IU and Zeze

Dear Korean,

This seems shallow but I couldn't help but to ask this question. What's up with IU and this whole Zeze controversies? Who's Zeze,anyway?

Arfiah

This blog is about to answer a question about K-pop. Could it be?

The second question first: Zeze is the main character from a Brazilian children's novel, My Sweet Orange Tree. The novel is popular worldwide and well known among Koreans through translation. In the novel, Zeze is a five year old boy whose family moves to a poor neighborhood because his father lost his job. In the new (and dilapidated) home, there are several trees in the backyard, and each of Zeze's siblings claim a tree for his or her own. Because Zeze was one of the youngest, he ends up with a small, sorry-looking sweet orange tree. Although Zeze does not like the tree at first, he finds out that he can talk with the tree. Zeze names the tree Minguinho, and the two become friends, partially because all of Zeze's family is busy working and trying to support the family. Left alone, Zeze causes all kinds of trouble, and frequently gets beaten by his parents and his older siblings.

Now, about the song. Zeze is one of the songs on IU's most recent album, Chat-Shire. Here is the translation of the first verse of the song:

Zeze

Zeze

흥미로운 듯 씩 올라가는 입꼬리 좀 봐

Look at the lips that curl up, as if something's interesting

그 웃음만 봐도 알아 분명히 너는 짓궂어

I can tell just from that smile; you must be mischievous

아아 이름이 아주 예쁘구나 계속 부르고 싶어

Ah you have a pretty name; I want to keep saying it

말하지 못하는 나쁜 상상이 사랑스러워

That unspeakable naughty imagination is lovable

조그만 손가락으로 소리를 만지네

With the little fingers, you touch the sound

간지러운 그 목소리로 색과 풍경을 노래 부르네

With that ticklish voice, you sing the colors and the scenery

제제 어서 나무에 올라와

Zeze, hurry and climb the tree

잎사귀에 입을 맞춰

Kiss the leaves

장난치면 못써 

Don't fool around

나무를 아프게 하면 못써 못써

Don't hurt the tree, bad bad

제제 어서 나무에 올라와

Zeze, hurry and climb the tree

여기서 제일 어린 잎을 가져가

Take the youngest leaf here

하나뿐인 꽃을 꺾어가

Pluck the only flower here 

Climb up me Climb up me

Climb up me Climb up me

If you can't tell why this song caused an uproar, congratulations--the ways of this world has not yet tainted your little heart. Please stop reading now.

For everyone else: the song obviously is barely disguised pedophilia. If there was any remaining doubt, IU's own interview about the song clinched it: "The song Zeze is from the point of view of Minguinho, from the novel My Sweet Orange Tree. Zeze is innocent, but in some ways he is cruel. As a character, he has a great deal of self-contradiction. That made me feel that he was attractive and sexy."

Is this a big deal? Objectively, and emphatically, no. But people rarely fail to overreact to a topic like pedophilia. The publishing house that introduced the novel to Korea expressed displeasure at the lyrics of the song on its Facebook page, noting that "Minguinho is Zeze's only friend who takes care of Zeze through the abuses from his family.  . . .  It is regrettable that the song makes a five-year-old, who holds the pain of abuse, as an object of sexual desire." After the media ruckus, IU issued an apology, saying she never intended to sexually objectify a five year old child, and Zeze in the song was another character based on the novel rather than the novel's Zeze.

What does TK think about this? The controversy itself is uninteresting; the more interesting part is the way in which IU decided to make this song. TK is convinced that, in today's K-pop scene, IU is the artist who possesses the most self-awareness about the way in which the K-pop market consumes her (or more precisely, her image,) and the interaction between her actions and the pattern of that consumption. In fact, she may be the most careful orchestrator of self-image in Korean pop music since Seo Taiji.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: underlying much of IU's fandom is the id of barely-legal pedophilic desire. To be sure, this is a general phenomenon in the K-pop market, in which "uncle fans" of girl groups--men in their 30s and up, ogling mostly-uncovered young women--make up a significant portion of the fan base. Writ large, it is the general phenomenon of the way in which most young female pop stars are consumed in the market. (The Catholic school girl uniform by Britney Spears was certainly not geared only toward young men of her age.)

But what sets IU apart from other youthful, girlish-looking K-pop idols is that, unlike the girl groups who are creations of a producing company, IU has invited the pedophilic gaze on her own terms. IU does not settle for the crude simulacra of pedophilia, like a school girl outfit. (Although she certainly does employ that too.) She employs much more sophisticated devices, like issuing a remake album containing hit songs from 1980s and 90s. (For an 80s song to be meaningful, you must be at least born in late 1970s. IU was born in 1993.) One of the most popular moments of IU is when she sings the songs of Kim Gwang-seok, whose soulful reflection on self made him the legend of early 90s Korean pop music. In this sense, IU is akin to an evolved Madonna; like the pioneering female American pop artist, IU flipped the script by taking over the agency of her own sexuality. In fact, IU does one better than Madonna, because she does this without any crass skin exposure. 

