Korea Deconstructed

Choi Isu is a young South Korean woman who has a vision of a better world. She believes in communication, community, and education. Measures that will stop the fragmentation of society and isolation experienced by some people today. Much of this worldview has been informed by her own educational experiences. Attending Ewoo High School, she received an alternative education focused on discussion and student-based learning rather than the rote memorization required elsewhere. I've known Isu for around 6 months and continue to be amazed by her courage, personality, and willingness to venture into the unknown. When we talk about Korean Gen Z and youth, we would do well to remember examples like Isu. At the end of the podcast, you can even hear a hip-hop track we made together with help from Kevin. "In our present culture, we have become accustomed to putting new wine into old bottles and hoping that we can make the new conform to the pattern of the old. But that which is truly new is not recognizable by the old, and the old becomes a hindrance to the new. If we do not see the new, it is not because it is not there, but because we are anchored to the old, and the old, being repetitive, makes us dull, weary, and insensitive."

Discussion Outline

0:00 Alternative Education in Korea

12:22 University

19:00 Suneung (SATs)

27:20 Changing the World

40:00 AI and Chat GPT

46:00 MBTIs and fortune tellers

1:03:30 Do young Korean people still care about Confucianism?

1:20:20 Love and Romance in Gen Z

1:40:26 Main worries and pleasures

1:58:50 Feminism and Safety

2:09:00 What do Gen Z do apart from go to Cafes?

Isu's column in the Korea Times https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/08/715_354531.html

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

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▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music: We Shoot Back (feat. Isu)

Dr. Kim Kyung-jin was born in 1936. He grew up in Manchuria speaking Japanese at school, Korean at home, and then Chinese in the street. Before class, all students had to face Tokyo, bow, and pledge their allegiance to the Japanese empire. He said he would see people dead on the streets on his way to school, overdosed on opium. He was also there when the last Chinese emperor, the boy Puyi, passed through in 1943. Everyone was meant to bow and avert their eyes but he reckons he had a good gander.

When the second world war ended in 1945 and the Russians were coming into the area, the Japanese ordered them to retreat so they got on a train headed South towards Seoul. He left his dad at the station and never saw him again. About 10 years ago, a local historian tracked down old news reports from the 1930s and 1940s that featured his dad so he could remember what he looked like.

When they got back to Seoul, he started his hobbies of ice-skating, rugby, and singing. He went to school but the Korean War soon started in 1950 with the North Korean communists invading. While the communists ruled Seoul, he survived by teaching new recruits to the North Korean army patriotic songs (otherwise they'd kill him). He still remembers those songs and sings one of them for us. After that, as the war changed direction, he got picked up by the Americans because he could help them translate road signs in English, Japanese, and Korean. He followed them because they had better food and they were nice to him.

Then, in 1960, the war had ended and the country was struggling to become the democracy it is today and there were national demonstrations trying to kick out South Korea's first president. Dr. Kim was downtown in Seoul at the famous protests all kids today learn about in the books when he was shot in the arm by a Korean policeman with an M1 rifle. Still has the scar and he showed me it today. Pretty ironic that he survived the Russians, the Japanese, the North Koreans, and the Americans, and it was eventually one of his own, a South Korean, that shot him.

He lived through colonization, war, and dictatorship but he still smiles, laughs, and has a super positive outlook on life. He speaks multiple languages. He has done a Masters, a PhD, and has been the conductor of an orchestra for the past 40-odd years. He reckons he walks 13,000 steps a day to stay healthy.

What a dude! Absolutely floored me.

Big thank you to Professor Sam Denny (Associate Professor, Department of English Education at Sangmyung University) for arranging this for us and joining us on the podcast.

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music: Tampas Dusk - Sharks (Fade Out of Sight)

Dr. Fouser leads a fascinating and eye-opening exploration into the ideology, values, and activism of Korean students in the 1980s. He discusses and demonstrates the agency of that generation when contrasted to the people of today. He talks about 사대문안 as the traditional center of Seoul and how it's changing over time, with things moving south of the river as well as emerging migrant communities. The Korean language and Dr. Fouser's experiences of writing 5 books in Korean and regular Korean-language columns for various national newspapers are also explored. Robert J. Fouser was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He holds a B.A. in Japanese language and literature, an M.A. in applied linguistics, both from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Trinity College Dublin. He writes frequently on Korean society and culture and has been active in promoting hanok preservation.

