Kimchi Mamas

No, Virginia...

 

Small children, please step away from the screen now.

 

For someone who swore she would never lie to her kids, I sure do lie to them a lot.

Turn that frown upside down!

Apparently, many South Koreans are taking that to... the knife.  Smile surgeries, such as the Smile-Lipt, are one of the latest fads in Seoul surgery.  For a mere $2,000, you, too, can smile forever. 

I always wanted to look more Korean (I live in Alaska, most people think I'm Alaska Native), but it seems that Koreans want to look less Korean?  Eyelid surgery was always known to us; Mema had double eyelid surgery.  Make-up tattoos have been known of for a while; Mema said she wanted to "always wake up looking beautiful". These were things known, but never spoken of.  Double eyelid surgery is, allegedly, so commonplace now that they don't even refer to it as surgery anymore.  And it's not just for women!  South Korea has the HIGHEST number of plastic surgeries per capita.  There's even one of those tumblr pages dedicated to it.  Is K-pop to blame?

Happy Omma's Daze!

Just a little Mother's Day fun from our K-boy, Mike Song, and his ever-faithful and good humoured Omma, Laura.

Thanks to iamkoream.com for the head's up . . .




--Angie in Texas is now planning a dubstep inspired dance.

Mouth. Watering.

I don't know exactly how old this website is, but you gotta check out Seoulistic.com! The videos and articles are hilarious and ring OH SO TRUE! (Old school Korean punishment, anyone? Thoughts on dating? . . . )

This is the article that got my mouth watering: How to Eat Galbi the Right Way . . .
What's your level?

 

Angie in Texas enjoys Texas barbeque and Korean barbeque and considers herself a Grill Master.

 

"An Overlooked School Shooting..." One Year Later

Did anyone else hear the NPR "Talk of the Nation"  "around the nation" segment about the Oikos University shooting? It aired earlier today: An Overlooked School Shooting and the Korean American Community.

It was a very short interview with Jay Kang, but I'm glad it was done at all. Mr. Kang spoke of "han", the idea of "The Korean Dad", and the stereotyping of Korean Americans and shootings.

I am curious to continue the conversation... I am curious to hear your thoughts and especially the thoughts of our fellow Kimchi Mamas who live in the SF/Oakland area.  Were there any memorials? Articles in your local paper(s)?

What was your reaction when this happened? How do you feel about it now? And how do you feel about it now within the context of the Virginia Tech shootings 5 years ago this month? And within the context of the Newtown Massacre?

How do you think this affected the Korea/Korean American community locally? Nationally? 

How do you think culture played a part?

 

(Angie in Texas)

*I purposely did not use the names of the shooters in any the events.

 

The Software Doesn't Match the Hardware

As a parent of a ‘tween I found myself at the mall with my daughter the other day. It was right after school and she was still in her all-girls school uniform.

As we walked by one of the kiosks, a young man stopped her and asked if she went to ABC Private School – he recognized the uniform as the uniform of his all-boys high school alma mater’s sister school. He was indeed correct – except my daughter is in the sister school’s middle school. 

Maybe it’s the “Asians don’t look their age” stereotype or maybe it’s because she was in uniform or maybe because she’s tall for her age but as she said yes and I gave my best KDS (Korean Death Stare) to this young man and gently guided her down the hall, I had a mix of remembering the feelings of being mistaken as older at that age and what it may mean for my daughter..and me as her mom.

With the faster-than-the-speed-of-light economic growth in China, and young people flooding in from rural areas to the bustling cities in search of jobs and opportunities, a saying has developed about this group of new-to-the-city young women: The software doesn’t match the hardware. Kind of creepy when you think about it. Here’s a young woman in search of opportunity and she has been reduced to an electronic, a cliché, because she’s attractive but innocent/naïve.

We here in the United States are guilty of perpetuating some of that concept, too. Look around: magazine covers, tv shows, music . . . Have you tried shopping for “cute” girl clothes recently? Listened to the actual lyrics of some popular songs. Next time you’re at the grocery store take the time to glance over the covers of magazines specifically designed for your teen!