What makes IU's Zeze truly interesting is not the overblown controversy about whether or not the song is pedophilic. (Of course it is.) The truly interesting part is that, with Zeze, IU flipped the script once again. In Zeze, IU is no longer the young child that subtly invites the sexual attention of the grown-ups. (For those who are dense: IU is obviously not a young child in reality. That is her public image that she herself cultivated.) In the song, IU plays the role of the grown-up, detecting the nascent sexuality in a young child and gently encouraging the child to be even naughtier. That feels uncomfortable, because that's exactly how IU wants you to feel--because being that child is the reality that IU has experienced throughout her professional career.

IU will never stop playing you. The whole media circus is about getting played by IU. That's what's up.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

"Gook" is a bad word

Dear Korean,

Lately, the guys at my school have started calling my Korean friends and I "gooks". At first we just thought it was an immature thing that they had made up, but it turns out that when my older cousin was in middle school, her math teacher called her and all the other Asians the exact same thing. Is it supposed to be a racist word or just another name to call Koreans/Asians?

Sincerely, Confused "Gook" Girl

This post is more like a PSA, because the Korean believes (or hopes!) that most people would know about this. But apparently, at least some people in the world does not know this, so here it is:

"Gook" is a racist term denoting Asians. In fact, it is right up there with "chink" as the most offensive term to describe Asians.

If you ever hear this term, do not let it slide. Get in the face of the slur-utterer and shake him/her down like s/he owes you money. Because the only way to get the racists to change their ways is to make them learn that they are fucking with the wrong gook.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

The Good History Deniers

Dear Korean,

A question on Quora reads: How do the Japanese think about World War II? I was wondering if this answer to the question is something that you would agree with. How would you respond?

Joel B.

Before reading this post, the Korean will highly recommending reading the answer provided by Ms. Makiko Itoh, which is linked above. August 15 is the V-J Day, when World War II ended in 1945 with Imperial Japan's unconditional surrender. On this important date, the Korean found it appropriate to address this question.

But first, a quick detour. Ta-nehisi Coates, likely the best contemporary American writer when it comes to discussing race relations, recently wrote a terrific New York Times op-ed entitled The Good, Racist People. The message that Coates delivered through the op-ed is simple and devastating: even good people with sincerely good intentions contribute to, and perpetuate, racism in America. When it comes to dealing with large-scale, historical evil, it is not enough for one simply live with good intentions--because road to hell is paved with such good intentions.

The same is true with the way the Japanese approach World War II. I have said this before, and I will say it again: Japan, as a whole, think that it did nothing wrong during World War II. The steady stream of outrageous statements made by prominent Japanese politicians and intellectuals can only continue in an environment in which such worldview is tolerated. (Just two of the latest hits: (1) Japan's Deputy Prime Minister said Japan should amend its Peace Constitution like the way Nazis amended the Weimar Constitution; (2) Japanese navy built the largest ship since WWII and named it "Izumo", one of the ships that were used to invade China.)

When news of such outrageous statements hit the wire, a common response is to attribute it simply to a small faction of right-wing, nationalist Japanese people, implying that the vast majority of the Japanese ought to be spared from the responsibility of such historical amnesia. This is incorrect on several levels. First, the Japanese right-wing is anything but small. The Japanese nationalists are currently dominating the political scene, winning the last two parliamentary elections in a landslide. Their leader, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, proclaimed that he would withdraw Japan's apology to former Comfort Women and denied that Imperial Japan forcibly recruited the Comfort Women to serve as sex slaves. Right-wing thugs roam the streets freely in broad daylight, waving the "Rising Sun" flag, blaring propaganda from their infamous "black vans" and engage in harassment campaigns against Koreans living in Japan.

Nationalist black van, commonly seen
in the streets of Japan
(source)

For those who will predictably chime in about how Abe's election was more about the sagging Japanese economy: so was Hitler's election. In a normal country, a candidate's penchant for denying war atrocities would be met with swift termination of the candidate's political career, regardless of his views on economic policies. That did not happen with Abe, which speaks volumes. The mindset of the good, moral Japanese people that elected a man like Shinzo Abe is equally responsible for Japan's collective denial of history.

(More after the jump.)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Ask a Korean! News: How LG Made the World's First 3D SmartPhone

Here is an interesting report on the development of LG's Optimus 3D, the world's first 3D SmartPhone, which provides a nice caricature of how Korean companies not only come up with a new idea, but stick to it until a new product is born.

