electronic companies such as Samsung and LG were investing huge capital on IoT technologies for houses and apartments. The speed of technological innovation is overwhelming and whenever I visit Korea, I find something I haven’t seen before but has been quite generalized.

The favorite thing visiting back to Korea is that Wi-Fi is much faster and general than Fukuoka. For second and third day in Korea, in the morning, I just did Internet. I watched Youtube videos I wanted in Fukuoka. Lying on the couch, I just kept doing the Internet. Even when I rented a Wi-Fi in Incheon International Airport, I was surprised with the rate. It was just 3,300 won a day . In US dollars, it is $3.

The main purpose for visiting Korea is joining Cathy’s housewarming party. But there were many subsidiary purposes, too. Eating Korean foods was one of them. Surely I did enough. I ate Sundaegukpap(순대국밥), Galbi(갈비), and so on. I drank good Makguli(막걸리) with mom’s Kimchi.

I bought Koean books that I needed. I bought a good book of a collection of great speeches by Chinese personalities. What else? I guess I did enough. One things that I learned is that I should visit Korea at least every quarter. When it comes to technological things such as IT, AI, IoT, and their related business models and adoption, I could see lots of clues of the coming revolution, just walking, running and driving around. I felt I need to be updated on a frequent and regular basis.

A thing I really want to do now is not inviting friend in Korea and all over world.  The thing I really want to do for now is taking my friends and coworkers to Korea, and how dynamic Korea is!

You can watch my 2nd vlog. Click!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZLc0Rv4SVI

ビデオブログ(vlog)を始めます。

今日は。日本語でブログを書きるのは初めてですね。先週、今週からビデオブログを一週間一回造ってアップロードしようと決めました。アップロードした後でライン(Line)とかカカオトーク(Kakao Talk)の通じて色んな方に知らせます。僕をよく知っている日本人の友達には面白いねと言われると思いますが、同じ会社で一緒に働いていますが、僕とはあまり個人的な人間関係がない方としてはその外人ってちょっとおかしい所があるねと言われる恐れがあります。（実は、僕が含まれている会社の営業のライングループで僕が造ったユーチューブをつなげても大丈夫かなとお思ってちょっと悩みました)。



ですから、僕がなぜ一年間ビデオブログをしようと決めたのか説明した方がいいと思います。個人的理由もありますし仕事としても大切な所があります。簡単に話します。



3月になると日本の生活って三年目になります。３って日本でも大切な数字ですが、韓国も同じに大切です。三年と言う期間って長くもない、短くもないと思います。人生ってチョコレートボックスみたいなので(from "Forest Gump",movie)どうなるのか誰もわからないことですが、なんか僕が日本で経験したのをちゃんと片づけたほうが将来を考えてもいいと思います。十年後で僕が造ったユーチューブ見て日本でしたのを思い出すと発展的なアイデアを出すことに役に立てると思います。過去、現在、そして未来をよく繋げてストーリーがある人生、意味がある人生を住みたいです（今もそうするように頑張っていますが）。



仕事としてもビデオブログを造るのが価値があると思います。新しい世代は生まれたからずっとスマホを使って来た世代です。その世代は欲しい情報を探す時にテキストほどビデオも大切にします。例えば、今の十代とか二十代の人たちはヤフー(Yahoo)とかグーグル(Google)ではなくて直接にユーチューブ(Youtube)を使って情報検索する場合も多いです。だってビデオを造ってアップロードし続けるのは目指している商品とかサービスをアピル(appealing)することで頑張らなきゃならない所だと思います。ビデオブログ(vlog)を造るのが質もいいしお客様からの信頼関係を造られるいい方法だと思います。




今の時代ってどんな仕事でも海外からのお客様がビジネスの成長のために必要不可欠な存在になりました。一日じゃなくて一世紀をみましょう。20世紀が始まったばかりの日本の人口は約4,000万人ぐらいでした。1世紀が過ぎて日本の人口は三倍の一億2,000万人ぐらいになりました。でも1世紀がもう過ぎて22世紀の頭になると今の三分の一の4,000万人ぐらいに戻ります。国内市場だけを目指すだけでは成長出来ないです。だって海外からのお客様はどんなルート(route)でうちの店を見つけるのか考えると確かにインターネット(Internet)です。海外のお客様としてテキスト(text)のタイプの情報だけで信頼感を感じさせるのは無理です。ちゃんと正確な情報を含まれている写真とビデオを造ってテキストの情報と一緒に伝えたほうがもっとアピル(appealing)できる方法だと思います。僕が造るビデオを公有しながらどんどんうちの店をどんなにプロモーション(promotion)するか一緒に考えたいです（でも、僕の仕事と関係があるビデオブログは最大1/5にします、僕のビデオブログですからね）。



