1. An older Korean man came up to me today while waiting for the subway train in Pusan. He gave me a flyer for a Christian radio broadcast later that evening and asked me many questions about where I was from and my family. He seemed like a nice guy and I was thrilled that he tried so hard to communicate with me despite the little English he knew. What makes this strange was the way he first approached me: "OMG! Where are you from? You are very very handsome! Are you an actor? You look like Jim Carry!"
This is not the first time a stranger has stopped me on the street to worship my as-he-sees-it beauty. The first time this happened I was floored and wanted to run away, but I've gotten used to it. The is a tremendous importance on the outer in this culture, and while living in the Korean gaze, I will have to endure the stares, the gapes, and the occasional creepy admirer.
2. Lately I've gotten into the novels and short stories of Tolstoy. I was reading the beginning of "The Kreutzer Sonata" today and was struck by the opening conversation in the train compartment. Strangers gripped in a philosophical discussion on the nature of love. We don't do that anymore, do we? The art of conversing with strangers is gone, and it seems that people are afraid to break the ice these days. We seem even less interested in deep conversations and prefer the typical fluff intro conversations, then leave it at that. I wish people spent more time talking to each other.
3. I watched "Kung Fu Panda 2" with my Korean class today at the Nampodong cinema in Busan. I was entertained, but the film didn't make an impression on me the way "The Lion King" or "Pocahantas" made in my youth. They just don't make children's films like they used to. So much emphasis on plot and 3-D fights, so much moralizing, and so little content and interesting characterization.
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