*             *             * 

March 2010. Another miserable day passed by for LG. The media was saturated with stories about Apple's iPhone. Samsung developed Bada, its own SmartPhone operating system, and was preparing for its own response to iPhone, Galaxy S. But LG Electronics had nothing, as it exclusively focused on regular cellphones based on a flawed strategy. It could not even attend the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile communication device trade show held in February, because it had nothing to show. It was pure humiliation. The first quarter sales for cell phone business dropped by 19.7 percent compared to the same period previous year, and profit fell by 88.9 percent. The company leadership was being questioned.

The employees at Mobile Communications Department of LG Electronics -- the department that created such legends as The Chocolate and Prada Phone -- could not get accustomed to the suddenly new reality created by iPhone 3GS. It became a dead weight for the company. The department hastily conjured up SmartPhone projects. It had to prepare for the period after iPhone 4, considering the development time. It essentially had to give up on 2010. (In fact, the Mobile Communications Department was in the red between second quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2011.) Vice President Nam Yong resigned, and in October the owner-CEO Koo Bon-Moo stepped in as an emergency relief pitcher.

"Will it really work?"

Back to March 2010. The head of Roh Hyeon-Woo, executive researcher of the Technology and Strategy Team, was clouded with thoughts. At least by the new year, he needed something to show LG's presence. Technology and Strategy Team and Product Design Team met every day. Then somebody piped up:

"Do you think 3D will be a hit? The television department was all about 3D."
"Oh yeah, 3D! How come no one thought about 3D on cell phones? We shouldn't wait until 3D becomes a hit. We should do it first."

Thus began the 450-day journey of creating a 3D SmartPhone that did not require 3D glasses. For the Projects Team to actually build the product, the idea must be tested to examined whether it can be actualized. The process normally takes two to three months, but not this time -- the team had to battle with the internal skepticism as well. There were concerns that it was too early, because there was not enough contents to view in 3D. When the business was good, such skepticism would not have had much effect; when the business was shaky, the skepticism shook the convictions of the team members as well.

(More after the jump)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 27. BoA

[Series Index]

27.  BoA [보아]

Years of Activity:  2000-present

Discography:
(Regular albums only. BoA has 47 singles not listed here.)

Regular Albums: Korea

Id; Peace B (2000)
Don't Start Now - Jumping into the World (2001)
No. 1 (2002)
Miracle (2002)
Atlantis Princess (2003)
Shine We are (2003)
My Name (2004)
Girls on Top (2005)
Hurricane Venus (2010)
Copy & Paste (2010)

Regular Albums: Japan
Listen to My Heart (2004)
Valenti (2004)
Love & Honesty (2004)
Outgrow (2006)
Made in 20 (2007)
The Face (2008)
Identity (2010)

Regular Albums: United States
Boa (2009)
Boa Deluxe (2009)

Representative Song:  Atlantis Princess [아틀란티스 소녀] from Atlantis Princess

아틀란티스 소녀
Atlantis Princess

저 먼 바다 끝엔 뭐가 있을까
What is at the end of that faraway ocean
다른 무언가 세상과는 먼 얘기
Something different, a story faraway from the world
구름 위로 올라가면 보일까
Will I see if I get on top of the clouds
천사와 나팔부는 아이들
Angels and children playing trumpets
숲속 어디엔가 귀를 대보면
Put my ears against somewhere in the forest
오직 내게만 작게 들려오는 목소리
A small voice that only I can hear
꿈을 꾸는 듯이 날아가 볼까
Shall I fly like I am dreaming
저기 높은 곳 아무도 없는 세계
That high place, the world with nobody
그렇게도 많던 질문과 풀리지 못한 나의 수많은 얘기가
Those many questions and so many unresolved stories of mine
돌아보고 서면 언제부턴가 나도 몰래 잊고있던 나만의 비밀
Looking back, those secrets of mine that even I forgot some time
(이제 정말) 왜이래 나 이제 커버린 걸까
(Now really) Why is this, am I now grown up
(이제 정말) 뭔가 잃어버린 기억
(Now really) The memories lost somehow
(지금 내맘) 이젠 나의 그 작은 소망과 꿈을 잃지 않기를 저 하늘 속에 속삭일래
(Now my heart) Now I will whisper into the sky that I won't lose my little hope and dream

까만 밤하늘에 밝게 빛나던 별들 가운데
Among the bright lit stars in the black night sky
나 태어난 곳 있을까
Is there a place where I was born
나는 지구인과 다른 곳에서 내려 온 거라 믿고 싶기도 했어
Sometimes I wanted to believe that I came down from somewhere different from Earthlings.
그렇게도 많던 질문과 풀리지 못한 나의 수많은 얘기가
Those many questions and so many unresolved stories of mine
돌아보고 서면 언제부턴가 나도 몰래 잊고있던 나만의 비밀
Looking back, those secrets of mine that even I forgot some time
(이제 정말) 왜이래 나 이제 커버린 걸까
(Now really) Why is this, am I now grown up
(이제 정말) 뭔가 잃어버린 기억
(Now really) The memories lost somehow
(지금 내맘) 이젠 나의 그 작은 소망과 꿈을 잃지 않기를 저 하늘 속에 속삭일래
(Now my heart) Now I will whisper into the sky that I won't lose my little hope and dream

