Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mashimaro]

found a nice piece written by a guy who's lived in Seoul since 1980

http://www.sogang.ac.kr/~anthony/KoreanCulture.htm

check it out if your'e interested in the place you're living

[little mixed girl]

.....

[Squid]

Liberal rot.

[schwa]

Yeh an interesting read. I think the author is a bit harsh on the appeal of traditional Korean culture to nonKoreans. I've just come from a concert of traditional music at our local culture center, put on for free by city hall, & it was entirely captivating.

It opened with an orchestra from Seoul of some 40 people playing a range of Korean instruments, a solo vocalist took a turn, then they were joined by a 20-voice choir & a local samulnori fivesome of some national repute.

After intermission, the samulnori guys took over the stage with a really powerful long piece on big drums, followed by 9 local highschool proteges who almost upstaged them. Great stuff. Followed by some kind of ribbon dance, colorful & entertaining. The crowd called out for more.

Lots of kids in the audience & the show held their attention for 2 & a half hours. The young people who performed onstage showed a clear dedication to the art (& I've seen the same in school clubs). Promising for the future of cultural traditions here. I would defy any foreigner, even with no connection to Korea, to sit through what I saw tonight & not be enthralled.

I work with public school teachers & I'm aware of their efforts to sustain interest in Korean folk traditions among their students. Urbanized & somewhat globalized, many kids see this stuff as quaint & boring, but there is a genuine movement to keep this stuff alive. I think its important.

So what is culture? Its cars & movies & this week's number one popsong, & also, I'd hope a little more meaningfully, the things that excited grandparents too. Deeper memory. Something to celebrate & share.