Boob Tube
TV over here is weird. Not just because it is all in Korean, to be honest that's the most normal thing about it.
First, decency rules: This one halway makes sense, but still baffles me. When a show is on in English, they are allowed to use virtually any language they want. Movies from America and England are allowed to contain all of the original language. However, I have seen many occurences where the Korean translation on the bottom of the screen omits the cursing. Not as blatant as F*#@, but there are holes or dashes where one might expect to find the Korean word for Fuck. Apparently, someone who speaks English can handle crude language, but if you speak Korean your ears are to fragile to be exposed to this vulgarity.
Nudity is shown quite often. I've seen some crazy more-hardcore-than-Cinemax stuff on TV here - and I just have basic cable. They always blur out the below the belt shots, but the content can be pretty explicit. Believe it or not, this doesn't really bother me. What's weird about it is that although sexuality is openly shown in all of its rawest forms, other things can't be seen. Entourage is on all the time over here. In an episode I was recently watching, the boys went to a gentleman's establishment where they cursed up a storm and received lapdances from some young women. When they were finished, they went back home and fired up the bong - at least I think that's what they were doing. There was a mosaic placed over the bowl and lighter, like the mere sight of a roasting bowl is too much for the masses to handle, but strip clubs in all of their glory (or non-glory) are totally acceptable. It seems to me like most people who don't know what they are looking at might assume that behind that mosaic is a large crack pipe or a something even worse. I found it very odd. Before I saw that I felt like anything goes on TV, but after that I feel like I don't fully understand what is acceptable in this country. It seems to me like a wierd place to draw the line of decency.
Second, programming: Probably my favorite show on Korean TV is a show (I don't know what it's called because it is in Korean) is a show where there are two contestants, I think usually the same two, that try to train their monkey to do certain things. It may sound like I'm referring to something dirty and vulgar here, but they literally train monkeys. Weird tasks, like collecting eggs and bringing them back to their trainers or doing activities in a classroom on a mini-bike and then they are awarded points based on how well they do. The monkeys are those weird little helper monkeys, and they're pretty smart. If a monkey can understand what is going on in the show, I figure I should be able to at least follow some of it. It's this chubby unlikaeable guy training one monkey and a cute twenty-something girl training the other. I root for her and her monkey and they usually win - I think it's fixed. I've been trying to find a back alley bookie that will take bets on their monkey competitions, but so far I have been unable to find one.
I also really like Korean commercials. Some of my favorites, no matter how many times I watch them I have no idea what they are actually for. I'm also real into some of the cheesy television personalities that truly are beyond description (think that Hap Hazard guy from KC, with a Korean flair). There's a guy for Lotto that smiles so big I think he shoots botox directly in his face before each commercial shoot and there's a guy that advertises for some restaurant that seems to sell every kind of food, and he shoves it all in his mouth close up. Soju commercials are Korea's answer to the American beer commercial. They are ridiculous and make people's lives look so much better after they drink a little bit, even though Soju is Korea's answer to old Europe's wormwood absinthe, only more poisonous and less fun.
There is another program that really makes me wish I understood Korean. It is a kind of soap opera that is huge in this country. It takes place in an old oriental village, maybe Korea, maybe elsewhere. There is heavy drama and the citizens of this city are captivated by it. Right after the initial Kim Jong Il scare a few weeks ago I was walking through a subway station right south of where I live (Sadang). There happens to be a few large TV's right in the middle of the station where people are always watching while they wait for trains. There was a huge crowd assembled around a one of the TV's. Everyone in the crowd had real somber looks on their faces and were intently watching the screen. I was convinced when I turned the corner that I would see an announcement that WWIII had just begun. Instead, one of the main characters was in a casket as a younger man with an equally fake beard eulogized him. My first exposure to this show and it's power was in a small chicken restaurant with one of my fellow teachers. We were sat right below a TV. At first I thought the whole restaurant was staring open-mouthed at the white kids in the corner, but then I realized everyone, from the cooks peeking out of the kitchen to the college-aged kids right next to us were staring at the boob tube.
It seems that even though I may not understand the language on the TV, I do understand the language of TV. Allow me to quote Homer Simpson:
"Television. Teacher, mother, secret lover."
The Simpson's are in in five minutes (I'm not kidding) I gotta go.