(이제 정말) 왜이래 나 이제 커버린 걸까
(Now really) Why is this, am I now grown up
(이제 정말) 뭔가 잃어버린 기억
(Now really) The memories lost somehow
(지금 내맘) 이젠 나의 그 작은 소망과 꿈을 잃지 않기를 저 하늘 속에 속삭일래
(Now my heart) Now I will whisper into the sky that I won't lose my little hope and dream

너무나도 좋은 향기와 바람이 나에게로 다가와
Such nice scent and wind come to me
어느샌가 나도 모르게 가만히 들려오는 작은 속삭임
The little whisper that can be quietly heard
귀를 기울이고 불러보세요
Listen closely and try calling it
다시 찾게 될거예요 잊혀진 기억
You will find again the lost memories
(생각해봐) 나 이제 더 이상 놓치진 않아
(Think about it) I won't lose it any more
(소중했던) 나의 잃어버린 기억
(Precious) Lost memories of mine

(지금 내맘) 이젠 나의 그 작은 소망과 꿈을 잃지 않기를 저 하늘 속에 속삭일래
(Now my heart) Now I will whisper into the sky that I won't lose my little hope and dream
(이제 정말) 왜이래 나 이제 커버린 걸까
(Now really) Why is this, am I now grown up
(이제 정말) 뭔가 잃어버린 기억
(Now really) The memories lost somehow
(지금 내맘) 이젠 나의 그 작은 소망과 꿈을 잃지 않기를 저 하늘 속에 기도할래
(Now my heart) Now I will pray into the sky that I won't lose my little hope and dream

Translation Note:  어느샌가 나도 모르게 가만히 들려오는 작은 속삭임 was weirdly difficult. Why must all English sentences have a subject? It ruins the poetry, such as it is in a teeny bopper song.

In 15 Words or Less:  First step toward K-pop's global domination.

Maybe she should be ranked higher because...  The first Korean pop artist to top the charts in both Korea and Japan. Doesn't that count for more?

Maybe she should be ranked lower because...  One can search long and hard for something, anything original in her music, and will come up with nothing.

Why is this artist important?
The emergence of BoA may well be the point where the business of K-pop went from the bush leagues that cobbled together some small gains to the huge, global corporate activity that involved careful investment and long-term planning.

Lee Su-Man, head of SM Entertainment, discovered BoA in 1998, when she was not yet 12. From the very beginning, BoA was ordained to be the pan-Asian star -- something that K-pop at that time simply did not have. She was first sent to Japan for two years to learn Japanese, famously staying at a Japanese news anchor's house in order to learn the most professional pronunciation of Japanese. Two years later, she debuted in both Korea and Japan nearly simultaneously.

BoA's debut in Korea actually did not go so well, but she drew a stronger following in Japan. In fact, she became huge in Japan, as she topped the charts with her second regular album in 2004 that sold over a million copies. She then made a jump back to Korea, and became the first artist who topped the charts in Korea and Japan at the same time.

To be sure, there are others before her who underwent a rigorous training at young age, seemingly destined for a stardom. But BoA was the first case in which a corporation deliberated invested a large sum of money specifically for an international career. Given the influence of K-pop in Japan today, BoA's influence cannot be discounted.

Interesting trivia:  Although the name "BoA" screams "stage name," her real name is Kwon Bo-Ah [권보아].

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Let's Play Criminals

Dear Korean,

In the movie Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, there was a scene where the main character had to reenact her crimes while cuffed and masked, with a slew of photographers around her. I was wondering if there is any real reason behind this. Is it simply for dramatic effect or does it serve a real purpose?

Curious White Girl

If you don't know what Curious White Girl is talking about, it looks like this:

Serial murder Kang Ho-soon, reenacting the disfigurement and burial of his victims. c. 2009
(source)

It is not necessarily typical, although not unusual, for Korean police to have the alleged criminal re-enact his crime at the site of the crime. Reenactment is a part of the police's field investigation, and the police can technically order any criminal defendant to participate in the reenactment. But since reenactment costs time and police budget, the police tends to save reenactments for significant cases, like murder. 

As a result, crime reenactment does resemble a media circus, with a legion of cameras trying to capture the most sensational moment. The picture above is the criminal reenactment of Kang Ho-soon, a serial killer who murdered at least 10 women between 2005 and 2008. At the time, Kang's crime caused such a sensation that many Koreans who shared the same name filed a court petition for name change. The picture above captures a chilling moment: Kang reenacting how he severed the digits of his victims before burying them, to make identification more difficult. For his crimes, Kang was sentenced to death.

