SHOPAHOLIC takes Manhattan

“Shopaholic” is a series of books written by Sophie Kinsella. Rebecca, the main character of the story, is a shopaholic that can’t resist buying stuff from clothes to meaningless cards to hundreds of new shoes. The books deal with the conflicts she confronts dealing with her excessive shopping life.

Unlike pride and prejudice, which I read for my independent book for first semester and enjoyed very much, “Shopaholic” was a very entertaining and light book that I was able to enjoy with far more reality than pride and prejudice. There were several entertainments in this book. First and foremost, it was absolutely fascinating to observe how Becky shops and how such shopping is even possible. I learned numerous names of extremely expensive shops that I have never heard of and rediscovered the other side of New York, which I was completely unaware of when I visited last year. Although fully aware that such spending life is never possible or respectable, it made me dream of a single day where I would be able to spend all I want in the most expensive stores on the planet since the author makes it seem like a simple possibility.

In addition, the romance with the hot entrepreneur Luke just enhanced the excitement of reading. As the perfect guy in every teenage girl’s dream, Luke succeeds in his romance with Rebecca, as romantically as any other movies would have portrayed. Reading the book intensified the ‘loneliness’ of being ‘single’ as many teenagers put it.

Last but not least, reading this book made me really think about what I feel passionate in doing again. Lost in busy schoolwork, I often forget to think about what I’m studying for and what I really want to do. But as a I read this book and rethink, I realize that having a set goal that provokes me helps me push myself much harder than I would have other times.

Most of the people perceive this book as a simple gossip story, which I would not deny. But there are still messages one can obtain through such casual stories as well, such as the importance of true friendship. Now, as a recommender of this book, I am off after the other sequels of the series of the “Shopaholic”.

 

Brave New World: the possible future

Brave New World is a novel written by Aldous Huxley.

Brave New World portrays a world where everybody is completely manipulated by the Controller. Revolving around the characters Lenina, John, Helmholtz, and Bernard, the plot is a conflict between the people who are trying to break away from the manipulated society and those trying to keep everything in control.

Reading this book, I began to wonder. What is true happiness? Is it better to live in an environment without any freedom, but being unaware of it and thinking one is happy, or with freedom to a certain extent but always resentful of the restricted society? Is being happy without awareness true happiness? How does one define freedom? Who chooses the extent of it?

Arousing such questions, I began to think of our own contemporary society that we live in today. How alike is our society with the World State’s? I, personally, am very against such manipulation or cloning described in the novel. There is a reason every one is different and granted freedom and liberty. If one desires to become exactly the same as another and allows someone else to completely control his life, that defines nothing more than a simple robot. Some say that ‘knowing is hurting’. However, I believe that true happiness comes when one feels happy while being aware of the imperfect environment that everybody has to live in. In the real world, there is no such thing as soma that can protect one from reality, which often is pain and despair. Along with freedom comes responsibility. Reading this book, I was able to realize once again that the best way to deal with troubles is to directly confront it and get it over with rather than trying to escape the reality, feeling temporary happiness.

 

Korean show : “I Am A Singer”

In the spring of 2011, Korean entertainment show programs have been dominated by a program named “I Am A Singer”. This show casts 7 singers that compete to be ranked by the audience consisted of  500 people of different age and gender. When ranking the lowest, 7th, from their performance, the singer gets replaced by a new singer entering the competition. Although this show is meant to be for entertainment and enjoy, the singers’ genuine effort in singing and the actual competing situation brings in much more than just a one-hour TV show.

Casting the most talented singers out of South Korean society is one of the several reasons this show receives much interest. Generally, many of the very talented singers choose not to come out on TV shows and only appeal themselves to others through their voice. Hence, people call them singers without faces. However, these are the ones who receive the most respect and acknowledgement as singers than those who claim themselves as singers but appeal to the audience through sexual dancing and dress codes as well as fixed faces. Moreover, every single song that these singers sing for their performances become great hits. Some of the famous ones as well as my favorites are Lena Park’s ‘In my dream’ and Kim Bum Soo’s ‘Please’.

