Q & A with Sukie Park 

The author of "33 Keys to Decoding the Korean Wave"

Beyond BTS, "Parasite" and "Squid Game"

 

*Q & A: '한류를 이해하는 33가지 코드'의 저자 박숙희 (Sukie Park) <Korean>

https://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?document_srl=4102229&mid=Focus

 

 

-What inspired you to write this book?

 

SP: On December 31, 2019, BTS opened 2020 with a performance at the New Year's Eve event in Times Square. Then, on February 9, at the 2020 Academy Awards ceremony, Director Bong Joon-ho and "Parasite" swept four awards in various categories. Watching the Oscars on TV, I was thrilled. I had majored in film, worked as a film journalist, and came to New York in 1996 because I wanted to watch movies to my heart's content for a year. To think that Korean films won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Best Picture Oscar. As a Korean, I was proud that Director Bong Joon-ho's social critique film "Parasite" captivated people around the world, and the reactions from Director Bong Joon-ho and CJ Vice Chairman Miky Lee at the awards ceremony were also moving. Koreans' critical spirit, love of alcohol, and wit and humor were displayed, such as "I'm going to have a drink tonight" and his compliments of Martin Scorsese. It was really fresh.

 

Entertainers who were once dismissed as "ttantara" (*slang) in Korea are now reaping revolutionary results, much like an active volcano erupting. K-pop, K-movie, K-drama, as well as K-classical music, K-ballet, K-food, K-beauty, K-fashion, K-golf, K-game... How did Koreans come to dominate world culture, and what is the origin of the Korean Wave, this hurricane sweeping the globe? Moreover, how did Korean immigrants in the United States achieve success in certain fields, such as grocery stores, dry cleaners, and nail salons? These questions arose, leading to a deeper query: Who are Koreans?

 

About a month after the Academy Awards ceremony, New York entered a pandemic lockdown. All activities, including visits to museums like the Met, MoMA, Guggenheim, and Whitney, as well as concert halls like Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Broadway Theater, and restaurants, were suspended. As the owner of New York Culture Beat (www.NYCultureBeat.com), a New York cultural information website in Korean language, I stayed at home and embarked on an investigation and writing journey to uncover the roots of Hallyu, the Korean Wave.

 

 

-Why 33 keys?

 

SP: On December 31, 2011, I left the The Korea Daily of New York (JoongAng Ilbo), and on March 1, 2012, I started the New York Culture Beat. Giving up a stable job and living in New York was risky, but personally it was like a declaration of independence. Thinking of the 3.1 movement and the 33 national representatives, I liked the word "sam-sam" (33 in Korean), so I set it to 33 and planned it out. Looking back, the contributors to the book "Movies That Changes My Life" that I edited in 1990 were also 33 filmmakers and writers, and I came to New York was when I turned 33.

 

 

-As a New Yorker, what is the advantage of writing a Korean Wave book?

 

SP: I am an "outsider" who left Korea, but as an insider in New York, known as the "Mecca of culture." As a journalist writing in Korean in the US, I was able to have a unique perspective. After graduating from college in Korea, I worked for about 10 years in entertainment magazines, film magazines, radio and TV programs, mainly dealing with popular culture. I came to New York in 1996 and was exposed to high-class culture by covering Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Met Museum, and MoMA. New York was a fantastic cultural school for me. I had never seen opera or ballet in Korea. Artists want to be validated in New York. In addition to K-pop, K-drama, and K-movie, Koreans' activities in K-classical music, K-opera, and K-ballet were dazzling. As a result, I had many opportunities to think about and compare Korean culture within New York culture.

 

Early in my life in New York, when I saw Apple's "Think Different" on a large billboard in Times Square, I thought that New York is a city that does not ostracize people who think differently, but embraces them. In 2014, a press conference was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to explain the donation of 78 pieces of Cubist artworks, including Picasso, Braque and Léger, by the chairman of Estee Lauder, art collector Leonard Lauder. I think there were 3-4 hundred reporters in attendance. I was taking pictures alone from the other side of the audience to capture the size of the press corps. Then, in the distance, the Met Museum curator smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up. Perhaps it was because seeing from a different angle was the essence of cubism. This small encouragement is one of the joys of living in New York.

 

 

-Has your experience in both Korea and New York been helpful in writing your book?

