After listening to the podcast “K-Pop’s Surprising B(l)ackstory” by Vivian Yoon, I found now the American culture is viewed in other countries specifically Black American culture. The podcast talked about a daughter ( Vivian Yoon) who retells the life her mother had growing up in South Korea when she had met her father. At the time in the late 1900s the Kpop industry was just starting to gain popularity and the most famous and talented Kpop legends all spent countless nights in a black night club in Itaewon. Vivian speaks her thoughts on now her mom describes Itaewon is no where near how it is perceived today. Back then it was divided from S. Korea because it was mainly a foreign location where many Americans roamed and it was viewed as unlawful but compared to today it is viewed as welcoming to foreigners. Throughout the podcast there wasn’t much interaction with the listener however I had always viewed South Korea as a very nice place to visit but after hearing now they were “racists” towards Americans slightly changed my perspective of them. Overall The podcast was nice to listen to and surprisingly I didn’t lose focus.
I don’t know much about South Korean culture nor have I listened to K-pop music all that much but I’ve always wanted to visit Korea just to eat some good food. I’ve watched so many youtube shorts on Korean food, that my stomach would growl because of how good it looks. Not to ruin the mood but the only reason I know of Itaewon is because of the tragedy involving a Halloween festival. Though, it is interesting that Itaewon used to be viewed as unlawful.
Iv’e also heard Korea was a nice place to visit, more from social media but now I see there are many different perspectives such as the podcast hosts mother. It is interesting to hear that the city Itaewon was kind of divided from South Korea to now being more welcoming and shows how times change.
I think it’s nice that you were able to get a different perspective on how South Korea can be from a person who used to live there. I myself also like Kpop and I also thought that South Korea was a nice country and thought that they wouldn’t act this way toward foreigners, but then again there are always going to be racist people everywhere you go so it’s not totally surprising to hear that.
I agree with you, racism has been a problem worldwide and we need to do something to fix it. I don’t really listen to Kpop music but I have some friends who are big fans. Very interesting read!
After reading this it kind of makes me want. to listen to the podcast. the story sounds interesting as well as how Itaewon has changed over time and how it was neglected or seen to be as different from the rest of South Korea. Visiting South Korea is on my bucket list so it was cool reading this.
damn its disappointing to see the fact that south Koreans view us that way even after there’s millions of fans who admire them and have the confidence and admiration to travel there. But in a way its enlighten to witness that countries we have glorified aren’t as glorious either,
I’ve never listened to. K- pop but I have friends that really like that. I’ve also never been to South Korea but it does sound like a beautiful place to see. Itaewon changing overtime sounds a lot like other cities and how they evolve.