The Korea Times

Seoul and Tokyo: a tale of two cities

By David Tizzard It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way -- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.And as the plot thickens, one is right to think of Dickens – for his words above have likely never been more apt.Seoul and Tokyo are two cities now divided. Yet strangely it is that very division, the animosity and opposition, which then in turn defines their very existence.Much like the ancient yin and yang melt into their opposite, are incomplete without the other, so are modern national identities in Northeast Asia still being shaped by referencing wh

Aug 12, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

BTS vs Dave

By David Tizzard This week I purchased one of the newly-released BTS dolls for my niece. The joy it brought her was both palpable and contagious: 30,000 won well spent. We've also sat down and learned their song Boy with Luv on the piano together. At 10 years-old she's at the age where she simply can't get enough of the 7 boyband members. Any glimpse of them on TV advertising a product sees her shriek in excitement. It's marvelous to see.The group's record-breaking achievements are to be applauded. They have taken the Billboard Charts by storm, sold out Wembley Stadium twice, wowed millions around the world with their slick choreography and polished performances, and even encouraged the MTV Music Awards to create a whole new K-pop category.That last fact is certainly worth taking note of and ― despite the cries of racism and xenophobia rising up from the internet about this nascent K-pop category ― I personally think it's something of which South Korea as a country should be very proud. It has been a long and winding road for K-pop. But since 1992 and the arrival of Seo Taeji, t

Aug 4, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Korean camera porn

By David Tizzard  Bathrooms, changing rooms, swimming pool locker rooms, hotels, motels, holiday inns.Say what?Places of various utility, yet all designed ultimately to give the users some privacy from the public whilst going about whatever business it might be.But with the country’s molka epidemic (spy cam porn), the very sanctuaries previously sought are now locations of great fear, trepidation, and crime.The government recently announced that it is stepping up its efforts to cooperate with police and prevent such crimes taking place at popular summer haunts, including Haeundae Beach and Gyeongpodae Beach.The destressing fact, however, is that while the warmer weather should signal a time of relaxation and joy, a break from the monotony and routine of working life, the government is having to spend time, money, and resources on combating the serious issue of criminals (nearly all men) illegally videoing and filming victims (nearly all women) while half the population live in fear of being recorded for nefarious purposes.The situation is complex and multifaceted, yet

Jul 28, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Suicide is painless?

By David Tizzard  Often described, however rightly or wrongly, as a permanent solution to a temporary problem, the country of South Korea has a particular relationship with suicide.It is something that has cast its shadow over all elements of society – from the young to the old, the rich to the poor, and the famous to the unknown.It reached its peak here in 2009 when the suicide rate per 100,000 people was measured at 10.3 for those aged between 9 and 24. It remained the tragic number one cause of death for the country’s youth in 2017.Despite its technological success, Korea’s overall suicide rate is currently second highest in the OECD behind Lithuania – though the gap to the countries below is noticeable.According to the data, the suicide rate in South Korea stands three times higher than that found in the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, or Brazil.Moreover, the elderly here are more likely to commit suicide than in any other country in the world. A shocking revelation for a people that frequently espouse such traditional values as hyo (filial piety

Jul 14, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

I am Groot

By David Tizzard  I've long been a fan of examining the various neologisms that arise here and what they tell us about the lives, loves, and loathings of Korean people ― whether it's the country itself, social stratification, perceived driving abilities of women, status of men, or economic activities. A particular favorite, and one of great recent importance I felt, was sa-ba-sa. The nascent idea that things do actually differ from person to person. The fact that this actually required a term to be created demonstrated not only the traditional strength of the collective and holistic mindset Koreans are said to possess, it also confirmed that society was changing and individuality was finally and decisively finding its voice. It was no longer simply a world of uri ― whether a bank, a band member, or a sekk-i. Now the country had variety.But with this added variety, the country was also suggesting who might be able to voice such things. At a recent meeting on Korean society, it was put forward that while locals were allowed to use “Hell Joseon” to describe the oppressi

Jul 7, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Korea, racism and BTS

By David Tizzard  I’m sure many of you have encountered it. It’s that situation in which you are only allowed to comment on something providing you have the right gender, skin colour, or ethnicity.Of course, this rather unpleasant phenomenon no doubt exists more in the online world than in real life. But then again, where are you reading this right now?People’s right to say something is deeply important and while many countries have different laws regarding free-speech, hate speech, defamation laws, and so on, the developed G20 economies adopt similar principles that enshrine people’s right to opine.Here in Korea, articles 307-312 of the Penal Code provide a number of regulations and protections vis-à-vis crimes against reputation, defamation through insult, and the publication of false factual statements.Perhaps most worryingly, even truthful statements bring with them the possibility of criminal liability here. To insult someone publically, regardless of whether what is said is true, brings with it repercussions.Such laws seem designed to pr