Love from Seoul
First, decency rules: This one halway makes sense, but still baffles me. When a show is on in English, they are allowed to use virtually any language they want. Movies from America and England are allowed to contain all of the original language. However, I have seen many occurences where the Korean translation on the bottom of the screen omits the cursing. Not as blatant as F*#@, but there are holes or dashes where one might expect to find the Korean word for Fuck. Apparently, someone who speaks English can handle crude language, but if you speak Korean your ears are to fragile to be exposed to this vulgarity.
Nudity is shown quite often. I've seen some crazy more-hardcore-than-Cinemax stuff on TV here - and I just have basic cable. They always blur out the below the belt shots, but the content can be pretty explicit. Believe it or not, this doesn't really bother me. What's weird about it is that although sexuality is openly shown in all of its rawest forms, other things can't be seen. Entourage is on all the time over here. In an episode I was recently watching, the boys went to a gentleman's establishment where they cursed up a storm and received lapdances from some young women. When they were finished, they went back home and fired up the bong - at least I think that's what they were doing. There was a mosaic placed over the bowl and lighter, like the mere sight of a roasting bowl is too much for the masses to handle, but strip clubs in all of their glory (or non-glory) are totally acceptable. It seems to me like most people who don't know what they are looking at might assume that behind that mosaic is a large crack pipe or a something even worse. I found it very odd. Before I saw that I felt like anything goes on TV, but after that I feel like I don't fully understand what is acceptable in this country. It seems to me like a wierd place to draw the line of decency.
Second, programming: Probably my favorite show on Korean TV is a show (I don't know what it's called because it is in Korean) is a show where there are two contestants, I think usually the same two, that try to train their monkey to do certain things. It may sound like I'm referring to something dirty and vulgar here, but they literally train monkeys. Weird tasks, like collecting eggs and bringing them back to their trainers or doing activities in a classroom on a mini-bike and then they are awarded points based on how well they do. The monkeys are those weird little helper monkeys, and they're pretty smart. If a monkey can understand what is going on in the show, I figure I should be able to at least follow some of it. It's this chubby unlikaeable guy training one monkey and a cute twenty-something girl training the other. I root for her and her monkey and they usually win - I think it's fixed. I've been trying to find a back alley bookie that will take bets on their monkey competitions, but so far I have been unable to find one.
I also really like Korean commercials. Some of my favorites, no matter how many times I watch them I have no idea what they are actually for. I'm also real into some of the cheesy television personalities that truly are beyond description (think that Hap Hazard guy from KC, with a Korean flair). There's a guy for Lotto that smiles so big I think he shoots botox directly in his face before each commercial shoot and there's a guy that advertises for some restaurant that seems to sell every kind of food, and he shoves it all in his mouth close up. Soju commercials are Korea's answer to the American beer commercial. They are ridiculous and make people's lives look so much better after they drink a little bit, even though Soju is Korea's answer to old Europe's wormwood absinthe, only more poisonous and less fun.
There is another program that really makes me wish I understood Korean. It is a kind of soap opera that is huge in this country. It takes place in an old oriental village, maybe Korea, maybe elsewhere. There is heavy drama and the citizens of this city are captivated by it. Right after the initial Kim Jong Il scare a few weeks ago I was walking through a subway station right south of where I live (Sadang). There happens to be a few large TV's right in the middle of the station where people are always watching while they wait for trains. There was a huge crowd assembled around a one of the TV's. Everyone in the crowd had real somber looks on their faces and were intently watching the screen. I was convinced when I turned the corner that I would see an announcement that WWIII had just begun. Instead, one of the main characters was in a casket as a younger man with an equally fake beard eulogized him. My first exposure to this show and it's power was in a small chicken restaurant with one of my fellow teachers. We were sat right below a TV. At first I thought the whole restaurant was staring open-mouthed at the white kids in the corner, but then I realized everyone, from the cooks peeking out of the kitchen to the college-aged kids right next to us were staring at the boob tube.
It seems that even though I may not understand the language on the TV, I do understand the language of TV. Allow me to quote Homer Simpson:
"Television. Teacher, mother, secret lover."
The Simpson's are in in five minutes (I'm not kidding) I gotta go.
Love from Seoul
posted by Kyle at 11:50 PM
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