UMD's Korea Winterterm Program Students
Gyeongbokgung (경복궁), the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty.
Joseon Dynasty ruled in Korea for 518 years.
This dynasty and palace represents Korea's traditional Confucian society.
Geunjeongjeon (근정전), where state affairs were held and Vicinity
Korean traditional clothing, hanbok.
Korean Folk Village (한국민속촌)
Walked by a film crew shooting a scene for a Korean historical drama.
LG-Philips LCD Factory in Paju (파주), north of Seoul
LG-Philips LCD is one of the world's largest LCD producers and a subsidiary of the chaebol (Korean conglomerate), LG Group. The chaebol represents Korea's rapid economic development under President Park Chung Hee's Five-Year Economic Plans. The tour of LG-Philips LCD factory in Paju exposed me to the rapid industrialization of Korea. I had a great pleasure of learning how LG-Philips LCD transformed from a small electronics company into a global LCD maker.
LG-Philips LCD's showcase of products
Seoul Migrant Worker's Center, an NGO (non-governmental organization)
I was unaware of how South Korea has been also affected by globalization with the rising number of migrant workers. I appreciated how Seoul Migrant Workers Center are assisting migrant workers and assiduously breaking down the anti-foreigner sentiment in South Korea. I was deeply moved by the Bangladesh migrant worker’s story of his eleven year stay in South Korea. His fluency in Korean surprised me because in Korea, everyone wants to learn English, believing this language as a gateway to participate in a globalized society. I observed that this reversal is also possible where migrant workers want to learn Korean, work temporarily or even live in Korea permanently. The rising number of migrant workers indicates how South Korea has officially transitioned from a third-world nation into a developed nation. I believe the NGOs will continue to play an important role in social change of South Korea. The rise of NGOs South Korea illustrates that the nation has transitioned from a state-led authoritarian society to a democratic civilian-led society.
B-Boys Performance at Hongdae B-boy Theater (홍대 비보이전용극장)
B보이를 사랑한 발레라나 - the ballerina who loves a b-boy
As an avid listener of hip-hop music, I was thrilled to see the B-Boys performance on the first weekend of this trip. I have heard about this group through my friends, YouTube, and blogs. The catchy beats and break dancing impressed me as well as the melodramatic effect of a ballerina who falls in love with a b-boy and turns into a b-boy (b-girl). I thought that this performance exemplified how American hip-hop music influenced Korean society and localized the genre respectable to the Korean public. I don’t know if my classmates know that Koreans love to watch melodramatic television shows. This performance reflected in a broader sense how South Korea was influenced by other countries, such as Japanese colonial modernity and every aspect of America. After that concert, I thought the B-boys perfomance metaphorically described South Korea in a sense of how America influenced its contemporary society.
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