でも、最も重要なのは協力してもらって見たらいいねクリックしてくることです。お願いします。

Rationalization for starting Vlogging

I decided to do Vlogging for one year from this week (12^th February 2020). 

I came up with some ideas for the first episode, took video roaming (or running) around Fukuoka City, and edited it. Calculating the amount of the time I spent on the first video, it took about 7 hours in total, which means I am going to invest my 7 hours for making a Vlog video every week(I am not sure what I can quit among the things I am doing now). If I do one year, it is a huge thing.

Doing something new long takes at least a few reasons with which you can rationalize the trial to keep going or give up on the way without any regret. 

Trying writing down the rationalization is helpful in not forgetting the reasons I made up and being disoriented on the way and to the way. I will do the work now.

I will reveal some external clues which triggered my brain to make a decision which even now I think a bit silly. The first clue is the responses that I got from the customers who visited the restaurant I work. I made a few short YouTube videos which briefly introduces the restaurant and its dishes. One of them was uploaded on the website of the restaurant. Whenever I got an email for booking, I sent a reply with links to the Youtube video. The customers’ responses were positive. They said they felt quite comfortable in enjoying the dishes of the restaurant because they had got details. 

It seemed that they felt more informed when the information was given in multiple forms of media than plain texts. My conclusion was that I need to know video better not just as a consumer but as a producer.

My only niece Hyunah recommended me to try Vlogging. I used to ask her many trendy things going on social networks and the information from her was very helpful in catching up with the current of social networks. 

But when it comes to Vlogging, I didn’t understand why so many people take their time watching the long and lame Vlogging videos. Maybe I resisted understanding. She told me that in order to understand why Vlogging videos are viral, I should try Vlogging on my own. 

She must have been sick and tired of her uncle’s endless calls for help and advice. When she advised me to start Vlogging, I had already known that video has become more crucial in nurturing more efficient communication. I couldn’t come up with an excuse to say “I can’t” anymore and declared that I would try one-year personal project of Vlogging.

Last week, I felt like trying something promotive for the Writing Group in which I participate relatively actively as a social activity. I took a short video where the participants were talking about the essays they had written, edited it, uploaded it on YouTube Channel, and sent it to people with whom I wouldn’t feel much shy. One of them was a sort of the leader of the Writing Group. She said,

“Watching the video, I felt I was watching my sister!”

Bang!

Watching oneself on the video could be a good opportunity to watch and reflect oneself more objectively and realistically. 

With her reaction, I felt like I want to review myself in 5 years or 10 years, which definitely could help me understand what I have gone through and I will go through.

The clues have been piled up enough. I start Vlogging this week.

SKY Castle (스카이캐슬)

Self-Injury

Before coming to Japan, I was an English instructor(or teacher) for about 15 years, during which I could interact with quite lots of teenagers on a long term basis(if it was short, just a few weeks, and if long, it became years), which is quite different from the current situation in which I see new customers every single day.

As a person who was involved in private education in Korea, I guess, I was quite accepting and tolerant of my students’ ways of thinking and behaving(in many cases, I was persuaded by my students over their claims that they don’t have to or should not study English or other subjects they were forced to cram).

However, one thing was seriously disturbing me. It was self-injury. Some students showed me her wrist covered with bandages, smiling proudly. Other students was scratching their injured part on their skin in my classroom and shouted at me with excitement,

“Mr. Park, look at this! Isn’t it awesome? It feels good!”

‘Feels good?’

I just blamed the stress they were taking. I couldn’t figure out why they felt good injuring themselves. Only one thing I knew or felt was that the number of students injuring themselves had been increasing year by year.

 SKY Castle(스카이캐슬)

from Google

Last week, checking news from Korea online, I happened to know a TV drama titled “SKY Castle(스카이 캐슬)” has been sweeping in.

