walk-the-wok

[walk-the-wok]

Top Five Korean Dramas (in no particular order)

Here are my top five favorite Korean dramas. I am the type of person who stops watching shows very easily when I am dissatisfied with something, and these dramas are ones where I finished the whole series. 

1. City Hunter 

Summary: The story takes place in Seoul, 2011. Lee Yoon Sung is a talented MIT-graduate who works on the international communications team in the Blue House. He plans revenge on five politicians who caused his father's death with his surrogate father Lee Jin Pyo and eventually becomes a "City Hunter."

2. Pinocchio 

Summary: The story starts with a fire incident and all the firemen who entered the building in the blaze were killed by the fire. The fire incident news report was focused on the story of Kim Ha Myung's father, chief of the fire brigade sent his men in the blaze and caused them all to die and then he fled the scene as an error of his misjudgement as reported by the news reporter, Song Cha Ok. This caused a chaotic situation for Ha Myung's family and end up causing his mother to commit suicide with him and his brother ends up in jail over night due to Song Cha Ok's untruth story. However, the led to Ha Myung growing up with hatred for reporters especially Cha Ok. Fatefully, as he is growing up he meets with Cha Ok's ex-husband and daughter, Choi In Ha and takes on a new identity as Choi Dal Po. In Ha is someone with Pinocchio Syndrome hence she cannot lie.

3. You Who Came From the Stars 

Summary: Do Min-Joon is an alien who landed on Earth 400 years ago during the Joseon Dynasty period. Do Min-Joon possesses a near perfect appearance and enhanced physical abilities involving his vision, hearing and speed.Do Min-Joon holds a cynical view to human beings, but he falls in love with actress Cheon Song-Yi.

4. Moon Embracing the Sun 

Summary: Historical drama "The Moon Embracing The Sun" tells a love story between King Lee Hwon (Kim Soo-Hyun) and a female shaman named Wol (Han Ga-In). Wol was born from a noble family and became the crown princess, but she was entrapped and faced execution. Finally, she lived as a shaman.

5. Spy 

Summary: The fictional story begins after the execution of real-life North Korean general Jang Sung-taek. One day an order comes down from North Korea, reactivating erstwhile spy Park Hye-rim who has spent decades in South Korea as an ordinary housewife. She is given the mission to turn and bring in her own son, Kim Seonu. Cool-headed, quick-witted genius Seonu is an information analyst on North Korea working for the NIS. His girlfriend Yoon-jin is a tour guide for Chinese tourists who cannot speak Chinese, and they fell in love when Seonu helped her translate. Hye-rim is suddenly forced to choose between her son and country, and risks her life to see the choice through.

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Tiger Moms

Asian-American youth are more likely to attribute intellect and academic success to effort rather than innate ability,” she says. That’s a natural outgrowth of the belief that success – in school, in work, and in life — is a meritocratic commodity; the more you put in, the more you get out. The tiger is my favorite animal. Majestic, beautiful, and powerful. However, these creatures can also be savage and bloodthirsty, willing to do anything to get their cub alive, fed, and into a good university... wait what?

The so called “Tiger Mom” became famous in 2011, when mother Amy Chu defended her draconian parental habits in the TIME Magazine.

My mother was never one of these. A very emotional person at heart, I don’t think she would have been able to complete commit to this role. Yet I heard the legends and horror stories from the Asian community around me - stories about how kids would be refused dinner, or forced to stare at a wall, if they brought home a bad grade or didn’t practice the violin.  But even with a less-strict Asian parent, I often found myself being berated and hit when I didn’t get a high enough A, or not allowed to leave the piano bench for hours on end. And when I read the TIME issue, I found myself able to relate to a surprising amount of Chu’s daughters’ experiences. 

I was, and still am, a stereotypical Asian child. I studied hard, I got good grades, I played tennis and piano, and read a lot of books. I am committed to Emory, and I plan on going to Medical School. However, I am able to attribute my success solely to the aggressiveness of my mother, and it seems that pressure from parents cannot be the said to be the only reason that Asian children excel. What such a view fails to consider are many cultural and social factors. For example, one hypothesis that I have is that social factors such as immigration factor into the equation, as the children are able to see how their immediate parents have succeeded and worked hard. That coupled with a greater cultural respect for elders results in an increased work ethic.

