Reading/Viewing Assignment Help on a Specified Reading/Film
Reading Example:
Discussion 1: Chapter 3
In the chapter, “It All Started with A Bang,” Inkyu Kang elaborated on the explosion of video gaming within South Korea over the past thirty years. Through the analysis of PC gaming and the incorporation of Confucianism, Kang further expands on the way the two are interconnected while it is expected for them to be separate. PC gaming was accepted by the Korean community better than gaming consoles for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons was Kang states for the acceptance of computers was that it has been seen as a tool to learn English. The aspect of education and collectivism being obtained by these PC games and Bangs leads into the traditional morals practiced through Confucianism.
With all of this in mind, I think Kang provided an interesting analysis on PC Bangs and gaming being incorporated in South Korean culture. Kang discussed computers being seen as a gateway to learn English and most parents let their child use these computers for hours on end in order to learn more. Interestingly, computers were created to be international; however, there were still English aspects to the machines such as the keyboards. The fact that parents let their child stay in their room on the computer for hours is interesting itself as in American culture, it is vastly frowned upon even if it is for educational purposes. When computers were first arising in the United States, PCs were located in family rooms and hooked up to the telephone line so it was not easy to be on them for hours at a time. The idea of being able to be on these PCs for hours sparks the discussion of being incorporated within Confucian beliefs as it is important to be educated which is obtained through long study. The long study patterns can be seen within South Korean culture with students being at school from early hours of the morning to the evening. It can also be seen with being on the computer for hours. While at PC Bangs, the collectivist aspect arises with games such as MMORPGs where gamers have to band together as a team to defeat another group, boss, or enemy in general. After students are released from school, they often head to the PC Bangs to spend their time and form groups within these MMORPGs so these Bangs can be social hangout spots; however, depending how a person spends their time at the Bang, it may be seen as being antisocial depending on the level of interaction the player has with other people.
Viewing Example:
Korean Cinema: Train to Busan
Yeon Sang-ho’s 2016 film, Train to Busan, mainly follows the story of a workaholic, Seok-woo, and his daughter, Soo-an, on their way from Seoul to Busan to her mom for her birthday. It is a zombie thriller caused by an airborne outbreak attacking people in a domino-like effect. The movie creates specific areas of interest which arise from the aspect of humanity when they are put in a detrimental situation. The first of two interests are found in while looking at self-preservation and the sheep-like mentality of terrified citizens. Another can be found with the aspect of self-sacrifice portrayed by Seok-woo and other characters throughout the film which refers to honor and a collectivistic nature.
One of the main points in the film was about the act of self-preservation during drastic and dangerous times. The method of self-preservation was first displayed in the film by Seok-woo when he told Soo-an to “only think for yourself” after he had shut the door when the couple was running away from the recently infected. Seok-woo does change throughout the film, however, this self-preservation be seen by the businessman throughout the whole film who would do anything in order to survive, such as pushing the high school girl behind him to be ravaged by the zombie who was following him. The businessman was COO of some major company and took it upon himself to become the leader that makes the decisions earlier on in the film while talking and making demands to the conductor. This can be seen during one act of the film where the main survivors getting from the 9th to the 13thcabin with other people who were not infected. Within the 13th cabin, the COO declared that none of those survivors were to be allowed into the 13th cabin which was predominantly a mean of self-preservation but used the other people in the cabin to be his scapegoat when he was saying that having the cabin hoppers into the 13th cabin would put everyone else at risk. There were those within the cabin who wanted the others to come in due to their ethical standpoint; however, the entitlement of the powerful COO, all the other points were made invalid.
Another point was the method of self-sacrifice seen by numerous characters throughout the film. South Koreans strongly value honor through Confucius integration within their culture. This can be seen with the use of honorifics in their language and attitudes. It can also be seen by Soo-an when she offers her seat to the elderly woman and by offering help when she sees it is needed. Through the film when people are being attacked, they do their best to fend off the zombies while the others are getting away. The husband of the pregnant woman continuously fought off the zombies with his bare hands and when he was bit by one, he told Seok-woo to keep going while he held the door to fend the zombies off. It was due to his self-sacrifice that Seok-woo, Soo-an, and the pregnant woman got away at that moment. In the end, this can be seen in Seok-woo who had a major character development through the train ride. Once he was bit he said farewell to his daughter and the pregnant woman then took himself to the back of the train to jump before turning full zombie.
This film portrays an outlook on South Korean life with an emphasis of not being able to live with pure self-preservation and selfishness. Through collectivism and honor, there are morals which are engrained in South Korean culture as this can be seen with community. The film, personally, portrays a major lash to the individualistic nature that is steadily entering the country through various means of social media, travel, and globalization in general. The action of “only think for yourself” did not work in the end. The director made a point that those who had stayed together had survived the longest in the entire film; which is why certain characters were steadily followed until their demise.
Assignment: Reading/Viewing Assignment Guidelines
Step 1: Read or watch the assigned material.
Step 2: Choose 2-3 areas of interest from the assigned material.
Step 3: Summarize that area of interests from the reading or viewing.
Step 4: Give your thoughts on the areas of interest that you selected. Your thoughts should go
beyond the realm of “it was interesting” but should comment more on differences between
countries, differences between what you read and what you had previously thought. Did you
agree or disagree with the author/director? Is what you read/watched reflecting or affecting
society or culture in any way? What do you think we can learn about the specific East Asian
country from the reading/viewing?
Step 5: See the example below on page 2 for a full credit answer.
Step 6: There is no page limit but generally it should be a page or longer double spaced with
majority of that being made up of your thoughts and opinions rather than summary. Using
references to defend any opinions in your response are always encouraged.
