Modesty in Korean Video Musicals

With globalization and the interchange between countries, the modesty that came with the Confucian and Buddhist culture is no longer influencing our society. Korea has become 'first world,' even in this area of life.

Musical videos are very popular in Korea. In the past the ear was important, now it is the eye. The business world has taken notice of this shift and is concentrating on producing visuals that appeal more to the consumer. Writing in the Catholic Times, in his column on sex in  popular culture, the researcher asks us to go to the internet to view Bo peep Bo peep to get an idea of what he is saying.

In the musical  Bo peep Bo peep, the viewer experiences the feeling of watching  soft porn; the researcher asks why? This musical is using the grammar of pornography, he says. A gorgeously decked out women goes to a club where she dances sexually, seduces a man and they go to a hotel for sex.  During sex she looks directly  at the camera on two occasions.

Up until now, he asks, have you ever seen, on TV or in the  movies, the characters staring into the camera?  This is considered a 'no, no' even for an acting novice but when you have a professional  actress looking at the camera, what does it mean?  If you ask any middle school student they will all answer "pornography."

How is it that the middle school students  answer this so quickly? The researcher tells us this is what they are exposed to daily. Only porno films use this technique to entice the men who are watching. The makers of these  films  use this code with exquisiteness.  Unconsciously the middle school  students have picked this up rather quickly.This is now part of the culture we live in. And it is frightful.

This series on sex in Korean culture will continue. Porno was always there but not so publicly accessible. Here in Korea the majority of the citizens  still have difficulty accepting what is happening in the media, and yet the underlying sexual nature of what we are being exposed to is evident everywhere, especially in advertizing.

Musical Videos are just one segment of the visual mass media that is going through this change; our one world is also changing the traditional customs of Korea. The country still has her traditional respect for modesty, and the consensus that pornography is unacceptable, actually illegal, although  easily accessible. There are many in the society working against this area of self-expression, but it will not be easy working against the lucrative business interests of so many.

Singing The Blues Away

The sadness that often comes into our lives is handled by us in many varied and interesting ways.  An example of what one priest did on returning to his monastery is recounted by a columnist in the Catholic Times.

The priest had spent many years overseas doing parish work, and the columnist remembers meeting him on a number of occasions on his return to the monastery. His disposition, the columnist said, was welcoming, disarming, enthusiastic and unpretentious.

That evening after the meal, while  drinking tea and talking with his Korean colleagues,  he decided to go to his room; he returned with a guitar and a book of popular songs from the 70-80s. He suggested a sing-along. There was a period of awkward silence;  the columnist thought it odd: 5 elderly religious being asked to sing...?

The priest, however, opened the book and from the beginning started to sing. If the song was known he would begin playing, if not, he would skip it.  His mastery of the guitar also was not very good. He paid no attention to his playing and went through the book page by page. The group would join in the singing, some looking at the ceiling, one looking out the window, and one with eyes closed--but all were singing. 

Some of the songs were greeted with applause, If a song brought back some memory, this would be mentioned. They all sang with enthusiasm. There were no  comments on the singing.  If they knew the song, they would sing. If not, they would listen. At the  end of the singing, the  priest said to his colleagues:

"Living here in the monastery, there were difficult times. Battling cancer and living overseas have created difficulties in my life, but on those occasions, I would take out the guitar and sing. It was after the singing that I would find peace."

That evening the columnist considered the group as being similar to a picture that is moved from one location to another.  A picture of sadness being removed by song. That night, before sleep, he was thankful that he was part of that picture.

Dealing With Pain in Life

Mind healing, how we can heal our minds and hearts of the hurts we have suffered, was the topic of a recent desk column commentary by the editor-in-chief of the Catholic Times.  Many in today's society are hurting: wars, family and individual conflicts, cultural prejudice, workplace and educational injustices, and a host of other situations that inflict much pain. We all have to live with these painful situations every day; the only difference among them is their size. But to say that my pain is greater than yours, he says, is an attitude that makes no sense. The way we face the pain is what is important.

