Kimchi Mamas

Twilight is actually a K drama

I know some of you are confused by the reaction that the female world seems to have to the Twilight series.  But I'm not.  Mostly because I've been seeing the same reaction from my fellow Korean females my whole life.  You see, I firmly believe that Stephenie Meyer (the author of the Twilight series) has discovered the Korean Drama formula and is serving it up to the Western world.

Sorry if you haven't read the books, or watched the movies. (and if you plan to, please decide whether you want to know what happens before you read on.  you've been warned.)  But, think about it.  It's a love story.  Just like most K dramas are.  There's a love triangle.  Both men love the female lead UNCONDITIONALLY, UNSELFISHLY and AGONIZINGLY.  They are also extremely protective of her.  They show up whenever she's in trouble to save her.  The central female character is also like the ones found in a good Korean drama.  Good and humble at heart, but also a little clumsy and not that out of the ordinary.  But for some reason, every single good looking and amazing guy in her vicinity that other women want, want her.  Also, the story has multiple versions of the whole "I love you sooooooo much, I'll even leave you because I don't want to burden your life."  and versions of  "I love you sooooooo much, I will be happy as long as you can be by my side even if you don't love me back."  And the only reason they can't fully be together is because he's dead.  yes, in korean dramas is usually because one person is richer than the other, but hey, it's the American twist to the story.

So, although it seems weird that 30, 40 and even 50 year olds are swooning over Edward, if you think about it, ajummahs have been swooning over Bae YongJoon for a decade.  They are just reacting to what they see as the completely perfect ideal of a man's love.  It's why they get pulled into the books, buy the shirts and stand in huge lines for the movies.  Although Stephenie Meyer's writing can't necessarily be considered smart or deep, the formula is what draws people in and keeps it going.

In essences, the Twilight crazies out there just can't help it.  Just like I can't help watching anything Ryu ShiWon is in.

I wonder if Stephenie Meyer even knows her story has been told so many time before.  Well, not the vampire baby imprinting thing, but that the rest of it isn't so new, just from the east.  Falling into the story was like meeting an old friend for me.  I love it.

-by jooliyah, who hasn't seen New Moon yet due to her current single parenting situation, but hopes to see it before it gets to netflix.

I am Korean American

Look! It's our very own Julie on I am Korean American!

It's a cool website that showcases how diverse Korean Americans are. They're on Facebook too... not that you needed me to tell you that. Seems like EVERYONE and EVERYTHING is on FB these days. heh

Have you submitted yourself yet? I did... but the picture I submitted was too small so they asked for another one. We'll see if I get picked. heh

 

- Mary

BANANA

Please join Julie as she represents the Kimchi Mamas at BANANA, an Asian/Pacific American blogger symposium, at USC on Saturday.

Date:	Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time:	3:00pm - 6:00pm
Location:	University of Southern California (USC)
Street:	University Park Campus, Taper Hall, Room 101

Lac Su, author of "I Love Yous are for White People," will be hosting along with Steve Nguyen.  Representatives from such notorious blogs such as Angry Asian Man, 8Asians, Hyphen Magazine, and Soompi.com will be there as well.

Details can be found on the Facebook event page.

Please come by and say hi!!!

Forms of Torture at Korean Hair Salons

The comments in the last post inspired me to write this post. =)

Korean hair salons (at least the ones I've been to in the LA area) have some fancy smancy forms of torture. Have you ever had to endure the "magic" straight perm or the "digital" perm? They take forEVER to do. Yet, I endured it, time and time again, so that my straight hair could be straighter.

What do you mean you ask?  How can straight hair become straighter? Well, you see, before the "magic" straight perm, my hair would look like this if I didn't blow dry, curl, and/or flat iron it. Sometimes it would look like this even when I DID blow dry it.

I like myself just how I am, I think?

So, I have some extra time to myself this week while my daughter is spending some time with her dad.

The plan: haircut!

I haven't gotten my hair cut in over six months. My last hairdresser said something about "oriental babies" being so cute, so instead of saying anything, I'm just never going there again.

This time, I went to a Korean hairdresser. I liked her because she was more business than chatty. But, once I opened my mouth and asked about wedding hair, it was all over.

Instead of giving me a regular blow dry, she made my hair all pretty and curly - "Today's your wedding day!" she proudly exclaimed. So, today, for the first time ever, I have boing-boing curls. And I almost like them.

On the flip side, I am miffed that the makeup artist that works at the salon made comments about my skin. She told me, "you have an acne problem."

Great. I could feel her looking at my brows, my forehead. Eh. She asked if I was going to wear contacts when I got married, and I told her that, no, I don't wear contacts. She was shocked. Now, why in the world would I trust someone like that to do my makeup for my wedding?

It just confirms all the negative things that I think of when I think of beauty products and beauty salons. I believe that I can be beautiful without getting my eyebrows done, without contacts and with my acne. Why do I need to have curly hair to be beautiful? Who ever said that my straight black hair isn't beautiful?

