Introduction to Korean Pop Culture

I think there are a few easy ways to learn a foreign language. One way is to be immersed in the language by living in a place where it is often used. This could be accomplished by living in another country or studying abroad where the language is used by the community. It could also be done by having parents that speak the other language and raise you to speak it from birth. Another way is to have something wrong with you so that you have an intrinsic motivation to study another language that won't be immediately practical. There are a number of things wrong with some of the students, such as the inability to remember that a pencil or pen might be useful for class, or the unconscious prodding, and punching of one another, but none of them seem to get too giddy when it's time for English grammar. Out of the 800 students I teach each week, I believe only one of them has lived outside of Korea, and she hasn't done a very good job of convincing the rest of how wonderful the English-speaking world is and how they should all do their best to learn English. However, English has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment and it seems that all kids wants to be entertained these days, right?

Yes and no. The students certainly do like entertaining things, but that's true of just about everyone but baseball fans. What has been particularly surprising is how little of a direct impact American pop culture has here. When I was in Spain and Greece, I heard the same drivel of pop and rap songs (with a few crazy European techno songs thrown in) and saw the same movies that were available in the United States. However, Korea is kind of like a bizarro United States. The Koreans are very self-sufficient in producing their own television, music, film, fashion and sports. A lot of it has emulated aspects of American culture, but it's still definitely been made into something fairly unique and zany. It also mirrors the United States in the exportation of the culture. The spread of Korean entertainment throughout Asia is a phenomenon called the "Korean Wave." I had previously been misusing this term for when the students vigorously wave at me using both of their hands.

So, what exactly is the hullabaloo about all of this Korean entertainment? I set out to find out by learning what my middle school students are interested in. For my first class, after going over the rules and procedures, I introduced myself and told them my interests, and then taught them how to convey their interests using the reliable "I like..." phrase. The students kept track of their partner's responses, which I got to look over later. The results were astonishing.

The students seem to enjoy pop music. The most popular music group is The Wondergirls with their blockbuster hit, "Tell Me."

I taught the students what "tell me" means, but after that I'm kind of lost.

Here's another group the students like. This is Super Junior.

It's pretty much like the Wondergirls song, except these guys are wearing shorter skirts.

It's not really my cup of tea, but if you're enjoying these videos, then some other performers you might like are Big Bang, Sg Wannabe, EPIK High, and FT Island.

My students also like computer games quite a bit. There are a lot of free internet games you can play if you have a Korean ID#, which is like a social security number. This helps prevent pesky foreigners from playing and annoying the locals with their gibberish. This game is Sudden Attack, which looks a tiny bit like the American game, Counter-Strike.

You don't have to watch the whole thing if you're like me and get bored after about 15 seconds. I don't think anything interesting ever happens.

Other free games the students like are Dungeon & Fighter, Maple Story and Crazy Arcade. Some of the students also like Warcraft 3 and Starcraft, which are played as professional e-sports here in Korea. It's kind of like a paradise for my 13 year old past self. If only my parents hadn't made me turn off the computer every couple of hours then, I could be achieving greatness as a professional athlete here instead of wallowing as an English teacher. Here's some guys living the dream in action.

Finally, my students like television as well. Korean dramas are a pretty big deal here and look like cartoony soap operas. I made the mistake of turning on the TV during my first week here and I saw a guy eating kimbap (Korean sushi) while sitting in a car and crying as a woman walked away while a piano and violin slowly played. The guy wasn't really crying, rather his eyes were leaking profusely. Here's an example; I couldn't watch the whole thing, but if you're up for a challenge then you can try.

There is also another type of drama, but this type is considered to be historical.

I sure wish this idea would cross the Pacific. It would be pretty awesome to see Ben Franklin and John Adams fighting the British in hand-to-hand combat while being tempted in various love triangles.

My students seem to really like this comedy show called Muhandojeon. It's about six guys who participate in odd challenges and talk to famous people.

I actually watched all of that clip after learning that my students liked this show, and the ending was very disturbing. Ever since watching that, I walk with my back to a wall at all times to prevent the students from emulating their television heroes.

As you can see, the realm of Korean entertainment is vast and vibrant. I didn't even go into Korean films, which might be right up your alley if you like romantic comedies or crime dramas. It's actually really refreshing and exciting to get to experience a different popular culture. There's a novelty to it all that makes just about everything at least somewhat interesting. However, the unique Korean entertainment culture also makes my job as an English teacher a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. As mentioned before, an easy way to learn English is to immerse yourself in it, and English entertainment is normally an easy means for doing this. Unfortunately, it just isn't as appealing as the easy-to-understand product that is already available. It will be my last week of teaching this next week before the school goes on winter break for two months. That's a long time to go without any language practice, so I think I'll still try to see if I can pique their interest in English culture. I have a plethora of English music to offer, and I think that some of the students who play instruments, like the guitar or piano, might be interested in that venue. One of the kids was telling me today that he played guitar, but that he had never heard of Jimi Hendrix. Blasphemy! Another interesting part of our English culture would be literature. Harry Potter and His Dark Materials are good kids books, but they might be a little too advanced for most of my students. I was thinking that comic books and newspaper comics might be of interest, but Japan might have filled that void. I have access to some TV shows and movies that I could share with the students as well. The Simpsons can be funny for all ages and abilities, and it is even drawn right here in South Korea! The students also seem to be pretty internet savvy, and I think this might be a good opportunity for them to practice their English. Korea has its own bizarro internet (they don't use google), but I think the students would find some things they would like if they ventured into the English parts of it. There's a number of flash games they could play as well as many videos and homemade cartoons to watch on sites like youtube and newgrounds. I'm not sure how it will go, but if you, my loyal readers, can think of any other ideas for the Korean middle school student who already has everything, then let me know.