Some people, in the face of the pain, close their hearts and become angry and hateful, while others, precisely because of their pain, open their hearts with a better understanding of the suffering of others. To live with others is difficult; we are likely to discover aspects of ourselves we would prefer not to see.  An example would be when we see another person, completely unrelated to us, who is happy, which tends to make us acutely aware of our own unhappiness.

We can define life, he says, as a time of waiting.  The psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm tells us that humans can be described as creatures that look upward and forward to a future time, waiting for a better person to emerge and for better opportunities, waiting for their dreams to be realized, waiting for the end of their suffering.

That we wait mindlessly, he says, is the problem. What are we waiting for and and how is it important to us? are questions we need to ask ourselves.He suggests that what is important to all Christians is the consolation of family and friends. More so would be the consolation that comes from God. Also helpful is to realize that we tend to imitate those we admire and think about, and to realize that faith is also a kind of waiting, which we can see illustrated by the Scriptures.

Those that have received consolation in their suffering are the ones who can share it with others who are suffering. He mentions the tragic incident of a mother who had lost a child in an accident. Though many tried to console the mother, they were unable to do so, the tears kept coming. It was only when a friend, a mother who lost her own daughter in such an accident, approached the grieving mother with a hug that the tears stopped.  

There is a direct ratio of  pain to consolation. The greater the pain, the greater is God's consolation.  We have the example of our martyrs, whose faith and trust grew because of  God's  promises; suffering  sublimates into great hope.

All those who are suffering are walking in the way of Jesus. Let us experience his outstretched hand. Like the sun that is always there in the sky even when hidden by clouds, God is always with us,  offering us the consolation we are seeking. 

Removing Unnecessary Obstacles

A priest from the diocese of Incheon writes in the priest bulletin of his frequent climbs to the top of a mountain near his parish:  the view encompasses the airport, North Mountain and the Han River.             

Recently the owner of the property near the mountain fenced about 200 meters to preserve his property, he said. Mountain climbers from the direction of the parish had  to go around to find another entrance to the mountain. This did not sit well with the priest, and like many others complained about the situation among themselves. 

On one occasion, he had the thought: "Have I also been a stumbling block to others? If I have this is not  good."

He tells us of a  conversation he had with one of his parishioners:

"Father, is it  possible  to  change some of the qualifications for attending the parish elders' college program?"

"Why?" he replied.

"Because there is the study of the Scriptures and only those who can read are accepted. My mother was very sad; she wanted badly to attend but because she can't read  she was not able to  apply."

"That is true. I will have to give it some thought," he replied.

After this conversation, the priest realized that he was preventing those who couldn't read to approach closer to God. He doesn't know how many are not able to read, but even if it is only one person, he thought, the door should not be closed.

The next time the program started the paragraph that said one had be literate was removed. Those who were illiterate would still be able to understand the lectures and gain much from the program. He apologized to the elders in the congregations for not being more understanding of others.

Blocking the way to his mountain climbing was the beginning of a long reflection on the way he was blocking others from getting closer to God. Upset as he was on seeing the fence, and experiencing first hand the anger of others in similar circumstances, did open his eyes to the ways he may have been blocking others in his own congregation from growing. If there are blocks in the way of this growth, he wants to begin removing them.

Where Was The First Button Placed?

On the spiritual page of the Catholic Times, the columnist tells us we all have a scroll that when unfolded reveals our life. But that only we can make it known to others, revealing minutely how we have reacted with others and the world. There are laughs and tears, scars and my brutal moments. If we want to be happy, he says, we have to examine this scroll and see what it tells us.
 

There are places where we see the constructive side of life, its joy, but also the inadequacies and much that is negative. There is no one outside of Jesus with a perfect scroll, so there is no need to be embarrassed or lose hope.

There is no need to see our history with  human  judgments and measurements. The glasses we use see mystery. We have from the beginning in God's providence been formed well. We have been made to live in harmony with God's will.

This is the measurement that we should use in looking over our life. Saying this in another way is to say that God is the only one to judge definitively. I do not make the judgement but leave it up to God to use his measurement.  According to the same rules, the world of politics, finances, culture and our present situation will be judged. Our work is to live in harmony with God's will.