In the title, ‘SKY’ doesn’t mean sky where birds or airplanes fly around. It is abbreviation of ‘Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei’ which are the names of the top three privileged universities in Korea, which most of parents in Korea are eager to send their kids to.

The drama deals with the uncontrolled desire of parents in Korea who want to transmit their reputation and wealth to their kids through education, suffering of their kids, and the tragedies of the families.

I haven’t watch any single episode(I am in Japan). Instead, I listened to a podcast which deals with the issue of why the drama has been attracting huge attention by the public in Korea.

A panel was invited to the podcast and joined the talk. Interestingly for me, he was quite experienced counselor and psychoanalyst. His name is Lee Sungwoo(이승우).

He revealed several behaviors and symptoms of huge population of Korean middle and high school students have been showing with their heavy stress and one of them was self-injury. He added that it had becoming more serious.

I checked a few articles over the issue of teenagers’ self injury. Hangyorae21(한겨레21) released special reports over the issue in November last year(2018). According to the reports, 7.9 of 100 teenagers in Korea reported to have experienced self-injury.

The anchor of the podcast didn’t seem to understand the psychological mechanism of self-injury like I didn’t and asked him why they do what they do.

Thank you, Freud!

 Mr. Lee explained the mechanism quoting principles of psychoanalysis,

“People commit self-injury behavior to make sure they are still alive. If you are bombarded with oppression and stress, their senses of existence become dull physically and mentally. They injure themselves to resist the dullness.”

Quite interesting.

He added,

“For example, if you feel comfortable with your stomach, you don’t feel it is there. You recognize that it is there, when you feel sick or uncomfortable having stomach.”

Alas! Suffering is part of our existence!

There were many reasons I quit teaching English in Korea and came to Japan choosing to do a bit humble job(I do sometimes cleaning, dishes and etc). One of them was that I felt that I had wasted my time and energy on something destructive not just on myself but others who have lots of potential.

It has been alarmed everywhere!

From small seminars to short discussion drinking beer, non-Korean friends start the conversation to praise Korea over its rapid growth from one of the poorest countries after the 3 year long civil war(Korean War) to one of the richest countries in the world. But, as time went by, the topic always goes to education. They just say,

“It is crazy for kids to sit on the chair from early in the morning to midnight.”

Even in the book I am reading,‘Global Game Change: How the Global Southern Belt Will Reshape Our World’, the authors(John Naisbitt and Dorris Naisbitt) point out the crazy education system in Korea(of course, he didn’t say the word ‘crazy’).

Let’s go back to the classic but most crucial philosophy: Know yourself! (Know yourself through psychology!) In East Asia, parents’ devotion for their children’s education has been absolutely virtuous sacrifice. It couldn’t be questioned.

Mr. Lee commented,

“We should know how extremely evil parents’ desires are.”

He introduced a case he had seen.

“ A son disappeared suddenly. He had just finished his intern term in his medical school. Before disappearing, he called his mom lastly and said," it was the hell to have lived as your son. Please, don’t try to find me." In his high school days, his mom had used to bow 108 times every single night wishing his success.”

He added,

“ We should try to figure out our desire thoroughly.”

These days, I often ask myself, (not that much related to the issue of the blog)

“ Why did I come to Japan at the age when I should have settled down and started a family in Korea?”

It is not about comparing myself with other guys, but exert my effort to figure out the direction I have been aiming for consciously or subconsciously.

Shadowy sides of "Minna"(みんな)

from Google

I've lived in Japan for 10 months, and as time went by, I recognized that the things I used to know are quite different from the things that I've got to know over. 

"Minna"（みんな）: a word I used to like back in Korea

I used to like a Japanese word, "Minna"（みんな） which can be translated to 'everyone', 'all the people around', or sometimes 'you guys' in conversation. Syntactically, the spectrum of usage of it is quite wide. Walking along streets in cities or towns in Japan, you can easily find the word in slogans in posters and banners. Back in Korea, when I was quite basic in Japanese and taking a Japanese class in the community center, many of Japanese songs I was taught included the word in the titles. I liked the word. I liked the pronunciation because it was quite easy to make and with the lyrics with it the meanings felt quite cool and sound. 

