Vie Miller CP#6

One day, Song and I found ourselves with an extra half hour before our lesson was supposed to begin. “Despite all the time we’ve taken to get to know one another,” I admitted, “I don’t really know that much about Korean culture.” I went on to relate that what I did know the hermit kingdom came from Korea’s most popular export: K-Pop. I didn’t know what to expect from Song, but she was quick to point out that she doesn’t love K-Pop. According to Song, most Koreans don’t like K-Pop, and while many of the younger generation may want to be K-Pop singers, the genre is more popular outside Korea than inside it. Furthermore, Song shared, K-Pop doesn’t communicate the hardships and anxieties which are commonplace in a competitive country like Korea. The former doesn’t surprise me--I’ve run into comparable examples in the United States (American movies may do better overseas than they do here)--but I was surprised to learn how hard life could be for even the most well-to-do Koreans. The conversation was a good reminder that a country’s main export doesn’t necessarily represent the country itself.