The Korea Times

My 'Nunchi' is better than yours

By David Tizzard  Nunchi in the schools. Nunchi in the home. Nunchi in the workplace, the traffic, the factories, the cafes, and the soju tents. Nunchi for me. Nunchi for you. Everyone gets some damn nunchi – even the dogs.For after all, it’s not just kimchi that cures cancer, fish that gives you stamina, and fans that will secretly murder you in your sleep, now nunchi is the secret to all that is successful about Korea.At least that’s what the past fortnight or so on social media would have you believe.It all seemed to snowball when Euny Hong wrote a piece in the NYT, calling nunchi, “the Korean secret to happiness and success.”It was said to be “as old as Korean civilization itself” and not only unique to this part of the world but “horrifying to the 21st century Western mind”.Sounds bloody amazing, doesn’t it?The author boils it down to being able to speed-read a room and then decide on the appropriate action based on the collective feelings and ambience within.Erm…that’s generally what most people

Nov 23, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

The Suneung World Cup final

David Tizzard talks with his students. Courtesy of TizzardBy David TizzardHalo walks into the room clutching a chocolate milkshake in a desperate attempt to rid herself of a hangover from last night's boozing. She is filming something for television today yet yesterday's clothes still cling to her with a sense of familiarity. She is a 19-year-old studying Japanese at a Korean university. Her unashamed blue hair hangs down way below her shoulders.As we begin discussing her views on the Korean “suneung” university entrance exam, it doesn't take her long to swear comfortably and fluently in English. She's exasperated by her own memories and those a whole new batch of hopefuls are to be exposed to. She is, in essence, the very personification of a middle finger to the standardized model. She rejects both the accepted appearance dictated to her and the academic path she is supposed to tread. Despite this refusal to acquiesce, or perhaps because of it, she possesses a sharp instinct and acute awareness of what's going on around her. She scores high on her papers and often outpe

Nov 14, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Kanye West, BTS and Josh Homme

By David Tizzard I listened to three sets of music this week – Kayne West’s new Jesus is King album, Josh Homme’s latest adventures in the Desert Sessions Volume 11 and 12, and some of BTS’ performances from the closing of their world tour here in Seoul.I also revisited Van Morrison’s marvelous Astral Weeks but we’ll save that for another time.Having spent some time listening to these three very disparate sets of music, I set out to then read about them and see what the industry was saying.People lauded and ridiculed Kayne’s latest album in equal measure. Personally, I thought it was really interesting.Yes, it was on the short side – but it was different. Something unique. Personal. Honest.It wasn’t, I don’t think, Kayne out to make money.It was an artist exploring. Taking chances. Sticking a finger up to expectations and following his own path.If you’ve ever watched the Blues Brothers, you’ll no doubt remember the scene in which Jake and Elwood visit a jiving preacher played by the incomparable James Brown.

Nov 4, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Your eyes suck!

By David Tizzard  Charles Cooley has a marvelous quote about the sociological nature of how our identities are formed: “I am not who I think I am. I am not who you think I am. I am who I think you think I am.”Read it again if you need to make sure you understand it because it's the main idea of this piece. I am talking about how the way in which we perceive the people around us can actually affect them as well as their behaviors and personalities. In a hippy-ish kinda way, it's saying that our eyes don't take reality inwards. Rather they project reality outwards. We don't see the world through our eyes; we create it. I mention the topic because a few days ago I posted the questions set for my Politics students at Hanyang University on Facebook. There were eight very open-ended questions about global and domestic politics and my students had 3 hours to complete four of them. It was an open-book exam so they could use laptops, smartphones, and all the other trappings of the modern world. However, some of my more aged friends suggested that such a test was not real

Oct 27, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Pro-Pyongyang and gay

By David Tizzard It's been an interesting couple of days for ambassadors based here in Seoul, South Korea. And while one may think of diplomacy as some secret and revered art, carried out in dusty corridors by bespectacled aristocrats over glasses of red wine, that seriously neglects the power of one of the modern world's most powerful ― and dangerous ― tools. Twitter. Yep ― the dreaded “T” word. The place where bots, Russians, blue ticked-warriors, stans, armys, and social justice journalists go to play. So put on your lifejackets because we're going in. And, let's start with the bad and end with the good so that at least if you do read this, you'll be nodding rather than tutting when you reach for your next click. First was the story of the group of “Pro-Pyongyang” students that broke into the American Ambassador's private residence, Habib House, and staged a protest. There was nothing too clandestine about their actions. In fact, it seems publicity was one of the very things they sought. They placed a ladder up against the walls, climbed into the groun

Oct 21, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Feminism, Meninism and Moon