"Minna"（みんな）: a word I do not like to hear at least at work anymore

I started to see and have arguments at work, which could paradoxically imply that I've been quite immersed to Japanese working cultures and at the same time conflicted with my personal value(partly Korean). Reflecting back the last spring and summer when I was much less fluent in Japanese that I was not able to express my opinions specifically and knew Japanese working culture less than now that I had difficulty in finding clues to track current contexts, feeling foolish, I am quite confident dealing with the situation I face every moment. On the other hand, I've become a bit critical having seen things I was struggling to accept.  One of the things that I am struggling is the divinized value of "Minna"（みんな）.

Different situations and the same excuse: "Minna"（みんな）

Case 1 

I had a Korean coworker who had just graduated from college and got a job in Japan.  Her main job was serving foreign customers for breakfast and dinner. In other words, her job was a waitress(No one used the word, though).  One day, the manager abruptly changed the shift schedule and called her. But she didn't pick up the phone. He left a text message. Probably she was busy doing something and didn't respond even by the time when she should have come to work. Just about 10 minutes before the dinner time, a text message from her arrived to his phone. Her message was that she had been sorting things out and taking a shower and couldn't hear her phone ring  and read the messages. She added a message that she could not come to work right away. He got angry and called her. He yelled at her on the phone shouting, 

" Everyone is waiting!"(みんな待ってるよ！）

Listening to him, I came up with a question,

' Who is that everyone?'

Case 2 

All of a sudden, she quit and went back to Korea. And I had to replace her temporarily. The cuisine offered are "kaiseki", in which tens of traditional Japanese dishes with quite traditional names and histories, which ,of course, takes time learning and memorizing,are offered. However, she suddenly quit and I suddenly replaced her. I didn't have any clue over what the dishes are and how they should be served. Moreover, the menu was scribbled by the chief chef manually and I barely could read it. I went to the office and gave the manager a complaint that without enough time and training I couldn't do the job (with tough tone). It became an argument.  He got angry and shouted at me,

"Everyone is getting paid like you are and trying hard. Why aren't you doing so?!"(みんな、お前のように給与をもらって頑張っているのにお前はなぜ文句ばかりなの?)

Again, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e.

It seems that the ultimate religion in Japan is "Minna"（みんな).

This blog is not academic at all. I don't want to define 'religion' specifically. But, provided that there is dogmatic value in every religion, every society has its own dogmatic value and  I think the value can be called 'the religion of a society.' For instance, it appears to me that the United States of America has Christianity as its religion. Looking deep into its constitution, I see the core value quite Christian(it could be helpful to read Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Sapiens). And the values the members(Americans) are following and pursuing look Christian whether they call themselves Christian or not.  The same way, with any expense, Japanese seem to try to keep peace and harmony within the society and the value of "Minna"（みんな） looks like a kind of black hole to absorb all the other social values. 

What happened after the argument

I guess it could be a bit distracting considering the topic of the blog. A funny thing happened. Actually, I had expected that I would be treated like an outcast by the manager and coworkers. I am a foreigner( I don't think I can be included in the minna), and I knew the way I did claim my view(saying things directly with tough tone) was quite strange to the Japanese.  But it was reverse. My coworkers treated me with a bit more respect and even the boss became sweet to me( I am not sure he thinks sometime he would stab me on my back). I told my coworker with whom I am sharing the studio that I was a bit surprised with the people's reaction.  He confessed that all the staff(especially young staff) have strong complaints against the manager but couldn't reveal them because they do not. He said that it is extremely rare for Japanese to reveal their complaints to their boss overtly and directly. He added that he was envious of me  that I have guts to do so.  

A general lesson learned : living is definitely different from traveling.

And I didn't quit and won't. I like living in Japan. I have been learning lots of things. 

One more, Korean working culture doesn't seem that different. 

NHK Orchestra in Fukuoka(My Christmas thing!!!)

Across building and Central Park in Fukuoka

Getting closer to Christmas and New Year’s, I always feel like doing something classic and unforgettable(‘classic’ and ‘unforgettable’ are quite well-associated in my brain because typically I do not put my time, energy, or even money on things classical). To make it up to myself who has to work long and hard to make customers who want to spend Christmas and New Year’s doing something classic and unforgettable and is not able to have any time for recreation, I decided to go to NHK Orchestra Concert which was supposed to be held about a week before Christmas(the date was 16th).

