The Korea Times

'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

Opinion

Freedom, peace and friendship in Korea

Courtesy of David TizzardBy David TizzardDavid TizzardOne normally pictures British skies as being dreary, overcast, and rain-soaked. So it seemed rather fitting that the weather up near Dongduchon on Friday was exactly that, because a group of British veterans from the Korean War had come to participate in a memorial service. The event was held to commemorate the 29th Brigade's Actions at the Imjin River ― otherwise known as the Battle of Solma-ri or the Battle of Gloster Hill. Three British and one Belgian infantry battalion held their position determinedly against all odds and despite the inevitably of the onrushing Chinese offensive. The eventual and tragic yet noble fate of the 1st Battalion comprised of The Gloucestershire Regiment has become part of the broader British military history and created a bond with the people of South Korea with whom they fought so valiantly. That particular fidelity marked its 68th year anniversary this week. From its early treaties to its current high trade levels and frequent cultural exchanges, Britain and the Korean people have established a co

Apr 28, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

No sex please: we're Korean

By David Tizzard Thousands recently celebrated in the streets and online as an abortion ban reaching back to 1953 was declared unconstitutional. The current government now has until 2020 to legalize something which the South Koreans have, perhaps in typical fashion, engaged in frequently but often denied the existence of.While for many abortion might be a simple moral question and for others a legal one, to ignore the particular temporal and spatial conditions in which it arises would be to neglect an important context.Abortion has long been a taboo subject in this most Confucian of cultures, yet it has most definitely existed and there has been a silent conversation taking place between the government, the medical professionals, and the people of the country.Official figures that came out of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs reported that 30 out of every 1,000 Korean women between the ages of 15 and 44 had an abortion in 2005, placing it in the top 3 of abortions per capita in the world behind Russia and Vietnam.A surprising figure for a law-abiding population

Apr 21, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

VIDEO Sewol: a candle still burns

By David TizzardDavid TizzardSouth Korea has made marvelous strides recently. It has seen the emergence of a political bonhomie between its government and Pyongyang; people celebrated in the street as the courts recently declared abortion unconstitutional; and its pop stars and celebrities adorn the television screens and Twitter feeds of millions around the world.Yet there is a candle that still burns. Unfaltering. Devout and steadfast. It commemorates the memory of the 304 people that lost their lives five years ago as they travelled from Danwon High School in Incheon to Jeju Island aboard the MV Sewol. Perhaps one of the most distressing elements of the fateful incident that held the nation in a state of disbelief was that those who perished so tragically were those who obeyed the orders of the captain and his crew. What unfolded was then seen by many as a tragic manifestation of a society that stood upon hierarchical Confucian values and housed social phenomena such as gapjil ― the physical or psychological abuse of power by those in elevated positions. The vessel was carrying tw

Apr 16, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Global Community

Mr. Woo: Woodstock, Itaewon

By David TizzardLate Woo Il-sungWoodstock in Itaewon had one of the fabulous quirks of fate where the person most synonymous with the venue had a name that was remarkably similar. The man, the legend, the keeper of live music in the town: Mr. Woo. Mr. Woo (Woo Il-sung) sadly passed away this week. His departure from the mortal coil was a shock to many and immediately resulted in a tangible outpouring of grief. Messages were sent from far and wide. People in various continents relayed what news they had heard and consoled each other. But then something remarkable happened. Something that spoke of who he was better than this article might ever hope.Facebook was flooded with tributes, stories, pictures, and memories of Mr. Woo. Politics and bickering were left aside and the community came together to pay homage to him. And everyone had a story to tell because both Woodstock and Mr. Woo had left an indubitable mark on their lives and experiences here in South Korea. You could never be quite sure what would happen when you walked into Woodstock. It would range from anywhere in between bei

Apr 5, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Opinion

Diet coke and soju: strange bed partners?

By David Tizzard American President Donald Trump is known for his love of Coke ― careful with the pronunciation, please. South Korean President Moon Jae-in however, in keeping up the tradition of diplomacy being gastronomy, has been seen with a wide range of alcoholic beverages on his many recent diplomatic maneuvers.Moreover, when the Blue House sent out giftsets to foreign journalist to commemorate the March 1st Independent movement earlier this year it came with “solsongju”, a traditional redolent Korean pine needle alcohol. I can confirm that I am indeed more a man after President Moon's palate than Trump's and that the “solsongju” was marvelous. From what I remember. Nevertheless, the two leaders are now set to meet again, this time in Washington. Accepting an invitation from President Trump, the South Korean leader and First Lady Kim Jung-sook will make the trip in the second week of April. And as the President flies stateside on the South Korean Air Force One, two U.S. F-35A fighter jets will be coming to South Korea with eight more on their way by

Mar 31, 2019By David A. Tizzard

Diet coke and soju: strange bed partners?

Opinion

K-pop still sucks

By David Tizzard German sociologist Max Weber observed that modernity is not defined by technological or scientific developments, but rather a change in the way that people think. Thus it is ideas that are capable of both shaping and defining the worlds we inhabit.A traditionalist society does not question things. It adopts a position in which the right of kings is accepted simply because that is the way it always has been. A reluctance to change grips people's minds ― leaving them in both a state of fear and submission. A modern society on the other hand brings with it citizens who rationalize. It is found in a population that questions authority, traditional cultures and practices, and is able to think reflectively upon their own behavior. The past week in South Korea has seen those two ways of thinking clash with the disturbing revelations of sexual abuse and malpractice by some of its formerly most beloved K-pop idols. How far-reaching this story stretches is as yet unknown, but some believe that it extends to lawmakers, politicians, police officials, and beyond.SBS reporter

Mar 17, 2019By David A. Tizzard

K-pop sucks

Opinion

I can't breathe!

By David Tizzard A four-year-old boy and his first day of kindergarten: He has waited eagerly for this, watching with anticipation as his cousins leave the house each day, bags on their backs, bows at the front door and off into the big wide world. Finally, the day arrives. He wakes early, filled with both excitement and trepidation. His clothes, some of them sent from the U.K. by his grandmother and uncle, are neatly laid out. Eggs and strawberries are on the table for breakfast. Yet with it there is a message from the government. Sent to all citizens and arriving now via smartphones with an all too familiar din heard in houses, classrooms and subway cars.It instructs the people of South Korea that all elderly people and children are not to go outside.But it's not the commies that will get you. It's not the nuclear bombs, not the terrorists, not the contrails nor flat-earthers. Now it's the very air that you breathe. The thing upon which humans rely and strive is now seemingly that which may prove our undoing. Just as South Korea grew to prosperity through the qualities of comp

Mar 9, 2019By David A. Tizzard

David A. Tizzard

Read more

'Parasite' - history, reality or art?

Who flies the gay flag in South Korea?

Are you a halfie?

Freedom, peace and friendship in Korea

No sex please: we're Korean

VIDEO Sewol: a candle still burns

Mr. Woo: Woodstock, Itaewon

Diet coke and soju: strange bed partners?

K-pop still sucks

I can't breathe!

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