 

SP: In Korea, there is a saying, "dig one well." Perhaps my diverse experiences were not in vain. After graduating from Ewha Woman's University with a major in journalism, my first job was at a photography magazine (Youngsang). Since middle school, I had a great passion for pop songs, and around the 1988 Olympics, Korean popular music, including "Damdadi" by Lee Sang-eun, became dominant. During that time, I worked for a magazine called "Photo Music" (now defunct), where I covered the music industry. I had the opportunity to interview Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment, when he returned to Korea and opened a cafe in Songdo, Incheon and when future movie star Choi Jin-sil was hospitalized during her unknown days, I interviewed her at the hospital. I also interviewed Lee Sun-hee and Sobangcha trio at their homes and accompanied Lee Sang-eun during the photoshoot in Jeju Island. At that time, many celebrity managers were bodyguard types, and I had once thought about trying my hand at being a manager.

 

Afterward, I worked for film magazines (Cinema) and video magazines (Video Plaza) and eventually joined Daewoo Video as a copywriter in the promotion department. The change of perspective from a journalist to a publicist was intriguing. My love for movies was so strong that I pursued graduate studies at Hanyang University, at the same time I wrote scripts for the KBS-2FM radio program "Film Music  Salon." Later, I worked as a writer for MBC-TV's "Start! Video Journey" (formerly known as 'Video Stroll')." However, as I continued working, I couldn't find the time to complete my master's thesis.

 

In January 1996, I came to New York planning to stay for just one year to experience living there watching films. Interestingly, while people in Korea referred to my diverse career as "you have itchy feet," my American girlfriend in New York encouraged me, saying it was an "amazing career." I felt that New York suited me, so I decided to stay. I attended language schools (Columbia University, Baruch College) and took courses in entertainment business at Baruch. I learned about "Entertainment Law," "Scenario Writing," "Artist & Repertoire (A&R)," and "Music  Business" which we studied with "The Business of Music" and Billboard magazine as textbooks. Witnessing K-pop topping the Billboard charts was like a dream come true. Perhaps getting a taste of various fields of culture helped me write my book.

 

Korean media outlets, like The Korea Daily of New York (Joongang Ilbo New York), were small in size, and as the Culture and Arts reporter, I had to cover the entire cultural and artistic scene. Thanks to this, I had the opportunity to encounter a wide range of arts, such as fine arts, classical music, opera, jazz, movies, musicals, theater, and dance. I also had the chance to interview successful Koreans in mainstream culture. At the Lincoln Center, there were more than ten Korean musicians in the New York Philharmonic, and Korean singers Hei-Kyung Hong and Wookyung Kim made history as the first Asian male and female leads in "La Traviata"(2007) in the Metropolitan Opera. Also, Korean Hee Seo became the first Asian principal  female in American Ballet Theatre. Despite the relatively smaller Korean population compared to Chinese or Japanese populations, most of the top-class Asian artists in opera and ballet were Koreans. I realized that we Koreans have a strong passion for arts and culture. Furthermore, I wanted to document the hidden heroes of Hallyu, such as the Taekwondo Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, who opened a Taekwondo studio in Washington D.C. in the 1960s and taught Taekwondo to figures like Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Biden; also Broadway costume designer Willa Kim, who won two Tony Awards.

 

 

-Hallyu began with Korean content such as K-pop, K-dramas, and K-movies. What achievements have Korean-Americans made in the United States?

 

SP: While working as a journalist, I had the opportunity to interview second and third-generation Korean-American artists. Through these interviews, I often found that they faced identity crises during their adolescence, struggled with the lack of Korean role models, and experienced conflicts between their dreams and their parents' expectations. Many second and third-generation individuals with Korean heritage aspired to become actors, film directors, musicians, designers, comedians, chefs, and more. However, some of them initially pursued careers like doctors or lawyers as desired by their immigrant parents and later returned to pursue their dreams. Being an artist, often called a "ttantanra" in the eyes of the first-generation immigrants, was still seen as an unstable career choice. This could be attributed to the scarcity of successful Asian/Korean role models and the lack of leisure time to enjoy cultural activities. Consequently, deep conflicts often arose between parents and their children.

 

In fact, one of the reasons I started my website www.NYCultureBeat.com was to provide information about affordable cultural activities for busy Korean-Americans. I also wanted to highlight the numerous successful Korean individuals in the cultural and culinary industries.

 

During my work, I also encountered Korean-Americans who were adopted by American families. While I saw relatively few individuals of Japanese or Chinese descent in fields such as the Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre, Broadway musicals, and the culinary industry, I noticed that there were a considerable number of Korean and adopted Korean individuals actively participating. The presence of Korean adoptees in various artistic fields was quite mysterious, and through interviews with them, I felt their passion and talent. It made me realize that the strong spirit and talent we Korean people have stem from our shared roots. I also wanted to document their stories and contributions.