The ticket and pamphlet

As a matter of fact, I had been looking for a ballet show like ‘Nutcracker.’ Most of the ballet shows ahead were to be held in January in 2019. Watching ‘Nutcracker’ was a kind of my or my family’s ritual for every December for a while. My only niece, Clair, practiced ballet pretty enthusiastically, even thinking of doing professionally(For now, one of the few heritages she practiced ballet is that she is a bit better at stretching than typical people). One of the reasons I chose the NHK Orchestra is that ‘Nutcracker’ was to be played.

Another reason for me to choose it is that I want to compare NHK Orchestra with KBS Orchestra. Definitely, NHK was established earlier than KBS, and I expected its longer history could give me something more elegant and classic.

The most surprising thing: it was not music but aged audience

But the most surprising thing was shown even before the start of the concert. There were so many elderly citizens. I did not calculate one by one, but more than half of the audiences looked aged to enough to be called ‘elderly citizen.’ In case of South Korea, so called ‘elderly citizens’ don’t comprise the majority of classic music concerts, and moms crazy with their kids’ education, their kids, and (if they are obedient or unlucky) their husbands are the main customers(let’s put aside young couples who try to show up their liberal art). I made a few assumptions. Probably there is a very generous policy for discounting the prices of tickets for elderly citizens in order for them to enjoy their retirement more culturally. Or, the elderly citizen had enjoyed so called economic booms before so called ‘Forgotten 20 Years’ and afforded to buy the lifetime memberships before they retired.

The secondly most surprising thing: just music. Seriously it was just music.

Nutcracker is about ‘Christmas.’ However, in the concert, there was nothing related Christmas or something. The concert was purely about ‘Nutcracker.’ As far as I know and remember, back in Korea in many classic shows, there are many decorations or visual aids shown to lift up audience’s Christmas feelings. Sometimes, in highlighting parts, videos of the ballet performances or movie scenes are temporarily shown on a big screen to the side. There was no Santa Clause hat. There was no color ‘red.’

One common thing:falling asleep

There were many people who fell asleep listening to the music. I understood. The music was quite relaxing (or boring). It was not a good choice to listen ‘Nutcracker.’ I should have watched the ballet.

Next show to watch: a musical

As far as I know, a musical company ‘Shiki’ has a long and brilliant history after its establishment. I even remember a documentary aired by a Korean TV channel which dealt with the Korean actresses and actors who were struggling to get roles in musicals of Shiki. And I even remember I have seen a building of the theater which is used exclusively by the company in Tokyo. In Fukuoka, the company uses theaters in Canal City which is the biggest and the most popular shopping mall in Fukuoka.

“Shakespeare in Love”

Of course, “Shakespeare in Love” is more popular as a movie. It is supposed to be performed from Christmas to New Year’s. I liked the movie. I watched it about 10 years ago. I am not sure I can have a day off and watch it. But, I am looking forward to it.

“Lion King”

“Lion King!” Everyone knows musical, “Lion King.” Checking the site of Shiki, I got to know the next one is ‘Lion King.’ According to the schedules shown on the Internet, the show starts in March 2019. Spring! I hope to watch it with my niece, Clair!!!

One thing I got to know: I loved Christmas and miss it in Korea

I am not sure why, but I have felt down December. I just hope it goes over fast. Christian or not, everyone back in Korea seemed serious over Christmas and tried to do something(even my ex-boss suggested me to drink draft beer with fried chicken together. He was not Christian. I miss him). For now, I have no one like that. I live in Japan. I live in Hita.

McDonald in Hita: the most Christmas like place in Hita

Ending the script, I am in McDonald listening to Christmas songs like Michael Bolton,   and Mariah Carey. It feels like Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Popularity of Korean Pop Culture in Japan: it is not temporary

Korean Pop Culture: it's still popular among Japanese

 One of the things I have been quite surprised since I came to Japan six months ago is that Korean Pop culture is getting more popular. The popularity is not restricted just to mid-aged ladies who go crazy over Korean Dramas. It's been quite widespread from generation to generation(but I would exclude mid-aged and older Japanese males). Before coming to Japan, I thought the boom was exaggerated by patriotic Korean journalists. However, the reality is the boom is still going on and may not end soon. Let me show a few cases.