Jesus is the model we are to imitate. Jesus was one with the Spirit and with God. We are made in the image of God; are we striving to live according to the blue print Jesus has given us.This standard is the first button that will lead us to genuine happiness. 

 

In recent times, we see many regretful things. The values of society are going in a different direction. But no matter our station in life, after a time, with this attitude, the bottom appears. 

 

Do our hearts hurt? Is life difficult? Are we giving our neighbor blame for the present situation? Do we have pangs of conscience because of some of our actions? Do we experience God? Is life a battle? Do we see life as meaningless and empty?

 

The answer our columnist says is to check to see where we have placed the first button.

 

 

Hearing, but not Caring to Understand

A 19-year-old only son left home on a motorcycle one night 25 years ago, and did not return that night as the mother expected. After waiting for her son all night, she had been told by a police officer next day that he died in an accident and that his face was beyond recognition. This tragedy, documented in a recent TV series, was the subject of an article in a priest bulletin.

The mother had to live with the memory of this tragedy for 25 years, until May of this year when her daughter received a call from the police station telling her that  Min-nam, the son they thought dead, was alive. The family had been offering the rites for the dead for the last 25 years, so it is not difficult to understand how the news was received.

The man who said he was the son had an accident and had been admitted to a hospital, where he had brain surgery. The doctor who performed the operation said that what he knew about the man and what the mother had said were identical.

After the accident this man, later confirmed to be Min-nam, spent ten months in the hospital.  Not being able to remember who he was, he was thought to be mentally defective and was admitted to a mental institution.

The man would often tell those who attended him his name, address and middle school from which he graduated, but no one  paid any attention to what he was saying. (This was before the fingerprinting of all citizens and a reason little was made of what Min-nam was saying.) The provincial office, with no fingerprints to certify what Min-nam was saying, also paid no attention to what they heard. It was a social worker who, on hearing the story, started checking and notified the family that he was alive. If it wasn't for the social worker, the writer has no doubt that there may well have been another 25 years of waiting for the family.  

"I will spend some  time looking into the case!" is the kind of response the writer feels is all too rare nowadays. Our busy lives do not allow most of us the time to look with sufficient attention into anything that doesn't seem immediately apparent to us.  Is unconcern for what is going on around us the reality we live in? he wonders.  This unconcern is what the writer worries may be happening to him. There are  many in our society, like Min-nam, he says, who live with others and are at the same time isolated from them. He hopes he will be freed enough from bias and indisposition to hear the cries of despair of those who need our concern..

Wisdom Gained from Fishing

The Catholic Times desk columnist recounts a fishing trip that he made with some friends, during which they caught few fish but came away with some interesting insights. On arriving at the island and seeing the color of the water, they made some judgements on what was to be the result of their trip.

The water was muddy, and one of his companions blurted out:  "Ouch, the water is disturbed, and we have been away from fishing for a long time; it will not be a good day."

The journalist, who admitted to not being an expert, came to the same conclusion. They started fishing at 3:00 in the afternoon and finished at 10:00 that evening, catching one flounder the size of a person's hand. One of the companions took time off to take a nap.

They had something to eat and returned home. One of them said that when the water is so muddy the fish can't see the bait, which means there is going to be a problem. They had picked the wrong day, he said, for fishing.  

Another said that it was not all bad; when the water is turned upside down, as it was on that day, it's time for a  cleaning; the top is exchanged with the bottom. The garbage at the bottom comes to the top and becomes food for the seagulls.  Fish also will be removing the edible material floating on the water. 

When things are disturbed, reflected the journalist, we  know what peace and  tranquility means. The journalist had come to the same conclusion in his own life: when things are upside down it is then that he makes the step to renew himself.

He wonders if this is not also true of the Church. When the Church appears to be too much at peace and too comfortable, he questions whether this is the reality. He sees the disturbance 'at the bottom' and wonders if this is being overlooked. He is left with the question: Is it a good thing to have what is happening at the bottom come to the top so that something can be done?

This is a question, he says, we all can ask ourselves. When we don't have transparency, we may be fooling ourselves into thinking all is well. That which bothers us, if not allowed to see the light, does not always leave us unharmed.Bringing to the light what is 'down below' can be the effort required to  remedy many of our troublesome issues.