Yet despite the sensationalism, crime reenactments do serve real purposes in criminal justice. The most important purpose, counter-intuitively, is the protection of the defendant who made a confession. By reenacting the crime, the police can prove to the court (through the prosecutor) that the defendant's confession is not falsely obtained, because the confession is consistent with the reenactment which gives a plausible account as to how the crime actually, physically happened. Reenactments can also reveal additional evidence, which may serve as a basis for additional crimes and/or crimes of a higher degree.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

AAK! PSA: Donate Bone Marrow!

The Korean will give the floor to Debbie Kim:

Dear Korean,

I am hoping that you get a chance to read this email. My name is Debbie Kim and I am writing today to ask a favor.

I'm from the suburbs of Chicago and a boy at our church, who's family I have known for a long time and who battled ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) a few years ago has now been diagnosed with a rare form of another cancer - Myeloid Proliferative Disease. The reason I write is because he needs a bone marrow donation or he will die. For the past 10 days he has undergone extremely high doses of chemotherapy to hopefully destroy any remaining cancerous cells. The next step is to wait if he goes into remission and if he DOES go into remission, he will need a bone marrow transplant immediately. They have tested members of his family, including his parents and his sister and they are not a match. The best chance for patients like Andrew is your own family but if not, typically people within your ethnicity are the next best chance. But there have been cases of non-similar ethnicity matches. So we are trying all venues to get as many people to join the registry with hope that we will find a match. For whatever reason, Asian Americans (or for any ethnic minority) the number of registrants are extremely low. We held a drive at our church this past week and had about 200 people sign up (myself included :)) but want to increase the chances of a match by as many means as possible.

Joining the registry is not something to be taken lightly and more information can be found at www.bethematch.org. Also joining the registry means you are in the database to be matched to anyone in the world, not just our friend Andrew. That being said, joining the registry is very easy - just 4 cheek swabs with a kit with cotton swabs that can be sent directly to your house.

I am reaching out hoping that you can post something to encourage people, especially Asian Americans to join the Bone Marrow Donation Registry at Be The Match (www.bethematch.org). If you need anymore specific information or would like to talk to the families directly, please let me know. I can do my best to answer any questions or direct you to who can best answer them.

Below is the blog for Andrew and his updates. I've also included another blog for another little boy who is also in desparate need for a bone marrow transplant - the heartbreaking piece of this story is they found a match earlier this month but the donor (from Japan) backed out.

http://andrewsfightonestepatatime.blogspot.com
http://www.savingconnor.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/savingconnor

Please, please- even if I get one person to join, that is one more person on the registry who can potentially save a life. I have a child who also has been in the hospital for heart surgeries and I share in the pain and sorrow this family is going through. If it was my child going through this, it would not be beneath me to be begging in the streets with a q-tip looking for a match - so I do this on their behalf and beg you to get the word out.

Thank you,
Debbie Kim

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Ask a Korean! News: Why Koreans Eat Rice Cake on Holidays

Hope everyone is having a good chuseok, and eating a lot of songpyeon. Here is an insight on why Koreans eat rice cake on holidays like chuseok, from the always-informative food blog 악식가의 미식일기.


Why We Eat Rice Cake on Holidays

To cook rice, a pot is necessary. Up until the three kingdoms era, metal could only be used for weaponry. In other words, a pot made of cast iron to cook rice with was not in the kitchen. Among the artifacts of that era, steamers (siru, 시루) is the most prevalent among the artifacts having to do with eating. Thus, one can surmise that not rice, but rice cake was the staple.

Before a centralized state's formation was complete, Koreans have long lived a tribal life. Such tribe likely would have been formed based on blood ties. Also, there would have been more property common to the tribe rather than privately owned properly. While it would have been difficult for the whole tribe to cook and eat at the same time, but at least those who recognize each other to be belonging to a single family tree would have cooked together. Tracing back to the memories of the single last name villages that existed throughout Korea's rural areas as recently as 40 years ago, up to fourth cousins were considered a single family. The range would have been greater in the past.

At this point, we can imagine our ancestors cooking together. Even the steamer would not have been that common, and maintaining the fire would have been particularly difficult. Thus, one can imagine several extended families within a tribe coming together to take care of their meals. Our ancestors, setting powdered grain on a steamer, steam up rice cake, then sitting in a circle to eat. Thus, rice cake is the food of the community.

Cast iron pot appears to have become prevalent as a cooking tool around Goryeo Dynasty. This is the point at which rice becomes a regular meal. Each family's kitchen had a pot, and by then only a family ate together at a meal. "Eating rice from the same pot" [TK: a Korean idiom meaning "sharing affinity"] has come to mean that they were a family. Thus, rice is the food of the family.

We make rice cake on holidays such as chuseok or New Year's Day. Or at least, we buy rice cake to eat. It is a form of reminiscing the nostalgia for the community long, long ago. Our rice cake holds our people's ancient spirit of community.

