The problem, for me, is watching my friends stand there, puzzled because nobody has told them what is happening, so that they can be laughed at for not having a clue what to do. Minor mispronunciations when they speak Korean are emphasized in bright flashy letters along the bottom of the screen (Can you imagine if I did that to my students, to my taxi driver, to my boss??? Ohhhhhh! You said that WRONG! Hahahahahahaha. Can you imagine if we did a show like this in Canada, laughing at immigrants with accents???) Manipulating the rules, while the games are being played, so that a certain team always comes out ahead - doubly unfair as they are playing for money - or setting it up so that the foreigner inevitably becomes the buffoon... all this just bothers me.
Speaking of foreign buffoons on television, I've found a new hobby that I hope will be a regular feature on Brian in Jeollanam-do.
12 comments:
I hate Konglish Cafe. The pits of Hell aren't deep enough to hold all the hate I a have for that show.
For years, I've been drilling that it's "lose/gain weight", not "lose/gain MY weight". Years.
Then that idiot host comes along and with one comment undoes all I've worked on with them. One fucked up Konglish comment.
Wanted to throw my TV out the window, but I was in a basement apartment, so it would have been a useless gesture.
Don't get me started on that useless tit, Isaac.
I agree 100%.
Even worse than Isaac are the two Korean guys: the host and one of the panelists. Breaking down English without a fucking idea about the language. Then you have native speakers on there who just sit there, grin, and take it.
Thing is Koreans love it. They say it makes English relaxing and fun. My response to that is you don't have to make English ridiculous to make it fun and interesting. I'll rant more on this later, but I think it has to do with intimidation by the language and with wanting to cut it and its speakers down to size. I mean, it ties in with Ms. Parker's post, and about always having to present foreigners in the goofiest possible light. I take exception to English Cafe because it's my language and culture they're fucking up.
And you know what, you don't NEED a show like this to make English interesting or whatever. It's a language, it's everywhere: go on the internet, look at a webpage, watch TV, listen to music, pick up a magazine, read the dictionary, watch American porn, whatever, just do something. Instead people bitch up and down about having no opportunities to use English.
Now I'm all worked up.
For more on Isaac the klassic konglish kunstler, see this interview in Seoul Magazine from 2006 (1 2).
Yes, the host is an ass, and big nose little dick Isaac is a douche, but if the money is right, and the work is light, I'll be an English whore, too. I'll wear a wig, dance a jig, and smile like an ass, and fail to correct the host when he is wrong, just like I did while teaching to English teachers in Korea. My standards are so much lower when it comes to money. I doubt my teaching ever made a difference to a students English ability in Korea, so I'll just take the money and fuck off
I have no "etiquette' as the saying goes in Korea.
I wonder what Koreans think about the Arirang show "Let's Speak Korean".
With Let's Speak Korean, the Koreans are not portrayed as circus monkeys whoring themselves out for money, jumping around like damned clowns.
I've had two opportunities in the past to work on one of these types of shows. Turned them both down. The first, because they told me about it the day before shooting began but wouldn't tell me anything about it. How much money? How long is the shooting day? What will I be doing? Will I be editing the script before it is taped? etc etc. Not one answer. When I refused, they couldn't believe it. "Don't you want to be on TV?"
The second, I actually made it to the studio, but when I saw they were not using my corrections, and in fact, were quite snappish and short with me that I would even suggest that the script was wrong... I walked out. I wasn't going to whore myself out like that. "You can't quit. you signed a contract." -- "Yes, I signed a contract to teach English. THAT is Konglish. Teach it yourself." And never looked back.
My question is: Why is English the only subject in Korea that "must" be FUN~~!! Why do I have to jump around like an idiot making goofy faces, or I'm a bad teacher because I'm "not like that Isaac teacher on TV. He are so fun and amuse!"
I wonder if Isaac cries himself to sleep at night, knowing he's a dick.
Brian, I'm curious about what you think concerning the portrayal of foreign girls on the popular talk show 미녀들의 수다. I realize it's not on topic with this post directly, but maybe there is some relation in terms of foreigners in Korean media...
I googled for "Isaac Durst" and was delighted to find the now classic Yangpa post Isaac Durst Escapes From His Cage as no 1 hit.
Ha ha ha fucking ha--that Yangpa post about Durst in his cage is right the fuck on.
Ed, I don't watch enough of the show to make any educated comments on it. I've read on other blogs that the focus of the show switched from relatively intelligent discussion of cultural challenges to more flirty stuff, but like I said I don't watch it much.
On the one hand the women are generally excellent at Korean, are super smart, and are good ambassadors for countries that Koreans may never have thought about before. People who know enough of the language and presumably the culture should be able to decide for themselves what kind of TV show they'd like to be on. Several of them have moved on to modeling, music, or other shows, so it was a smart career move, and showed other foreigners that there are tangible benefits to learning Korean beyond just everyday communication. And, it helps Koreans adjust to hearing their language spoken with an accent, and will hopefully make it easier for the rest of us to communicate without having to endure endless "ne?"s.
On the other hand, what bothers some people (me included, a little) is how it continues the fetishization of foreign women. Granted being young and beautiful and flirty allows discussion of Korean culture that wouldn't be permitted from, say, an English teacher or some other random guy. It's telling that a male version has never caught on (I'm pretty sure there was one episode). On the one hand you've got sexualized foreign women batting their eyelashes at Korean men, yet the threat of foreigners (re: English teachers) with Korean women still contributes to taunts, threats, and aggression. Not everywhere, not all the time, but enough to warrant comment. That speaks as much to sexism as it does to xenophobia; isn't a white woman on the shoulder of a Korean guy considered a symbol of status and weatlth, presumably because he bought her? Likewise the opposite probably holds true for Korean women dating foreign guys.
Oddly enough I kind of consider that dating show with Lee Pani and the Caucasian guy groundbreaking in that it actually presented an attractive white man with an attractive Korean woman, and did so in a positive light. Not sure how many people watched it, or how seriously anyone took it considering she's a nude model, but that pairing definitely went against the grain.
http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2008/10/whoa-korean-woman-dating-white-guy-on.html
Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Brian.
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