My fellow moms and I complain about the lack of appropriate clothing, the pressures our girls face to wear make-up, shave their legs and have first dates/first kisses, etc. And because many of these concepts were foreign to my mother, the "right" way to navigate through them are in many ways foreign to me.

Do you remember the first time you were mistaken as being older than you really were (as a 'tween/teen)?

 

Angie in Texas is practicing her KDS for all future boys...

 

Shakespeare, Gangnam Style

I was spending my lunch hour watching "Gangnam Style" for the hundredth time, and PSY's lyrics, in their brevity and cleverness, really reminded me of the Bard himself.  

So...since there is every other sort of "Gangnam Style" mash-up out there, why not "Gangnam Style in the form of a Shakespearean Sonnet"?

By day, a girl whose warmth and care inspire,
Whilst holding coffee cup, relaxing grace,
When night, it cometh, feels her heart a-fire,
This contradict'ry woman, I will chase.

Tho virile male, I'm no fortune's fool.
My warmth, it matcheth yours during the day.
My coffee, chuggeth all before it cools,
My heart, it bursts, when night her charms display.

Your love'ble beauty earneth fair remark,
Oh you, yes you, doth make this life worthwhile;
Together, 'til the bitter end, and hark!
Hey Sexy Lady, Oppa's Gangnam Style.

Above the runners soar the men who fly.
A man who knows a thing or two, am I.

Exeunt Julie, PSY, and Billy Shakespeare.

Korean Celeb Face Match

Have you ever wondered which celebrity you resembled the most?  Now you can with a free iPhone app called "Korean Celeb Face Match" (also available for Android here)!  My mom actually introduced this app to me, can you believe it?  How times have changed!  

It's fun and simple: you can take a photo using the app itself, or upload an existing one from your photo stream, confirm where your face is, then they guess your age and give you your result.

Here are my results using the same picture, so that tells you something about the scientific precision of it all, but it's great fun nonetheless, even with non-Asian faces.  (Note: the writing is in Korean because my mom had the Korean version installed, the one we are linking to is in English.)

 

Julie vs. Moon Hee Jun

 

Julie vs. Kim Hyun Ah

 

I'm a little mortified at the Moon Hee Jun comparison, because he was hands-down my little sister's favorite member of H.O.T., and I used to make fun of him and his eyebrows all the time (I mean come on, how could anyone look past Kang Ta?  Amirite, ladies???).  Now I look at him, and I think he looks like Jack White.  Does that mean I look like Jack White???

And I have no idea who Kim Hyun Ah is, but I appreciate being compared to a 21-year-old female vs. a 35-year-old male the second time around!

Try this out and let me know what your results are!  Have fun!

--Julie 

Hump Day Links

Kristen Chase over at Motherhood Uncensored gives some perspective to the perception of Dads and our roles as Moms. (Did you know she's a Kimchi Mama? Probably explains her HAWTNESS.)

 

Speaking of sexy: I guess women of colour aren't sexy anymore? According to VS we're not . . . When I grow up I want to be Jen and Diane at Disgraisan.

 

Is the kid in this video Kimchi? Someone help me out here.

I *heart* this video because:

1. I love Green Day - don't care what you say, takes me back to high school and college

2. I love that this kids gets to play on stage with the band

3. I wish I had muscical skillz...

 

--Angie in Texas is going to practice her trumpet now. (Because trying to learn a new instrument at 30-something is FUN and not TOTALLY FRUSTRATING, okay?!

 

 

 

Happy Asian Pacific American History Month!

The charming men of the National Film Society recently gathered together a group of notable Asian Americans (including Kimchi brethren Phil Yu of Angry Asian Man, Randall Park, and Joy Osmanski), dubbed them "The Asian Avengers," and dished about the the cornucopia (or the lack thereof) of Asian role models they had when they were young:

You can see more of their work at their YouTube channel.