명절에 떡을 먹는 이유 [악식가의 미식 일기]

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 29. 015B

[Read more reviews from the Korean from the Library Mixer. To join, click here.] 

[Series Index]

29.  015B [공일오비]

Also known as:  空一烏飛 ("A single crow flies in the sky.")

Years of Activity:  1990-present? (last regular album in 2006)

Members:

Regular members
Jang Ho-Il [장호일] - Guitar
Jeong Seok-Won [정석원] - Keyboard

Temporary members
Jo Hyeon-Chan [조현찬] - Drum
Jo Hyeong-Gon [조형곤] - Bass

Discography:

Gong'ilohbi [공일오비] (1990)
Second Episode (1991)
The Third Wave (1992)
The Fourth Movement (1993)
Big 5 (1994)
The Sixth Sense (1996)
Lucky 7 (2006)

Representative Song:  21th Century Monolith [21세기 모노리스] from The Sixth Sense

21세기 모노리스
21st Century Monolith

[narration]

MX-1:  여기는 MX-1, 지구 헤드쿼터 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, Earth headquarter respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터, 지금 상황이 좋지않다. 5번에 교신대기, 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  This is headquarter, situation is bad right now. Comm link ready on 5, standby, over

[song]

벤치위의 노신사 아무말없이
The old gentleman on the bench, without a word
담배에 불을 붙이고는 지친몸을 쉬네요
Lights his cigarette and rests his weary body
시들어진 꽃들을 어루만지며
While tending the wilted flowers
세상을 이긴 승리자에 탄식을 하고
Laments at the victor who won the world
흐릿해진 하늘을 보며
Looking at the overcast sky
어린 시절 꿈들은 한숨이 되가고
The childhood dreams turn into a sigh and
끝도 없이 이어만지는 폭풍우의 계절은
The season of storms that continue without end
눈물을 뿌리네
Sheds its tears

[narration]

MX-1:  여기는 MX-1 지구 응답하라 오버 여기는 MX-1 지구 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, Earth, respond, over. This is MX-1, Earth, respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터. 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  This is headquarter. Standby, over
MX-1:  무슨 일인가? 상황을 알려달라 오버
MX-1:  What's going on? Inform situation, over
HQ:  지금 비상전시체제로 돌입했다. 별도의 지시가 있을 때까지 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  We are now in emergency wartime response. Standby until further instruction, over

[song]

역사라고 불렀죠 파괴를 믿고
We called it history. We believed in destruction
화폐를 믿고 과학이란 종교를 믿었는데
We believed in currency and in the religion called science
누구를 탓할까요 버려진 낙원
Who are we to blame? The deserted paradise
신은 더 이상 기다리지 않는답니다.
God no longer waits for us
위대했던 인류의 꿈은
The once grand dream of the mankind
자신의 관을 직접 만들어만 갔고
Only continued to make its own coffin and
끝도 없이 올려간 탑은
The tower that was risen endlessly
예정된 싸움속에 무너져 버리죠
Falls in the predestined fights

[narration]

MX-1:  여기는 MX-1, 수신재개 요망 오버. 헤드쿼터 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, request reopening communication, over. Headquarter respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터, 상황이 좋지 않고있다. 별도의 지시가 있을 때까지 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  This is headquarter, the situation is getting bad. Standby until further instruction, over
MX-1:  여기는 MX-1 헤드쿼터 응답하라 오늘이 내 딸 생일이다 가족들과 교신할 수 있나 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, headquarter respond, today is my daughter's birthday, can I communicate with my family, over
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  여기는 MX-1 헤드쿼터 응답하라 가족들과 교신하고싶다 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, headquarter respond. I want to communicate with my family, over
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  헤드쿼터 내 목소리가 들리면 딸에게 전해다오, 아빠가 생일 축하한다고, 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  Headquarter, if you can hear me tell my daughter daddy said happy birthday, respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터 -- 작동모드를 수동으로 전환하기 바란다 여기선 더이상 통제할 수 없다 오--
HQ:  This is headquarter -- change operation mode to manual, we cannot control from here any more, ov--
MX-1:  헤드쿼터, 무슨일인가! 상황을 알고싶다. 무슨일인가? 응답하라 오버!
MX-1:  Headquarter, what's going on? Inform situation. What's going on? Respond, over!
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  여기는 MX-1, 헤드쿼터 응답하라. 무슨일인가?
MX-1:  This is MX-1, headquarter, respond. What's going on?
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  헤드쿼터!
MX-1:  Headquarter!
HQ:  적군이다, 적군이다... 오오 신이시여 우릴 용서하소서
HQ:  The enemy, the enemy is here... oh God forgive us

Song note:  21th Century Monolith is about a spaceship (which looks like a train in the music video) that is returning to Earth seven years after it left, only to be greeted by a nuclear war.

In 15 words or less:  Bridge between ballad and modern rock; pioneer of long-form music video.