Conversation Outline

0:00 Generations in Korea

6:40 Was the 386 Generation Leftist/Marxist?

28:50 Post-Democratization Korea

38:16 Modern Korea

1:04:10 The City of Seoul: 사대문안

1:28:28 The Korean Language

1:54:28 Does Han exist?

1:58:28 The Future of Korea: Resistance and Change

2:16:55 Lessons from life

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me

Dr. Sooyeon (Aly) Suh is a clinical health psychologist and professor of psychology at Sungshin University. She is also the author of the book 엄마의 잠 걱정을 잠재우는 책.

Our conversation explored the science and psychology of sleep in the modern world and how this has interacted with particular aspects of Korean culture, including co-sleeping, children's mental health, gender, sex, and social media.

Dr. Suh's book: https://www.yes24.com/Product/Goods/105054567

Find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralysuh

Discussion Outline

0:00 How much do Koreans sleep?

19:12 Korean children's sleep

24:50 Co-sleeping in Korea

38:40 Taemong (pre-natal dreams)

41:20 Gender and sleep in Korea

53:29 Wearables and sleep

1:02:54 Scrolling past bedtime: social media

1:20:40 Sleep Clinics

1:27:12 Psychological insomnia treatment

1:35:31 Sleep paralysis

1:50:12 Is sleep psychological or physical?

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me: Radical Gary - The Reoccurring Peace Machine

David Mason is not only a vessel of wisdom, he is also a masterful storyteller. In just over two hours, he explains how people came to the Korean Peninsula, how Buddhism arrived from China, how it interacted with the indigenous Shamanism, the ideological conflicts and discussions the various schools of thought generated, the creation of the Jogye Order and the Taego Order, Master Songchul, how drugs affect the development of spirituality, how Sansin is Tangun, and much more...

He speaks honestly and from great experience. A conversation it felt a pleasure to be a part of and a follow-up discussion on Taoism is already being planned.

David Mason is an American academic who first came to Korea in 1982. He has authored about 10 prominent books on Korean culture, spirituality, travel and mountains, and serves as a scholar, author, public speaker and tour guide.

Find him online, book a tour, buy a book, and much more

David Mason's Website: https://san-shin.org

Discussion Outline

0:00 How did you get into spirituality?

5:24 The religious mountains of Korea

13:20 What is Korean Buddhism?

31:50 The temples of Korea

42:32 Does Buddhism still have a role to play today?

52:22 Negative perceptions of Shamanism

1:07:06 The role of drugs in Korean shamanism

1:11:44 Sansin vs Tangun

1:19:28 Shamanism and gender

1:25:00 Illegal shamanism in modern Korea

1:28:26 The supreme patriarch: Master Seongchol

1:38:25 Shaman temples you can visit today

1:44:25 Religion as psychological comfort in modern society

1:51:05 Park Chung-hee and the national parks of Korea

1:57:36 Personal enlightenment

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me: Radical Gary - The Reoccurring Peace Machine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAkVRbH8eyg

Mr. Hank Morris first arrived in Korea in 1972. This conversation takes him back to that time, recounting the sights, the smells, the people, the food and the accommodation. From the cars to the beer houses, Hank has seen more than most. Here, just before he leaves the country and returns to the United States, he shares his memories.

Despite being under strict instruction not the hit the table, Mr. Morris still punctuated various parts of his stories with his hands. Do please forgive him for the occasional thud. It was his first podcast.

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAkVRbH8eyg

You might not think that perfume is your thing but this is a conversation about culture, history, authenticity, and finding out who we are as people. You'll learn about important historical figures such as King Sejong the Great, Shin Saimdang, Admiral Lee Sun-shin, and Heo Nanseolheon, explore Korean food and geography, and also hear how this will all work in the future as the country and its people push towards the metaverse. Oh Hani is an artist, a poet, and a thinker, and this is worth sticking with in order to discover the true beauty of her views on Korea.