By David Tizzard  Every Friday morning I teach a 3-hour Politics class to 70 undergrad students at one of Seoul's top universities. Despite the early start, the young 20-something Korean men and women, as well as the international students joining them, take to the topics with a frightening enthusiasm ― whether it be nationalism, political behaviour, post-materialism, elite theory, or otherwise. This week, however, despite remaining fairly confident in my ability to keep things on an even academic keel, and building on our theoretical study of political identity, I threw a potential bomb into the room: Feminism in South Korea and the reported resultant backlash from young men. A Realmeter poll in 2018 declared that 76% of men here in their 20s opposed feminism ― for comparison only 9.5% of South Korea men in their 50s said they were anti-feminist. Truly staggering numbers, particularly for the Europeans in the class ― of which, all things Brexit aside, I remain one.And yet that is not all that young Korean men are apparently in opposition to: in December it was reported that les

Oct 13, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Moon's approval rating hits new low amid 'Cho Kuk' setback, poll shows

Opinion

Kim Ji-young: born 1982

By David Tizzard  Being born in 1982 in Northeast Asia is to be born in the year of the dog ― the eleventh in the 12-year cycle of animals. To be more precise, based on the five elements, it is to be born in the year of the water dog. Online horoscopes suggest that those born in 1982 will experience relatively ordinary careers in 2019 but find little room for improvements and progress. Despite experiencing no major health issues, it is also suggested, perhaps presciently, that team atmospheres will be somewhat brittle. At least in terms of age, I can certainly relate to Kim Ji-youngs born in 1982 because they are a mere year younger than I am. On first arriving in South Korea and learning of these different zodiacs, I rushed to find out what majestic and powerful creature symbolized my birth. Naturally, I thought, I would be a dragon. A tiger. Something, quite frankly, awesome. Alas, I am a chicken. Nevertheless, that supposedly makes me the epitome of fidelity and punctuality. And also pretty delicious with beer if modern trends are anything to go by. Yet these archetypal chara

Sep 29, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Are you human?

Heo Chang-hee, left, and Ahmed Askar. Courtesy of Neil GeorgeBy David Tizzard “When I look into my daughter's eyes, I don't want to see sadness, suffering, pain or fear. I want to see joy, love, happiness and hope. Is this too much to ask for?”Sentiments with which, I am sure, that all of us would agree. These were the words of a young Yemeni man who had recently arrived on Jeju Island with his family, seeking shelter, freedom, and safety from the war that had destroyed his home, his country, and ― for the time ― his hope. Now do you still agree with the sentiment?This, obviously, is when things get difficult for some people. We all want to make aspirational statements and claims of peace or unity, particularly on social media where we will get likes, retweets, and hearts for our 140 characters. Yet some sociologists have described such behavior as “slacktivism”: the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment and with the main purpose of boosting the

Sep 22, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Your new moon

By David Tizzard When we think about the future of the world, we always have in mind its being where it would be if it continued to move as we see it moving now. We do not realize that it moves not in a straight line but rather that its direction changes constantly.And so as the full moon rises for this year’s Chuseok holiday, we need not believe that that which has been done in the past will necessarily be continued tomorrow.Of course holidays bring with them traditions and rituals which help remind us of our place in the family, society, and the universe at large – whether it’s the handing over of money to relatives, trips to tree-covered temples, or rotating the soju three times before pouring it into the cup during ceremonies, some things will stay with us.But others need not. The world is one of change and – with a little effort – we can help make those changes for the better.In his address to the nation this week, a hanbok-clad President described how the full moon of one’s hometown shines unusually bright so as to cast its light fairly

Sep 14, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

…And justice for all

By David Tizzard In 1988, heavy metal band Metallica released their fourth studio album titled “…And Justice for All”: an record relentless in its aggressiveness, its riffs, production, and themes. Most of the content centered on ideas of political inequality, abuse of power, war, corruption, and censorship.Any book on modern Korean is likely to cover similar ground.In 1988, South Korea was hosting the Seoul Summer Olympics and trying to decide whether ex-army general, and then President, Roh Tae-woo heralded the start of a democratic nation or merely a repetition of the authoritarian military rule that had directed the nation for the last two and a half decades.Without wanting to dwell too much on the past, South Korea has since made enormous strides politically, economically, culturally, and socially.In many aspects, it stands, along with Japan, as a beacon of progressive values in Northeast Asia – particularly when one considers the states that neighbor it to the north.But can these progressive values be applied across the board? Moreover, is western

Sep 8, 2019By David A. Tizzard

David A. Tizzard

Read more

My 'Nunchi' is better than yours

The Suneung World Cup final

Kanye West, BTS and Josh Homme

Your eyes suck!

Pro-Pyongyang and gay

Feminism, Meninism and Moon

Kim Ji-young: born 1982

Are you human?

Your new moon

…And justice for all

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