As the celebrities are ranked and replaced, the intensity increases as well as expectations towards what will happen from now on.

 

Sunny, 2011

A korean movie Sunny was publicized in May, 2011.

Starring not many of famous actors, or very beautiful ones, the movie itself did not attract much interest beforehand such as the 4th episode of The Pirates of the Caribbean. However, the reviews were beyond expectations.

Sunny is the name for a group of 7 girls gathered under the name of “friendship”. The movie simultaneously displays modern lives of those seven girls as grown-up women along with flashbacks of their high school memories. This movie is not one of those modern-technology, nerve-wrecking, Hollywood-scale films. Nor is it revolved around the truth of one’s birth, a triangle romance, or some ridiculously rich and handsome guy falling for the ugliest and most unattractive girl. The plot itself is very typical, daily-life, and on a rather small scale. However, there is much more than just laughing at the hilarious jokes the actors make. This movie is one of those rare movies where one can laugh their belly out and cry their souls out at the same time. Although the actors provide the audience with endless laughs at their comical acting, most of the people leave the theatre with tears in their eyes. What is so great about this movie?

First and foremost, friendship. These days, friends have a very broad range of various definitions. To some, friends are someone to talk to in school. To some, they are who study with you or play sports with you. To others, they are just targets to talk bad about. But to others, like in the movie, friends are everything; if someone hurts your friend, you are hurt as well. School meant friends and friends meant their happiness and sadness. As you watch the movie, it would be inevitable for you to think of your own friends. Next, it sends a message of how important oneself is in his own life. The main character, is lost in her life supporting her husband and daughter until she meets her old friends again. If one knows what true happiness, love, and emotions are, then one’s life begins to bloom. One of the most significant quotes in the movie was “You are the star of your life”. Apart from such main messages, there are also many trivial entertainments that are memorable such as the comical fashions, dancings, the first love of a teenage girl, and the feisty language the actors use.

This movie, with all guaranteed, is most certainly recommended to be watched, especially to those in high school right now. One would realize how to spend their high school life most valuably.

 

Mechanical Look-alikes

PLASTIC SURGERY.

It is now such a common term used in the Korean society that one should be careful in publicly opposing it. The age where you denounce the celebrities for having such a different face from history is now long gone. Now, when you ask a person next to you about cosmetic surgery, it is certainly 100% that somebody closely related to her/him received it, if not themselves as well. The dictionary definition of plastic surgery is the process of reconstructing or repairing parts of the body by the transfer of tissue, either in the treatment of injury or for cosmetic reasons.

Let’s analyze some positives and negatives about this procedure.

Cosmetic surgery, like its name, is done for issues with appearances. The major start was with the celebrities. Because of such common procedures, the term “history pictures” is now a basic korean vocabulary. Here is a really good example. The girl on the right is a Korean actress that is known for the numerous surgeries she undertook to become prettier. From such impressions, people get motivated to have plastic surgeries themselves, to have prettier appearances and become more attractive. However, that is it. 

Now, let’s observe the negatives. Access to such surgeries should never be easy except for emergency issues due to injuries. There are many life-determining symptoms that reached those who were addicted to plastic surgery. The world-wide example is Michael Jackson. Now not a living person, Michael Jackson is remembered as the legendary musician of our previous generation. However, as much as he is known for his spectacular musical and dancing skills, he is also known for the severe change in his appearances. Although he was originally a black musician, by the time he died, Michael Jackson completely lost his original face and artificially turned white. His case is well known for he is a very famous person, but such cases are not uncommon. The surgeries itself not only brings the loss of self identity, but also health problems, especially with skin and shape distortion. Moreover, if one becomes addicted to cosmetic surgeries, the process of ruining oneself is almost impossible to stop.

The most obvious reasons for females to receive cosmetic surgeries are to appeal better to the men. Although men admit that they get attracted to pretty girls at first, they also admit that they never really accept the concept of cosmetic surgeries and rather feel more attracted to naturally confident and admirable women.