Maybe they should be ranked higher because...  Their fifth and sixth albums did not receive their proper due as groundbreaking works.

Maybe they should be ranked lower because...  Did they leave any enduring classics like the way Lee Mun-Se, for example, did?

Why is this band important?
In the K-pop scene of the 1990s, "ballad" was the king. These sappy soft rocks with a clear rise-climax-denouement structure (think My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion) was a natural outgrowth of the folk rock neutered of its political message. When 015B debuted, there was no reason to believe that it would be anything other than another ballad group with catchy lyrics. But a closer observer of 015B would have known that the band began with a significant potential, and the band gradually began living up to its potential, album by album. It distinguished itself by adopting genres that were lesser known in Korea at the time. It did not seek popularity, or at least the kind of popularity that involves numerous television appearances to which teenage girls scream. 015B, notably, did not have a main vocal -- for most of its songs, the band casted other singers to sing them. Luminaries of K-pop like Shin Hae-Chul, Yoo Hee-Yeol and Yoon Jong-Shin regularly participated in 015B albums as featured artists.

015B's fifth and sixth albums were the culmination of its talent. The fifth album's title was The Short Hair [단발머리], a modern remake of a hit song by the immortal Jo Yong-Pil. This set off a wave of remake albums, pushing the K-pop world to have a popular retrospective that it never truly had (with Kim Gwang-Seok being a notable exception.) Their sixth album pushed the musical boundaries farther, moving toward modern rock that did not as yet exist. The song 21st Century Monolith from the sixth album made history, as the first Korean pop song to have a music video that cost more than KRW 100 million (around $100,000.) It began a trend of well-produced, movie-like music videos in K-pop.

Interesting trivia 1:  Jeong Seok-Won was the keyboardist for the band Infinite Orbit [무한궤도] with Shin Hae-Chul, another artist who would go on to become a legend in his own right.

Interesting trivia 2:  Jeong and Jang are actually brothers. Jang Ho-Il's real name is Jeong Ki-Won.

Interesting trivia 3:  015B underwent a decade-long hiatus because of Jeong's military service.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 18. Kim Hyeon-Sik

We are now finished with Tier 3 - Strong Impact K-pop artists. Beginning with our number 18, these artists are considered the greatest of a given era in K-pop.


18. Kim Hyeon-Sik [김현식]

[Series Index]

Also Romanized as:  Kim Hyun-Sik

Years of Activity: 1980-1991

Discography:

New Songs by Kim Hyeon-Sik [김현식 새노래] (1980)
Kim Hyeon-Sik 2 [김현식 2] (1984)
The Third Album by Kim Hyeon-Sik and Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter:  Love Songs in the Rain [김현식과 봄 여름 가을 겨울 3집: 빗속의 연가] (1986)
Kim Hyeon-Sik Vol. 4 [김현식 Vol. 4] (1988)
Kim Hyeon-Sik 5 [김현식 5] (1990)
Kim Hyeon-Sik Vol. 6 [김현식 Vol. 6] (1991)
Self-Portrait (1996)

Representative Song:  My Love by My Side [내 사랑 내 곁에] from Kim Hyeon-Sik Vol. 6

내 사랑 내 곁에

My Love by My Side

나의 모든 사랑이 떠나가는 날이

The day when all my love departs

당신의 그 웃음 뒤에서 함께 하는데

Is with you behind your smile, but

철이 없는 욕심에 그 많은 미련에 당신이 있는 건 아닌지 

I wonder if you are in the childish desire and those many regrets

아니겠지요

No, you would not

시간은 멀어짐으로 향해 가는데

Time heads toward separateness, but

약속했던 그대만은 올 줄을 모르고

You, despite your promise, are not coming, and

애써 웃음 지으며 돌아오는 길은 왜 그리도 낯설고 멀기만 한지

Why is the way back, forcing a smile, so unfamiliar and far

저 여린 가지 사이로 혼자인 날 느낄 때

When I feel myself being alone between those frail branches

이렇게 아픈 그대 기억이 날까

Would this painful memory of you come back

내 사랑 그대 내 곁에 있어 줘

My love, you, please be by my side

이 세상 하나뿐인 오직 그대만이

Only you, the only one in the world

힘겨운 날에 너 마저 떠나면

If even you leave in these difficult days

비틀거릴 내가 안길 곳은 어디에

Where will I be held, stumbling

Translation note:  This is one of the most difficult songs the Korean has ever translated for this series.  As it stands, the translation is a total mess, because the original lyrics in Korean is poetically forced. Suggestions are always welcome.

In 15 words or less:  The voice of the 80s.

Maybe he should be ranked higher because...  Few singers defined an era like Kim Hyeon-Sik did.

Maybe he should be ranked lower because...  He did not have any impact outside of music.

Why is this artist important?