Amy Hsin, one of Chu’s daughters said, “Asian-American youth are more likely to attribute intellect and academic success to effort rather than innate ability, That’s a natural outgrowth of the belief that success – in school, in work, and in life — is a meritocratic commodity; the more you put in, the more you get out.”

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Generations of Hostility: Part 2

History is composed of conflicts between nations. Almost every cultural group or nationality has in their history a situation where they have persecuted or been persecuted. However, although some countries are able to move past their past altercations, others hold on to them.

Although there is reason for these negative emotions, a nation needs to move forward. The way to do this is through the future generation like ourselves.

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OGT Week, A Haiku

that evasive bliss

is finally captured this week

when we can sleep in

~by Audrey Moeller~

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Generations of hostility: Part 1

Ask any nationalistic Korean or Chinese person over the age of 30. Japan is evil.

This abhorrence for the country of Japan as a whole by many other Asian countries can be tied to the Japanese militaristic takeover and genocides carried out during the 20th century.

For many individuals of Chinese or Korean nationality, long after World War II, many of the social animosities are still preserved deep in the crevices of patriotic memories.

Last summer, for the first time my grandmother revealed the dark memories behind her grievance. She told me stories of how she fled Shanghai into the mountain and countryside during the Japanese invasion. For miles and miles, her and her family traveled to avoid the terrorism. 

Although understandable, the deep seated hatred for the Japanese nation, like all cultural hostilities stemming from political discourse, should and must be forgotten for our countries to move forward.

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Asian Friends

I’ve realized throughout the years that I have two distinct friend groups: my friends at school, and a group that my school friends like to call my “Asian church friends.”It’s never just “Asian friends” or “Church friends.” Always “Asian church friends. 

These two social groups are kind of like my children in the aspect that I dont have a set favorite yet I naturally gravitate towards favoring one over the other. Friends at school constantly accuse me of having my favor lie with my friends at church. I deny this, but sometimes I’m able to see quite a bit of truth in that statement. 

But let me clarify. It’s not that one group of friends is better, more entertaining, more pleasant, etc. Rather, simply because of the fact that my Asian friends share with me many cultural habits and behavioral patterns, I cannot help but feel more comfortable around them. For example, eating cup ramen and singing on a karaoke machine is extremely gratifying. So is talking about kpop and making fun of our culture. Yet, activities such as those would not happen with my non-Asian friends. With them, I would watch sports, play basketball, talk about girls, and participate in activities that are equally gratifying, but it as in touch with my natural cultural tendencies. Because I have so much more in common with Asian friends (ie. habits, crazy parents, etc) they are much easier to relate to. We even have our own language: Konglish. We can talk about other people behind their backs in Korean and vice versa. My school friends are all amazing, and I love them with all my heart. My “Asian church friends” simply have more in common with me, and are therefore able to understand and interact with me in a much different way.

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Q&A with Michael Choi, 12, on Korean heritage

Q: How do find yourself connecting with your roots?

A: I stay in touch with my roots by visiting Korea every other year or so. We also eat a lot of rice and kimchi at home. 

Q: What are your opinions on the cultural difference between native Korean and a Korean American like yourself?

A: A native Korean coming to the US can easily be surprised at how much less work high school kids can do to get by. All the horror stories about Korean high schoolers are usually true: they leave home in the morning and don't get home until evening because of all the extra studying they do.

Q: What the most embarrassing experience you have had due to immigrant parents? 

A: I personally haven't had an embarrassing moment with my parents. My dad speaks English fluently and taught in the US for 11 years, and my mom speaks good English as well.

Q: What do you really value about having immigrant parents?

A: I value their understanding of American culture the most. My dad taught at UC and so he can analyze the pros and cons of both Korean and American college lifestyles. He passes that information on to me so I can be aware of both sides.

Q: What is your opinion on K-pop dramas?

A: I don't usually watch K-pop dramas but when I do my palm is usually in my face.

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Q&A with Megan Jiang, 12, on Chinese heritage

Q: How do find yourself connecting with your roots?

A: I went back to China last month. I got to learn a lot about my roots there. I bonded with my family, and learned a lot about the culture. 

Q: What are your opinions on the cultural difference between native Chinese and a Chinese American like yourself?