 

 

-What is the unique perspective of this book?

 

SP: The unique perspective of this book begins with the portrayal of Korea in the late 19th century, where it was viewed as "Corea, the Hermit Nation" by William E. Griffis, and "The Land of the Morning Calm" by Percival Lowell. However, in today's early 21st century, Korea is more dynamic than ever, and Korean-Americans are shining with their abundant talents. The book explores the roots of Korean identity, covering various keywords such as "han" (grief, resentment), "eum-ju-ga-mu"(people who enjoy eating, drinking, singing and dancing), "ppalli-ppalli" (fast-paced lifestyle), as well as concepts like "nunchi" (reading the air), satire and humor, resistance spirit, Hangeul (the Korean alphabet), white-clad people, traditional games, kimchi and gochujang, bibimbap, metal chopsticks, "bojagi" (traditional Korean cloth), "bottari" (traditional Korean wrapping cloth), "bossam" (boiled pork slices), and strong and resilient women represented by figures like Yu Gwan-sun, "haenyeo" (Korean female sea divers), and Pak Se-ri.

 

The book also sheds light on the insights of Westerners who discovered the beauty and potential of Korean culture over a century ago. Missionaries like Father Norbert Weber and Homer Hulbert, curator Stewart Culin, painter Elizabeth Keith, and writer Pearl Buck are among the Western individuals who had remarkable insights into Korean culture.

 

Furthermore, the book draws intriguing comparisons between Korean and Western cultural icons and phenomena, such as King Sejong the Great during the Joseon Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance, PSY and Charlie Chaplin, BTS and The Beatles, the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut and Queen Seondeok of Silla, pop artist Andy Warhol and Korean "mukbang" (eating broadcast), Anthony Bourdain (Parts Unknown, CNN food travel program) and Choi Bul-am (Korean's Dining Table, KBS), American Idol and National Singing Contest.

 

 

-What did you discover while writing?

 

SP: One of the new discoveries while writing this book is Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, "The Father of American Taekwondo." He is considered as the seed of Hallyu. When Korea was left in ruins after the Korean War, Rhee immigrated to the United States and opened the first Taekwondo school in Washington D.C.. He taught Taekwondo to prominent figures such as Joe Biden, current President of the United States, members of Congress, and the children of diplomats from various countries, spreading Taekwondo throughout the United States and the world. Rhee even taught Taekwondo to Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali. Notably, Elvis Presley practiced Taekwondo under the guidance of another Taekwondo master, Master Kang Rhee, in his hometown of Memphis.

 

 

- How long did it take to write the book?

 

SP: It wasn't initially planned as a book project. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I started serializing the content in the New York Story section on www.NYCultureBeat.com. I began writing it in February 2020 after the Academy Awards, and it took about two years to complete. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, I updated the contents and newsletter daily with enjoyable cultural information for the readers. 

 

 

-Who should read this book?

 

SP: This book is for anyone with a connection to Korean identity and culture. Whether you are a Korean living in Korea or scattered around the world, or if you are a second or third-generation Korean, this book aims to help you explore your roots, potential, and pride.

 

While conducting interviews with second-generation Korean artists for the newspaper, I noticed one recurring theme: conflicts with their parents. First-generation Korean immigrants often wish for their children to pursue stable and respected careers such as doctors, lawyers, or professors, which was understandable as successful Asian artists like Bruce Lee were rare role models at that time. However, many second and third-generation Koreans who aspire to careers in fields like acting, filmmaking, music, comedy, writing, or cooking sometimes followed their parents' hopes by attending university, only to later abandon those paths to pursue their dreams. I wanted to show how successful second-generation Koreans could be in their chosen fields, using their talents to thrive.

 

Moreover, American families raising Korean adoptees may also be curious about their children's heritage and culture, seeking ways to educate and help them connect with their roots. This book could be a valuable resource for them to understand Korean culture better. Of course, anyone from around the world who has an interest in Korean culture could find this book intriguing.

 

It speaks to second-generation Koreans, adoptive Korean families, those married to Koreans, and anyone curious about Korean culture. It contains content that readers from different backgrounds can find worthwhile. That's why I'm working on translating it into English.

 

Today's abundant fruits of Hallyu are born from the seeds and nutrients sown by our ancestors long ago. While it's nice to have glossy photobooks on the table, I invite you to explore "33 Keys to Decoding the Korean Wave" and discuss the deeply rooted tree of our nation. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this book became a conversation starter on your living room coffee table?

*[Introduction] Witnessing Hallyu in New York <English version>

https://www.nyculturebeat.com/?mid=CulBooks&document_srl=4099854