Campus Celebrity: Tae Wan Kim (Part 2)

10/14, 3:40pm


Lena-Grace Suda 


Yes, getting a degree is the ultimate goal, but I feel like it’s very consequentialist to take easy classes and breeze on by in order to get a piece of paper that’ll in one way or another, guarantee a “future.” Perhaps this is also where passion dies. I’m glad we have students like you though as you seem passionate about education. We need more people like you! If I’m not mistaken, one of the things you believe strongly in is hip-hop, correct? 

 

10/14, 4:29pm

Don’t feed my ego, it’s already big as it is. I mean, it’s a shame though that my mindset sticks out. I wish it’d be the norm, but I feel like the majority wants to do the bare minimum and expect a professional life of success. If someone wants to be exceptional at something, I feel like college is the right place to start. You have to have the right tools. We just have to know that we’re worth more than this, and that we can fight for what we want. I have a decent passion for hip-hop, but also music in general because of its immense positive potential for society, culture, nation, etc.


 

10/14, 5:30pm

A lot of the time, students feel defeated because they feel as though their voice doesn’t count, sort of similar to how a lot of young people in Japan don’t vote because they feel like it wouldn’t make a difference. This sort of thinking is detrimental and like you said, if we really want to make a difference we need to know that we can fight for what we believe in. It may sound like a romantic idea, but I reckon that’s what we need to keep on telling ourselves.


I was referring to your article about Korea and its contemporary culture of hip-hop. You’re not afraid of criticizing things and I think that’s great. Music really is a tool, a driving force that could make a difference. Are there any genres you’re particularly drawn to?


 

10/14, 7:21pm

Yeah. It’s the constant struggle first world Asian countries have right now between individualism and collectivism and I think we’re in a rare place right now in history to find a good balance. 
I was pretty riled up when I wrote that because it’s really not fair how hard Koreans have to search and dig up to even find decent underground rappers that talk about the real deal. In the west at least, the rappers that do and resonate with their masses get platinum deals, record signings, a nationwide tour, etc. Here, however, they will just always be underground and will barely be able to make any foreseeable living out of it. It’s just really sad how capitalism here rewards the superficial puppets, and kind of punishes the ones trying to be different.


 

Mainly, I’m in to Indie electronic: Ryan Hemsworth, Ta-Ku, Sable, and such. It’s incredible because once you go on Soundcloud it’s just an endless supply of natural talent and diverse electronic combinations. I think that the music scene is really using technology to its fullest right now which I greatly appreciate.

 

10/15, 10:15am


Even in Japan, there’s a lot of clothing and way of speaking that people think is “hip-hop.” Just because you wear sneakers and baggy clothing doesn’t mean you’re authentically representing hip-hop. I feel like this empty desire to be more “hip-hop” is prevalent in both Korea and Japan. It’s kind of scary really. But simultaneously, there’s an underground rap scene here that’s gaining momentum. Sometimes it’s best when capitalism stays the hell away haha. 
I’m actually listening to Ryan Hensworth’s “COOL DJ MIX” on Soundcloud right now! I also saw him live and spoke to him a tiny bit last weekend. He’s really good. I’m pretty much into indie electronic music too. Soundcloud is great and the Internet, in general, is great. It’s amazing to think that you can interact with people on the same wavelength. In that sense, I think music, at least the ones that are still relatively “indie,” is heading in the right way right now. Is indie a dead word? Should I switch to a different word? What do you think?



 

10/15, 10:51am

Yeah, I feel you. I mean, I have to admit there’s no way in hell any culture or society will have any aspect that’s just purely original. There will always be a bit of capitalism, superficiality, and even foreign cultural aspects influencing it. What I want though is to close the gap as much as you can so that you can still recognise its original form. At times, I feel like Korea is embarrassed about a lot of its own cultural aspects, and maybe that’s why they tend to mask their own with other foreign ones. I’m sure it’s not the case but that’s what I feel like sometimes roaming around the streets of Seoul and listening to the locals talk about their own country, and the culture of others.


 

Oh yeah! I listened to that a while back. I like the intro when he has that girl introduce the mix. It’s a really interesting one. I saw him live too a week back! He was really sick. If the internet is utilised the right way, it’s definitely an incredible tool. I won’t have the music taste that defines me today without it, so I’m very grateful for it. If there’s any generic stuff like Korean hiphop and K-POP taking over the music scene of an entire nation, the word indie will never die out. In a way, I wish it did because I would want the ‘indie’ form of music I’m listening to be better broadcasted and better heard all over, but that’s just a pipedream. 


 

 


10/16, 3:17pm



Nothing is original anymore, is it? I don’t mean that in a bleak way. I feel like it’s a shame when someone is embarrassed by their own culture. Nationalism and patriotism scare me senseless, but that doesn’t mean you should feel as though the culture you’re familiar with is inferior to another one. It comes down to deciphering what’s “original” and what’s not. It also comes down to respect too. If you borrow a certain part of a culture without knowing much about it, there’s a possibility that you’re appropriating it. Cultural appropriation is so ubiquitous. It saddens me.