A: There are different cultural values. They have a huge emphasis on brand names. Their standards for beauty are very different. It sort of a culture shock for them. One example is how they value large eyes and pale skin. People born in America identify more with their American culture than their Asian. 

Q: What the most embarrassing experience you have had due to immigrant parents? 

A: In restaurant, my mom says "wedgies" instead of "veggies." 

Q: What do you really value about having immigrant parents?

A: I think the opportunities to be bilingual and exposed to a broader cultural experience. Chinese has a such a deep history and it is great to be apart of that. 

Q: So what are your opinions on the premiere of Fresh Off the Boat?

A: It was funny because it was very stereotypical, but it was really not accurate at all. I appreciate the all Asian cast. 

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Fresh Off the Boat premiere review

by Brenda

First off, I would like to put out that I didn't really have any particular expectations going into the first episode. It's the first of its kind! Even if I ended up hating it, I feel obligated to give some sort of support because this is the start. The start of the movement in Asian Americans in mainstream media as lead characters. 

That being said, the first episode was indeed funny. While the plentiful stereotyping I expected was present, the "culture shock" that the Huangs faced was pretty hilarious. The characters are actually all very lovable. The second episode melted my heart a little bit. The episode featured how the Huangs never actually say "love you" unless they happen to be lying. While they used this irony for comedic relief, it pretty accurately depicts how in Asian households we don't usually display affectionate word choice. They showed their love through actions. 

In general, I am looking to see how Fresh Off the Boat will progress and what will the future for Asian Americans in mainstream media. 

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Yik Yak is an anonymous social media app that is used by millions of college students across the country. Above are a collection of yaks, targeting Asian students, that I found over the course of only a week of periodically checking the app. THIS IS NOT OK.

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Fresh Off the Boat Trailer

First TV show featuring an Asian American family in like 20 years!!

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It seems as though Asians have mastered the art of making fun of themselves. Here's proof. 

The next time you see an Asian guy, you'll know exactly who he is. 

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Why don't we study racism against Asians?

By Joseph

We're currently studying racism in English. Specifically, racism against African Americans. 

And so I asked my English teacher, "why don't we study racism against Asians?" The answer: "I feel like Asians have done an extremely good job in becoming accepted and respected in American Culture, maybe more so than other races. Think about it. Besides the whole Asian drivers stereotype, what bad things can be said about Asians?" 

This was a more satisfactory answer than I had expected. 

It's true that Asians are stereotyped in people's minds, just like all other races; however, to be honest, what's so bad of being thought of as super intelligent and ninja-like?  It sure is better than being thought of as felonious or violent. 

It feels as though Asians (myself included) love looking for and holding on to ways in which they have been wronged. And we as a race have been (ie. japanese internment). But in all honesty, being Asian is pretty fly - especially in today's American society. 

[walk-the-wok]

Race is a social construction?

by Brenda

It seems like the topics we discuss in AP Lit often frequent my blog posts. The reason for this is being is that it is one of the only classes where I giddily feel a little more enlightened about the world.

After introducing the idea of race as a social construction, I think for the first time in my life I really thought about the idea of "race." In my mind, I kind of grouped race, ethnicity, and nationality in the same little corner. I knew they weren't the same things, but I never really thought about the differences. I realized how weird the concept of "race" actually is. There are white people, black people, Jewish people, Asian people etc. We ended up grouping some people by the color of the their skin, some people by their religion, and some people by the entire country they live in??? If humans were going to categorize individuals we could atleast do it in an organized, consistent fashion.

That is when I realized this disorganized style of grouping based on certain features or beliefs was probably based on unawareness. In some sense I understand why the different types of race came about. When I think back to my grandparent's or even elder generations, I don't expect them to know anything that went on the other side of the world. With the very minimal exposure they had with Europeans and Africans, how were they to categorize those people than by the most distinct differences they saw? Those people who are all light, we'll just call them white people. Those people who are all dark, we will just call them black people. The average person back then couldn't watch the news about a foreign country or learn in a school with peers of all ethnicities and religions. 