Case 1: a grandma of an old udon restaurant in Hiroshima.

 I visited Hiroshima last April to see a friend of mine. I stayed in a hostel the night I arrived and the next morning I found an old and a bit rusty udong restaurant nearby. I tend to look for old restaurants thinking that sometimes I get luck having a rare chance to eat something traditional but not well-known. There was none except for me and the old lady. I introduced myself as a Korean because I had to have her understand why I repeated asking some questions(I still have difficulty understanding local accents). She showed me an old magazine with broadcasting schedules for Korean Dramas. We talked over a very old but legendary Korean Drama titled 'Winter Sonata.' It was aired more than 15 years ago, but the main actors and actresses were still her favorites. One impressive thing was that she thought Korean ladies are quite tall(actually, the main actress in the drama is quite tall even as a Korean lady). I got free rice thanks to being a Korean. I was privileged not discriminated.

Case 2: my two co-workers are big Big-Bang fans.

 I don't know their exact ages. Probably late 20s or early 30s. Japanese don't ask people their age like Koreans do, which I like. Both of them have been to Big-Bangs concerts. We happened to go to a Karaoke together and one of them tried to sing Big-Bang's songs like 'Fantastic Baby,' I helped them pronounce a few words correctly. Doing the rap part is quite hard for them.

Case 3: a young guest  was a big fan of Twice.

 'Twice' has been commercial models for Yahoo Mobile quite a while. Their pictures are everywhere. There are toy vending machines from which you can get a cocoon with a toy in after slotting coins in the supermarket where I go quite often. The theme of the vending machine was 'Twice.'

Teenagers shopping in a souvenir store for K-pop Stars in Canal City in Fukuoka 

The Past of Korea and Japan: Colony and Colonizer

 There are much more cases which exemplifies the boom of Korean Pop Culture. But the thing I wanna say is not about my pride over my culture. Considering the history of early 20th century between Japan and Korea, it is a very unique cultural phenomenon which are rarely seen in other areas in the globe. More specifically, Korea was the colony and Japan was the colonizer. During the colonization, Korean culture was treated inferior to Japanese one. One of the most distinctive examples was that during the late colonization era, Koreans were not allowed to speak Korean in public places such as schools and even forced to change their names to Japanese ones. Those kinds of oppression affected people's frame of mind in both cultures. Koreans felt inferior to Japanese culture and thought Japanese culture was more advanced than Korean one(like it has been more westernized). For instance, it was not allowed for Japanese pop entertainers to do business like releasing albums or holding concerts until late 1990s. It was because of the fear that if Japanese pop culture are allowed to be imported, it will dominate Korea and Korea would be culturally colonized again.

 Partly the fear was plausible. Officially and unofficially so many things from Japan were copied and reproduced in Korea. Many of the cartoons I enjoyed watching when I was a kid were made in Japan.

 Generally, even though a country became independent from the colonizer country, the country's cultural hegemony tend to keep strong hold in the the country. Looking at India, South Africa and other countries which were under the umbrella of British Empire,

we can see that people with high education or status prefer British culture. The cultural hegemony has not been eradicated yet.

 But when it comes to the cultural flow between Korea and Japan, the tide changed opposite comparatively quite suddenly. You can see it talking with Japanese and Korean youngsters. In spite of invalidity for generalization, I see the changed tide. Even some Korean youngsters started to think Japanese Pop culture is quite unique but a bit oldish. They say their fashion and styles were things like 10 years ago they saw in Korea. Even some Japanese youngsters think Korean pop culture is quite cool and more fashionable than Japanese one. 

 Recently I saw some interesting goods with brand 'Seoul.'  Avoiding the rain, I got into the biggest mall in Fukuoka named Canal City. I walked around and checked the prices. There were green T-shirts with logo 'Seoul.' In Zara, there was perfume with brand 'Seoul.'

 As a Korean who had been fascinated with Sony Walkman and Anime like Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk and taken it for granted that Most of Japanese goods are more sophisticated and fashionable than Korean ones, the ongoing tide of Korean Pop culture in Japan looks quite amazing and in a way unbelievable. 

in H&M

in Zara