Find Oh Hani online

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/haninalda

Youtube: https://youtu.be/W4YpYmBsFhE

Heroes of Korea: https://www.heroesofkorea.com

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Disorientalz: https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz

Will Topley: https://www.willtopley.com/portraits

Dr. Michael W. Hurt is a photographer and professor living, shooting, and researching in Seoul. He received his doctorate from UC Berkeley's Department of Comparative Ethnic Studies. He also started Korea's first street fashion blog in 2006 and published the first English language book about Korean Fashion in 2009. He researches youth, street fashion, and digital subcultures in Seoul while lecturing on Cultural Theory and Art History. His present research focuses on using the camera to access and document emergent digital subcultures in Korea, including the political economy of the "pay model" on Korean Instagram, Seoul's drag underground, and the youth-centric LGBTQ movement in Korea.

Our conversation focused on 90s fashion and culture, street photography, women as subjects/objects of fashion, heroin chic and 퇴폐미, Korean feminism, cultural appropriation, 부캐 vs 본캐, and Korean Studies as an academic field.

Michael's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seoulstreetstudios/

Michael's magazine: https://medium.com/seoulacious-magazine

9 minute: https://www.instagram.com/9minuite/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Early Days: Jeju in the 1990s

15:00 90s vibes and street culture

26:35 Street photography

39:00 Women as the subject and object of fashion

52:20 Photo editing vs reality: ethnography

59:24 Heroin chic and 퇴폐미

1:12:00 School girl concepts and smoking

1:22:40 Korean models and prices

1:36:13 Korean feminism

1:40:04 9 minute (구분)

1:48:36 Cultural appropriation

2:02:52 Korean Studies and Academia

2:14:45 부캐 vs 본캐

2:27:13 The perfect Confucian scholar

2:30:34 Hallyu: dead or alive?

2:35:15 Misunderstandings on Korea

2:36:50 The LGBTQ community in Korea

2:42:45 Race in Korea

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me haha (big thanks to Lee Hyunjung for the vox)

Cho Hyunjee is a dancer, a debater, and a young Korean woman willing to speak up for herself in a society that has often shown a great deal of disrespect to her gender. In this conversation she talks about when she first became conscious of this discrimination and the people who inspired her to rise above it. She also talks passionately about dance as a form of expression, individuality, and culture. Vogue dance in Korea might not be making international headlines yet but she believes it has the potential to grow and grow. We also talk about books that inspire us and some of the things that Korea does get right as a country.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Recognizing Gender Discrimination

12:43 Microagressions and Bias

22:58 The Future and the Job Market

34:08 The Power of Books

44:18 University Life

52:23 Misperceptions and Mental Health

56:12 Korean Vogue (Dance)

1:22:50 Dance Sports

1:34:58 What Does Korea do Well?

1:43:00 Korean Youth

Find Hyunjee online

Instagram @hjromy1

Dance sports @la_cha_ta_20

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Episode 50 is......me!!

Or rather it's a conversation I had with Alex Sigrist early on a Monday morning in a studio in downtown Seoul for Arirang Radio. I had so much fun doing it and thought that some of the ideas and content would make for a great introduction for some people to Korean philosophy.

I briefly address the 일체유심조(一切唯心造) of Buddhism and then try to explain the debate between principle (理) and material force (氣) that dominated the Joseon Dynasty (1392 - 1897).

So....here it is. It's audio only. Normal service and conversations about Korea will resume soon. Thank you for everything.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Thank You

3:15 Introduction to Philosophy

9:40 Korean Thought and History

18:13 Neo-Confucianism: Li and Gi

27:43 Mencius and Good vs Evil

31:55 Philosophy of the Caste System

Alex on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/itsalexsigrist

DailyK: https://www.instagram.com/arirangdailyk/

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidTizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/