Considering the massive impact that he will make, Kim Hyeon-Sik's beginning in 1980 was meek. Although a couple of songs in his first album gained some popularity, Kim did not become a household name until his second album in 1984, with the headlining song I Loved You [사랑했어요]. But reportedly, Kim himself was not particularly satisfied with this album, in which he was mostly a vocalist for songs written by someone else.

Kim's third album in 1986, in contrast, truly had his finger prints. Kim formed a band, christened Spring Summer Fall Winter [봄 여름 가을 겨울], specifically to create his third band. (The keyboardist for SSFW was Yoo Jae-Ha.) Each band member contributed his own songs into the album, giving the album the diverse colors of rock, blues and fusion jazz. But undeniably, the keystone of the album was Kim's gravelly, Louis Armstrong-like voice, which tied together the album as a single theme.  Kim's third album sold over 200,000 copies, and is considered one of the greatest in K-pop history. (SSFW eventually spun off and became its own band, still playing to this day.)

Kim, however, was not the type who could enjoy his success into the sunset. He chain-smoked and binge-drank. He also smoked marijuana, still considered a very serious crime in Korea. Kim's health declined rapidly. When he was sober and in between the trips to emergency room, he would spend the days holding concerts and the nights recording songs. Alcohol-induced liver sclerosis finally took his life in December 1990, while he was still in the middle of recording his sixth album. Kim was 42. The title song of his last album, My Love by My Side, dominated the airwaves in 1991; the album would sell more than a million copies. As it turns out, Kim's last album was also the last meaningful album of the 1980s K-pop, as in the following year, a supernova would change K-pop forever.

Interesting trivia:  Kim attended Samcheong Elementary School in Seoul, the same elementary school as another K-pop legend of the 1980s -- Jeon In-Gwon of Deulgukhwa.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Sorting Through Shinzo Abe's Dog Whistles

August 15, 2015 is the 70 year anniversary of the end of World War II. With it, a fresh round of tension builds in East Asia over Japan's recognition of its past. Every year around this time, the Japanese Prime Minister would issue a statement, China and Korea would react in anger, each side would engage in a war of words, only to repeat the next year. This tends to bewilder the observers outside of East Asia. To the people who only occasionally pay attention to East Asia, Japan's annual statements sure look like an apology, and Korea/China appear petty for questioning the sincerity of the apologies.

This outlook comes partially from the fact that the occasional observer lacks the historical context of the rhetoric being used in the apology. As George Orwell eloquently noted, it is common in politics to use coded language to disguise the true meaning of a statement that is deeply offensive. In the U.S., these code words are known as "dog whistle"--ordinary people cannot hear them, but those who are familiar with the context react to those words.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
(source)

Shinzo Abe, Japan's right-wing prime minister, is a master of dog whistles. His statement yesterday, commemorating the 70 year anniversary of the end of World War II, was rife with coded language. For those who are not familiar with those codes, TK will reproduce the entire statement below, and point out exactly where the dog whistles are.

Before we jump in, it would be helpful to know how the Japanese right wing, including Prime Minister Abe, recalls the history of Japan in the first half of 20th century. Below is the summarized version:

In the late 19th century, Western nations began the trend of imperialism, in which they invaded and subjugated the rest of the world based on the idea of white race's superiority. To defend itself against these forces, Japan modernized quickly and formed the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, made up of neighboring Asian nations in the spirit of racial solidarity. Other empires attempt to suppress the rise of the Japanese empire by choking Japan off of the vital natural resources that it required. Japan tried to break the deadlock by attacking Pearl Harbor, which led to World War II. In the end, Japan was defeated.

Note how in this alternative telling of history, Japan is not the aggressor but a victim. Japan did not colonize its neighbors and murdered their resisting people; it organized them into a larger unit to fight against the onslaught of Europeans and Americans. World War II did not begin with Imperial Japan's cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor, but with other empires trying to put down the ascendant Japan. Japan did nothing wrong, other than to lose the war.

This vile revisionist history is what the Japanese right wing, including Shinzo Abe, firmly believes in. And the view of history is obviously displayed in Abe's statement yesterday, if one only knew where to look.

Full analysis of Shinzo Abe's statement,after the jump.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Looking at the situation at Egypt is rather reminiscent of the way America handled Korea. The U.S. is reluctant to do anything too radical with Egyptian president/dictator Hosni Mubarak, because he is an important ally in a war against terror. (Apparently Joe Biden does not consider Mubarak to be a dictator, although it is hard to figure out what else to call a leader who has been ruling for 30 years in a supposedly democratic country.) Similarly, in the name of preventing the spread of communism, U.S. tolerated a series of dictators in Korea all the way from its independence to late 1980s/early 1990s. In fact, nearly all anti-American sentiment in Korea today can be more or less traced to this fact.

The Korean does not know what is the right thing to do here. But he hopes that Barack Obama knows enough history to understand the future implications of American tolerance of autocrats.