In a society where there are now more people that have received plastic surgery than those who haven’t, it is valuable to preserve one’s original identity as well as to have confidence in one’s outer beauty.

 

April Suicide

April is the fourth month of the year. On the other hand, it is the ninth as well as the third last month of a regular American curriculum. Let’s see it in the high school student’s view. For freshmen, it is the time of the year where it requires the most patience and endurance for the first year of high school to pass by, thinking it’s the most difficult time of their life. For sophomores, it is the time of fear; fear for the first AP exams to come, fear for the upcoming junior year. For juniors, April is hell. With SATs, APs, GPAs, and college preparation to handle, it is just amazing at how all the juniors are still alive. For seniors, April defines the end, the start, the ecstasy, and grief.

As the last week of March passes on to the beginning of April, most seniors receive their last, or almost last, acceptance letters from their applied colleges. The whole atmosphere of the school is different when a senior gets accepted to a prestigious university. Sometimes, it’s horrible to even say hi to a senior who has been rejected to their dream school. Both have tears — tears of joy and tears of sadness. However, that is not the burden only for the seniors.

As seniors close up their high school life, the worries and reality for the underclass grows stronger and heavier. Although their desires and envy grows when their respected upperclassmen gets accepted to universities, the despair and hopelessness strengthens as well. ‘Will I be able to do it? How am I going to do it? What should I do right now? What would people think of me?’ While there isn’t enough time to handle just the schoolwork at this point of year, many students drop into profound thoughts about their future and worries.

Being one of those underclassmen, as a rising junior next year, I struggle myself to close my worries and open up to the numerous opportunities still laid in front of me. Although it is very hard to be an optimistic person with such concerns on my mind, I organize my thoughts into a conclusion. From this April until the end of the year, no end of my high school life, is going to be burning torture for me, that many times won’t be bearable. However, the April Suicide is not going to kill me until I achieve my goals and my dreams come true.

 

Excessively Reflected Desires : Dramas

One of the most addicting at the same time incomprehensible culture of Korea is people’s attractiveness to dramas. Casting more than 5 dramas everyday for each professional channel, Koreans films so many dramas that the majority of them end without even being heard of. Then, why are there so many?

Korean dramas usually deal with stories that are very not likely to occur in real life. Some of the most typical stories are the truth of birth, a tangled romance between the rich and poor, betrayal of loved ones, conflicts between secret terrorists groups, or revenge of the past. No matter what the plot is, there is one common theme in all of these films — they are expressed in the most excessive, radical, and ridiculous way possible. Although each one is pursuing its own unique feature and something more fascinating to attract more viewers, they all resemble corresponding similarities.

The latest drama that has been one of the biggest hits of the year is Secret Garden. Casted from December 2010 to February 2011, the drama received the greatest interest because of its uniquefeatures. The two main characters, a CEO of a department store and a very poor stunt woman, go through a magical incident that exchanges their soul between their bodies whenever it rains. Although comical and childish at first, the drama develops with profound meanings as the two dualities exist, learning more about each other in different situations.

In March 2011, another drama called “49 Days” started broadcasting. 49 Days is a drama that illustrates a story where a dead female has 49 days as a ghost in someone else’s body to receive three drops of genuine tears from three people that truly love her. Realizing what true relationships and genuine friendship and love is, “49 Days” is a drama that makes one think back at his life again.

These both dramas are hot topics of Koreans’ conversations. Reflecting people’s desires of a sweet but genuine romance, ignoring all aspects of reality, the two dramas focus on the development of love. However, they are being constantly compared for “49 Days” are suspected to have plagiarized some ideas of spirituality from Secret Garden. As “49 Days” is still on its baby steps in its broadcast, people are waiting with great expect of what is to come for its plot and how it would be different from Secret Garden.

 

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, a British author, illustrates a story of romance between people of different characters, classes, attractive appearance, and wealth. The book, as a famous novel that has been filmed as a movie as well, is not one of the highest recommendations from teenagers searching for books. Although it is a love story, written with advanced vocabulary and of a society structure that modern society doesn’t actually portray, the plot is known to be rather difficult and boring to fully engage in while reading.