Jun 30, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Korea: a question for you

By David Tizzard  If history has taught us anything, it is that it is generally wise to be wary of mustachioed German men…and women.Nevertheless our Teutonic brethren have given us a whole range of musical, literary, cultural and sporting icons over the past few centuries: From Brecht and Dietrich, to Wagner, Hesse, Grasse, Becker, Klopp, Schopenhauer, Kant, Marx, and Rammstein. One of the more controversial, however, remains Friedrich Nietzsche. The man who had the audacity to claim, among other things, that “God is dead”. Trying to ascertain what his work might mean for South Korea and its citizens in the 21st century is a challenging ordeal. Not least of all because to understand Nietzsche is no mean feat. His work has a tremendous literary quality, but you could never quite call it accessible. It remains wrapped up in style, imagery, allusion, biblical and cultural references ― it's the stream of consciousness of a man who would go on to predict much of the terror and horrors that unfolded in wars that tore through Europe and then the rest of the world. An

Jun 22, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

'Parasite' - history, reality or art?

By David Tizzard  While K-pop acts BTS and Black Pink have been hitting the headlines for their international commercial success and online fandom in 2019, one of hallyu's most important sectors has often gone under-recognized in domestic Korean society. And yet the soft-power wave crashing on foreign shores and leaving an indelible mark is not arriving to the tune of a catchy choreographed innocent electronic dance beat.It is far more mature, risque, and provocative than that. Moreover, it is willing to speak its mind and turn its lens on a society that is both thriving and suffering in equal measure as the 21st century lurches forward, marked by exponential technological advancements and disparity at the political, economic, and social levels.Korean cinema is the opposite of K-pop in many ways: it enjoys great critical success abroad, its main practitioners are willing to voice their opinions on many subjects without too much fear of Twitter reprisals, and it doesn't seek to present the land of the morning calm as an air-brushed, complexion perfect, dancing marionette. It know

Jun 8, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Who flies the gay flag in South Korea?

By David Tizzard Since its creation in the late 1970s by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker, the rainbow flag has flown proud as the international symbol of gay and lesbian activism. It has been raised all over the world and adorned countless houses, car bumpers, student backpacks, websites, shops, Facebook profile photos and – on June 26th 2015 – even the White House as it commemorated the legalization of same-sex marriages in all 50 states of America.Taiwan recently became the first Asian country to allow homosexual couples to marry and that decision by the country’s Constitutional Court demonstrates how progressive values are not to be attributed only to western countries – either geographically or culturally. Interestingly, when a referendum was held last November asking the citizens there how they felt about issues such as gay marriage, the public feedback was overwhelmingly negative.Thus, the decision to rule the prohibition of same-sex marriage unconstitutional was not simply the will of the majority or the mass of public opinion. Instead, it demon

Jun 2, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Are you a halfie?

Sunya (left), Loren (right) and their two children Anika and Neptune. By David Tizzard David TizzardSince the mid-20th century, South Korea has clung to a message of homogeneity and race as a cornerstone of its national identity. It has advocated genetic purity (and at times superiority) as it looks in the geopolitical mirror and asks the most existential of questions.Yet the story delivered through school text books and the broader public consciousness has often come into conflict with the reality of history. It also ignores the generations of halfies living both here and abroad, often the product of the tragic Korean War that tore the peninsula in two.While that particular conflict is labeled “the forgotten war,” many see halfies as “the forgotten race.” Throughout the early years the first generations faced discrimination, sometimes growing up in single-parent households, orphaned, or simply socially reviled.To be a halfie anywhere is difficult. To be a halfie in Korea is a tale unto itself. Today there are half-Koreans from all over the world: Ko

May 12, 2019By David A. Tizzard

David A. Tizzard

Read more

Seoul and Tokyo: a tale of two cities

BTS vs Dave

Korean camera porn

Suicide is painless?

I am Groot

Korea, racism and BTS

Korea: a question for you

'Parasite' - history, reality or art?

Who flies the gay flag in South Korea?

Are you a halfie?

Top 5 stories