The great debate on "race" that I believe faces our generation is that we have the ability to truly change it. It was not like centuries before where we were completely unaware of the problems that face other societies. Right now we are hanging onto the concept of race that has been wound in our culture for the past generations. The idea of categorizing people by race just doesn't work anymore because we meet those very people every single day. It is not an environment like when my grandmother was a kid in China and referred to the only person European she met as that "one white kid." My peers and I interact with hundreds of different white kids everyday who are their own individuals so talking about that one "white kid" or that one "black kid" just doesn't mean the same thing anymore. 

[walk-the-wok]

What is my name?

It was interesting how in multiple classes the last few days I have had to review something I hear on a daily basis. I've always known about it and never really thought about it.

My name.

With first semester over, it has become a time for reflection. Something my AP Physics teacher said today really stuck to me. When reflecting, think about the things that are most important in your life and then how you balance them because all things in this world everything must be in equilibrium. And so, in physics we are asking ourselves these big philosophical terrifying questions that make me really think about myself. One of the questions are asking about what I want me name to mean. When people hear my name, what are its implications? The point of Walk the Wok was to discover more about myself by going toward my roots. What better way to start then my name?

Hi, my name is Brenda Bi-Qing Shen. 

I received my first name after I was born. Honestly, my dad said he just went through an alphabetical book and he obviously didn't get very far down. I honestly don't have much of an attachment to my first name and I believe this is due to the fact that Asians take great pride in their family name. Shen implies this idea of quiet and thoughtful. Since my father got to choose Barry's Chinese name, mine was chosen by my mom's side. Bi-Qing was my great grandmother's name and that was where the name was gotten. It is interesting because my name is rather "outdated." It is kind of like if someone's name was Frederick or something. It sounds kind of ancient and regal. Bi is used as a character in the word jade and qing has the connotation of sweet and charming. In general, the name is hard to directly translate but it is supposed depict someone who is very precious and charming. This is the literal meaning of my name. 

side note: I find it interesting that among Asian Americans, many Indians and Middle Easterners tend to keep ethnic first names, but that does not seem to be the case among oriental Asians. I questioned my dad about this and he said he went with a Western name just for convenience since we live in America. Hmm...

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Deep Questions

I would like to apologize for the fact that my blog posts over the past few weeks have been me ranting in an incredibly sassy and angry fashion. I don't usually rant. I am also happy to readily admit that I probably have neither the qualifications nor the knowledge to be ranting about such topics. 

This week, we shall be having a slightly lighter, but no less "deep", conversation. 

Now, todays world population is composed of thousands of different ethnicities, races, tribes, and whatnot. Yet, I am willing to bet all the money in my checking account ($5) that the deepest - the most compelling- of questions, are directed towards Asians. The following is a compilation of such questions - questions, that have shaken me to the very soul - questions that have made me question my very existence here on earth.

1. Are your parents suuuper Asian? ...Or are they chill?

2. Do you study a lot?

3. Am I holding these chopsticks right?

4. When's the last time you got a B?

5. Do you eat actual food at home? Or just Asian stuff?

6. Can you do your accent?

7. Where are you from? Cleveland. Nooo, I mean, where are you reaaaally from?

8. Do you have trouble telling your friends apart?

9. Do you only date Asian people? 

10. Do you have a normal name? ...Or just your English name?

11. You speak English really well.... Were you adopted? 

Right? Gosh... so deep. 

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Top Five Asian American Youtubers

by Brenda 

1. Wong Fu Productions - with many of their friends as well, Phil, Wes, and Ted really aim to push Asian Americans into the film production scene. They also participate in ISAtv which began the first Asian American variety show. 

2. FungBrosComedy - The Fung brothers really discuss many of the stereotypes regarding Asians. Since they live in a such a diverse region of America, the 626 in California, the Fung brothers really aim to bring about discussion regarding Asian Americanism. Also, if you are a foodie, you should check them out. 

3. Bubzbeauty - Famous beauty guru, Bubzbeauty not only shares her beauty secrets and favorites, she makes inspirational videos on confidence, body image, and advice in general. With her cute accent and bubbly personality, she is just seems like a genuine friend. 

4. DavidSoComedy - Just too hilarious. David seems like such a natural comedian. He always seems to be finding ways to improve himself and "informing" his viewers. 

5. Katizzzletalks - One of the most sarcastic and down to earth vloggers, Katy is really awesome when it comes to talking about the happenings in high school and college even though she considers herself an introvert. Her advice videos are really realistic and genuine.