 

I’m on the same boat as you on that one. The music I tend to like is mostly from the Internet. I call Ryan Hemsworth-esque music “kawaii pc music.” Should I copyright that haha? I think the Internet is also cool for music because I have a hunch that we’re going back in time. People collect vinyls and even cassette tapes now. It’s about reliving a past we never fully got to experience. That’s my theory, at least. I may be wrong. In that sense, the URL world is so conducive to making indie more prominent.


 

 

10/17, 11:11pm


In the end for me, it just comes down to how embarrassing it is to have something so generic represent so much of our culture to a foreigner’s eye.



 

It used to be kimchi or the 2002 World Cup that people used to recognize us for. But ever since this rise of K-POP and that disgusting Gangnam Style fad, K-POP is one of the first things that pop up when people think about Korea. It took a fat guy getting ridiculed by the world for us to be ‘put on the map.’ It’s a shame. We need to put ourselves on a more respectable level if we want to truly appreciate what it means to be Korean. I think patriotism and nationalism to a controlled amount is definitely healthy and needed for development in a country.



 

 

10/23, 4:51pm


I definitely agree. It just reinforces a damaging stereotype. But it isn’t just Korea’s duty to depict themselves “better.” It’s also about representation in mainstream discourse occurring outside of Korea. Representation is so imperative in a world like this. How many times do you see a Korean actor in a film or a TV series that’s NOT stereotyped? POC actors and/or artists need much more exposure I feel like. Equal representation is still lacking, sadly, but movements like Art Hoe are trying to fill that gap which is great. Do you know of the Art Hoe movement?

 

 

11/6, 5:05pm

Isn’t the Art Hoe movement basically trying to break cultural stereotypes? If so, I completely agree with that mentality. Even in Hollywood and in Korea, there’s this overbearing and unchanging form of entertainment that never seems to budge itself to new grounds. Korean women will always be the submissive individual in society who, regardless of their success or independence, will always have to end up with a more successful good-looking Korean guy to make her life as happy as it could be. In Hollywood, I’ve always been aware of how whitewashed all my favorite films were up until the films created today. Things are getting a bit better with Asian cast members like Glenn from the Walking Dead, and the successful hit series Fresh Off the Boat.



 

However, I still think the entertainment industry, which should be a forbearer of creative artists of all cultural issues and backgrounds, needs a bigger and pivotal change. We’re too comfortable with what we have now, and don’t realise that we deserve better. We deserve a media or art form that not only entertains us, but constantly makes us think and question what is going on around us.



 

11/6, 5:12pm

Yes you’re exactly right! I feel like it’s empowering to be able to slowly but surely break cultural and racial stereotypes. We obviously still have a long way to go though and you brought up good examples. I feel like we are so used to seeing picture perfect casts and story lines made to manipulate its audience. No wonder why we feel inferior or jealous when we compare ourselves to mainstream movies and such. It’s almost scary because it’s quite subliminal and you absorb the underlying message unconsciously. We need to learn to unlearn. We need to constantly question what is being depicted on the big screen. Awareness is the key to everything but it’s so hard to let go of what you’ve been told. It’s so instilled in us, you know? Are there any particular artists/actors/directors that you’ve been interested in (in terms of non-mainstream people)?





11/6, 5:25pm


Yep. And it sounds harder than it sounds sadly. It’s so difficult getting out of that constant loop since it’s all around us, constantly. As soon as you try to step out, people shame you too. They call you a hipster, or claim that you think you’re too good for anything else; but in fact, we’re just trying to reach the bare-minimum of our self worth as a human race. 
Charlie Kaufman has resurfaced in my interests. I’ve loved all his screenplays. Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine, Synecdoche New York. They were all gripping and so revealing about the raw human condition. His new film, Anomalisa, looks absolutely beautiful and I’m so excited to see it. The trailer itself just blows you away. It certainly blew me away.



 

 

11/7, 1:47am

Ah, the good ole hipster. I’ve heard the term “yuppie” being used nowadays though. Either way, there is always going to be some sort of word to describe those who don’t necessarily subscribe to mainstream things in general. 
I reckon we’re looking for something much more authentic and realistic. After acknowledging mainstream narrative’s problematic influence, we can move forward and look for something that resonates with us. That’s where independent films (or indie films) come in. I think the marriage of indie films and bigger films could be so beautiful and Charlie Kaufman is a great example. His films are breathtakingly gorgeous and it reaches quite a big audience. I’m really excited for his next film too! It looks great.


 

 

11/9, 2:25pm


Yeah, and I think Tarantino too could be a great example. He’s gone from a cult following to an international powerhouse when it comes to his films. I just wish people wouldn’t only think of these few as the ‘selected’ few. It’d be nice to have our standards more on point to these intrinsic films so that all these brainless films wouldn’t have so much influence in Hollywood.



 

11/9, 3:59pm


Definitely. But food has to be fed to those that are hungry and Hollywood usually just gives what the audience would eat easily. Films that are hard to swallow wouldn’t sell as well and that’s a no no if there is money to be made. It’s sad but I think with the wave of talented directors such as Xavier Dolan, the bar is slowly but surely being raised. I just hope it’ll reach all the way to the top. Thanks for talking to me Tae Wan, I hope we can discuss about other things later on!