I have been toying around with an idea for a logo to represent Seoul that takes advantage of the three main mountains: Inwangsan, Bukhansan and Namsan and also includes the counter-loop of the Cheonggyecheon feeding into the Hangang. Here is my first stab. I wonder if anyone out there with some real artistic skill can help me make this into something significant.
Thanks
Emanuel Yi Pastreich
Associate Professor
College of International Studies, Kyung Hee University
Director, The Asia Institute
Friday, May 15, 6 PM
Room 107
New Millennium Hall
Yonsei University
Seoul has emerged at the center of a new economic and cultural order in East Asia and this massive city is increasingly making its presence felt around the world through its music, art, fashion and movies. Could it be that Seoul is becoming the dominant political and cultural center of Asia while remaining closely tied to the United States? Seoul’s rise brings to mind the relationship between Rome and Byzantium in another age.
There was an immense gathering in front of Seoul City Hall this evening to commemorate the first anniversary of the sinking of the Sewol Ferry, an event that cost the lives of over three hundred high school students from a working class neighborhood because the ferry operator told them to stay in their seats even after the boat began to tip and he fled himself.
The gathering brought a large number of high school and middle school students who just showed up out of concern, out of “sadness,” as they told me.
The event was billed as a candlelight vigil that would set a “Guinness Book world record.” The gathering was a mixture of spontaneity and meticulous planning. There was a festive mood at times and deep angst and worry about a world which has gone so completely wrong. It seems as if the students were wrestling to understand how this accident could have taken place and how so many in their society could pretend it had not happened.
I have seen all sorts of arguments for new high tech solutions to the environmental problem. They are mostly ridiculous. We need specialized new technologies in the case of responding to Fukushima, but otherwise, actually we need primarily old technologies to respond to climate change.
Most every country in the world required someone purchasing any liquid in a bottle to pay a deposit and then return that glass bottle after the liquid had been used until the 1970s, or even 1980s. This system is very simple and it is not difficult.
I have taken a vow to never use disposal cups, but it is extremely difficult since people will bring me drinks before I say I have my own cup and even in cafes they will ignore the mug cup I have brought. They think I just came up to order coffee and put this plastic thing on the counter. It does not occur to people that I expect them to put the coffee in that mug cup.
I would go as far as to suggest that most Koreans have no idea why I carry a cup with me and no idea why I do not eat meat.
Here are a few images from the Shilla Duty Free Store next to the Shilla Hotel. The culture of duty free is rather mysterious to me. Consumption here seems to approach a religion, an embrace of an image of the “advanced nation” that does not actually exist anywhere.
我十分喜欢咖啡，但对在咖啡厅点咖啡感到困惑。咖啡本身非常香醇美味，但这样的咖啡经常会穿上纸杯的衣服，带上塑料的帽子，偶尔系上纸质腰带。同时还有5~10张纸巾、搅拌糖和奶油的搅拌棒，偶尔还会有湿巾和宣传传单。
在资源枯竭的当今时代，在韩国看到的无数资源浪费实在令人心痛。最令人感到痛惜的是大部分韩国人甚至无法认识到这样的习惯是错误的。员工不询问客人是否需要这么多一次性用品，不询问在店内喝饮料的顾客是否用马克杯代替纸杯。甚至有许多店铺为了节约经费，从一开始就取消了洗杯子的空间。
如果我拿着个人塑料杯去咖啡店装咖啡的话，咖啡店员工甚至无法理解我在说什么。我将未使用的搅拌棒和纸巾放回时，员工的眼神就像看见鬼了一样震惊。
人们似乎认为，如果没有将店内的一次性用品都扔到垃圾桶的自由，就无法享受现代化的生活方式。人们似乎觉得，如果经常在自己的包里装手帕或是要洗自己的杯子，这样的生活非常不方便且没有了乐趣。
中央日报
2014年 4月 29日
贝一明
关于韩国文化的魅力，教授享受的社会地位堪称其一。在韩国，教授不仅在政府政策审议过程中发挥着重要作用，还经常担任企业顾问，以知识人士的身份受到了很高礼遇，就连我这个外国人也因为“博士”这个头衔受到了极高的待遇。
在韩国，知识分子的地位与过去50多年间大幅下降的美国很不一样。富兰克林·罗斯福和哈里·杜鲁门等美国总统任命大量教授担任要职的事情已经早已过去，所以我一直对韩国这样的国家心怀憧憬，很高兴能在这样的国家生活。
中央日报
2014年 8月 9日
贝一明
以“世越号”事件为契机，为促使韩国政治系统作出改变的大规模施压越来越大，但企图通过改编政府机构来改变韩国社会结构问题的态度似乎有些不具现实性。不少人对政府的这种动向持怀疑态度，认为政府只是企图创造好像在作出改变的样子，来让国民安心。
韩政府全方位的迅速措施可能会让国民一时得到满足。但很明显，以更换部长、改编政府组织或处罚“世越号”事故直接相关的几个人，今后并不能保证会杜绝此类事件。
韩国面临的不是政策问题，而是文化问题。贪婪的企业和只顾自己利益的政府官员之间不透明交易惯例只不过是整个韩国社会腐败文化的一个方面而已。而正是出于这个原因，韩国孩子们的安全受到了威胁，对政府的不信任因此加深。
I thought advertisements for plastic surgery in Seoul had gone too far. But had no idea. Personally I feel that all advertisement for plastic surgery should be made illegal and that it should be offered primarily for those who truly require it.
But get a load of this! I want to say it is self-parodic. But no. It looks like it is serious. The Barbie Doll, source of so many complexes for women, from anorexia to neurosis, is held up as a model. What is going on here? Please explain.
The quote is:
“After surgery, which part are you most satisfied with?”
Perhaps one of the greatest monument to the lasting impact of the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea is the sad Sajik Park just to the West of Gyeongbokgung Station.
Originally, this space was in fact the site of the Sa and Jik Altars where the King of Joseon prayed for the fertility of the soil to the spirit of the earth “Sa” and to the spirit of grains “Jik” for a good harvest. This ritual, performed in an unadorned space in front of two parallel altars notable for their lack of pretension, was a critical affirmation of the relationship between the kingdom and the livelihood of the commoners.
The Japanese colonial powers had the two altars turned into a park, known thereafter simply as the Sajik Park. This simple act suckout the political and social value of this space and turned it into a quaint park where one could walk one’s dog.
Only recently has the critical step been taken to reclaim this space.
A contrast with the Temple of Heaven in Beijing gives some indication of the cultural difference between Joseon Korea and Imperial China. The understated quality of political power in Korea is extremely impressive and is the key to Korean democracy. By contrast, the spectacle of power in China since the Ming dynasty has profoundly undermined democratic processes and transparency.