However, the book consists of a much different tone and atmosphere than was expected. The Bennet family, consisted of a typical, daughter-loving father, a mother who wants the best for their daughters, mostly wealth, and five bright and lively daughters, is easy to relate to any kind of friendly family these days. Noisy and spontaneous, the plot flows focusing on the marriages of each daughter.

Elizabeth Bennet, the second daughter of the family as well as the main character, meets a daunting person named Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is the closest friend of Mr. Bingley, the to-be-husband of Jane, Elizabeth’s older sister. With these four characters, the story portrays prejudice, misunderstanding, misconceptions due to other people, and the influence of one’s words that occurs within a social relationship. Although the conveying of the plot is very complicated, the book gives you one clear message : no matter what is portrayed or said about a person, don’t judge so hastily until you directly know the person considerably well.

Some call this a dull story while others call it a soap opera that only deals with romance. However, I would strongly recommend this book to those who enjoys reading about relationships between people, despite the slow process of it. Reading this book, I was able to rethink about how I judge and approach people and what actually might be the truth. Overall, it was a great enjoyment not to mention an additional item to add on my so “Already Read Classic Novels”.

 

Korea’s largest religion : Universities

In Korean, religion is ” ~gyo”. Depending on what the religion is, the word in front of the gyo is different. However, there is another word that ends in “gyo”. It’s dae-hak-gyo, or so called colleges and universities.

Korean society has an unbreakably strong tendency in judging people by factors other than personality. The factors include wealth, outer appearances, social positions, what kind of cars you possess, or what brand clothes you wear. But the foremost and the very first thing a Korean asks another adult is what university he/she has graduated. This is where the Korean prejudice steps in. The concept of Korean acceptance in a “good” college which defines a “good” person are the top ivy leagues in the United States (American-wise), or the SKY (Seoul, Koryu, and Yonsei) Universities in Seoul in Korean language.

Although it is alleviating very much these days, the judgement of people based on universities seem to be never able to leave the Korean minds. The first aspects one looks at when judging whether a man is “good” or appropriate or even respectable is what university he graduated. When a person didn’t graduate a college within Seoul, he is perceived as less valuable. Despite the reforms and changes that are brought into the education system in Korea, the competitive mind about solid universities would not alter for a long time.

 

Musical : Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

January 27th, 2011 8:00 P.M.

In Charlotte Theatre, Seoul, the epic thriller of the Victorian England Era has once again been performed. With Korea’s most famous musical actor, Seungwoo Cho, the curtains of the performance have been raised without a single seat empty. For people who have read the classic in text already, the expectation of the musical was probably much higher than the others. However, the scene behind the curtains is waiting to grant them another surprise.

The musical starts off with a narrator, as well as the role of Mr. Utterson, the friend and lawyer of Dr. Jekyll, setting up the scene. The whole musical was very interesting at the same time rather confusing because the plot was very different from the text. In the text it mainly focuses on the duality of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and how he ruins his life because of that. There were no mention of women at all. Furthermore, the transformation, or even the attempt of it as a medical experiment, was not known to anybody in the text. However, Dr. Jekyll holds a meeting for support of such experiment. Moreover, the musical was well focused on the romance between two women and Dr. Jekyll. While the text did not state what specific kinds of sins and crimes Mr. Hyde committed, even before the actual performance, the musical was well known for its direct and clear displays of how evil Mr. Hyde was. Therefore, it was also very provocative where the women came out.

Despite all the differences, it was very interesting to see something learned in class acting and moving real on stage. The musical itself was quite enjoyable for all the scene performances, wonderful singing, and the amazing acting of the character Dr. Jekyll and Hyde. For people over the age to understand cultures that are sometimes quite inappropriate for children, the musical would grant one another thought about the real evil in oneself. If you are a person who enjoys these artistic culture, I happily suggest the musical Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.