FamiLee Life

Korea's Bikini Beach

I love this photo which was featured in today's New York Times (see Bikini Beach). The article is about South Korea's attempt to lure cosmopolitan Seoulites to this western beach resort. Of course, the article suggests that the marketing ploy has largely failed so far because Koreans (despite their love affair with western globalization) retain certain cultural customs such as modesty and not liking to get a tan. I also love the juxtapositioning of the "ah-juma" (older Korean shopkeeper) and the hip/trendy image of the Korean woman model in the poster. It reflects the increasing disparities within this booming economy and country.

I've visited Korea twice in the last 4 years (summer of 2001 and winter of 2004) and before that it was back in the summer of 1991. My first visit was back in 1981 when it was under military rule. Boy, in these intervening years, much has changed in Korean society!

This image of the ah-juma and the bikini model really reflects the changes. I think of all the Korean transnationals, as well as Korean Americans (including adoptees) visiting their homeland and other foreign travelers (Americans, Europeans, even Japanese) and what influence this pattern of transnational migration is having on Korean culture. How will Korea manage these convergences of cultural forces, compounded by market economies.

Another big change is the collective embrace of the internet and its revolutionary presence on Korean society. I recently read about a Korean guy in his late 20s or early 30s who played over 50 hours of an online video game before succumbing to a heart attack. He set a world record for continuous play but obviously at a big cost. Can you image dying over a computer game! Insane. It's a twisted and extreme case of narcissism.

I really think Koreans need to read the Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch which was written back in the 1970s about American culture. The current state of Korea echoes this past. In the book, Lasch draws upon neo-psychoanalytic theory to interpret the emptiness of modern man and our yearning for fulfillment through material possessions and grandiose activities. Our inner selves are hollow and seeking validation from external sources, unable to regulate our own needs and wants. In the absence of these external supports and the lack of intrapsychic resilience, people become narcissistically vulnerable to feelings of shame and rage. Rage often hides our feelings of inadequcy and shame.

I wonder if Korea is moving toward this cultural path that I think America is just now beginning to recover from (but never completely). Will we begin to see a rise in murder, abuse, eating disorders, plastic surgery, drug use, delinquency? I think it already is happening (definitely plastic surgery) but will it ever be tempered by the neo-confucian cultural values that have historically defined Korea?

Only time will tell.

Posted by richlee at August 23, 2005 03:52 PM