I'm torn. I'm enjoying the boing-boing curls for tonight, even though it just doesn't feel like me. But it makes me want to rebel and not so anything crazy and fancy with my make-up and hair for the wedding. Because I'm not that fancy (I'll admit, I am sometimes crazy) in real life.

But, I'll admit it. I'm totally enjoying flipping my curls, just for tonight.

~ eliaday, who washed out her boing-boing curls this morning and is enjoying straight, newly cut hair.

So, I have some extra time to myself this week while my daughter is spending some time with her dad.

The plan: haircut!

I haven't gotten my hair cut in over six months. My last hairdresser said something about "oriental babies" being so cute, so instead of saying anything, I'm just never going there again.

This time, I went to a Korean hairdresser. I liked her because she was more business than chatty. But, once I opened my mouth and asked about wedding hair, it was all over.

Instead of giving me a regular blow dry, she made my hair all pretty and curly - "Today's your wedding day!" she proudly exclaimed. So, today, for the first time ever, I have boing-boing curls. And I almost like them.

On the flip side, I am miffed that the makeup artist that works at the salon made comments about my skin. She told me, "you have an acne problem."

Great. I could feel her looking at my brows, my forehead. Eh. She asked if I was going to wear contacts when I got married, and I told her that, no, I don't wear contacts. She was shocked. Now, why in the world would I trust someone like that to do my makeup for my wedding?

It just confirms all the negative things that I think of when I think of beauty products and beauty salons. I believe that I can be beautiful without getting my eyebrows done, without contacts and with my acne. Why do I need to have curly hair to be beautiful? Who ever said that my straight black hair isn't beautiful?

I'm torn. I'm enjoying the boing-boing curls for tonight, even though it just doesn't feel like me. But it makes me want to rebel and not so anything crazy and fancy with my make-up and hair for the wedding. Because I'm not that fancy (I'll admit, I am sometimes crazy) in real life.

But, I'll admit it. I'm totally enjoying flipping my curls, just for tonight.

~ eliaday, who washed out her boing-boing curls this morning and is enjoying straight, newly cut hair.

Sign the Petition for Na Young

I was absolutely horrified just now to read this article via a comment by one of our readers. In Seoul, Korea, Na Young (pseudonym), an eight year old girl, was kidnapped, brutally beaten, strangled, raped, and tortured and left to die by a 50 something year old man. AND HE WAS ONLY SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS IN JAIL. He was a repeat offender and had many prior arrests, having served jail time for another rape even. Be warned, some of the articles describe the crime in graphic detail. Apparently, he was drunk when he committed the crime but that is no excuse for the horrendous and truly evil things he did.

Please sign this petition to help bring justice and also to help reform the Korean laws regarding sentencing sex offenders. I am not that familiar with Korean law and the justice system but apparently, it is quite lax. I don't think they have a sex offender registry either. That is what Na Young's mother is asking for. For pictures of sex offenders to be posted at schools and updated every 6 months.

It is SUCH a shame that Korea has such lax laws for sex offenders. In one article, I read that a justice commented that the 12 year term was actually not that lenient, given Korea's laws. WTF? I even read somewhere that the government was taking down posts about this because it didn't want to draw international attention to such a shameful incident.

This is a picture that Na Young drew when asked how she would like the man who raped her to be punished:

Korea, shame on YOU. How can you let this man only serve 12 years in jail? Clearly, with repeat offenses, he is a danger to society and our children. To me, what he did was WORSE than murder. Please Korea, we need to protect our children from such criminals. President Lee and the citizens of Korea, I ask you as a Korean living in America, who still has a lot of pride in her home country, to please prevent this from every happening again. We cannot afford another Na Young.

- Mary

Open Thread Thursday

The POWER of Arirang!  And now the symposium to prove it!!

Conflict at sea!

It's Open Thread Thursday . . . What's on YOUR mind?

--The Kimchi Mamas

Another Korean Actor Making His Hollywood Debut

Rain has joined the ranks of Daniel Henney and Lee Byung-hyun to be featured in a major Hollywood motion picture... well, I guess Daniel Henny and Lee Byung-hyun weren't really "featured," more like supporting roles. =)

Rain's seems like he'll be the main actor in Nina Assassin... yes, still the stereotypical kung-fu fighting role but hey, looking this good, I say bring it on!

Yum.  heh.

I just saw a commercial for the DVD release of G.I.Joe and Lee Byung-hyun's English is actually really good!  (At least in that one line it was... )

- Mary can't wait to see this movie.

Diary of a Foodie in Korea

We were channel-surfing this afternoon when we came across an episode of Diary of a Foodie shot in Korea. The photography is gorgeous, and the segments cover North Korean cooking, oak mushrooms, and traditional royal cuisine. Warning: don't watch this on an empty stomach!

Photo Credit: Gourmet

--Weigook Saram

Open Thread Thursday

Babies! Babies! Babies!

Halloween's over, but the HOLIDAYS are just beginning . . .

It's Open Thread Thursday . . . What's on YOUR mind?

--The Kimchi Mamas