otherwise 1) In another way, differently; 2) Under other circumstances; 3) In other respects.

Queers in TV drama (queer Korea series #1)

I have a number of backlogged items related to queer arts and politics in Korea and the Korean diaspora, so I'm going to try to blog about them as a series.

First, there's another "gay-pretend" plot driving a drama called 개인의 취향 "Personal Preference." The thing is, I was greatly annoyed with 커피프린스 1호점 "The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince" (affectionately referred to as just "Coffee Prince" by fans) -- which is a story of a man struggling with his feelings for another man, except we all knew that the other man was really not a man but a woman passing as a man (The Merchant of Venice, anyone?) making the whole thing somewhat queer but ultimately non-threatening to the heterosexist viewers... So, this "Personal Preference" drama seems an awful lot like a derivative of that theme, and no thanks.

But then, here is a popular SBS TV drama called "Life is Beautiful," written by none other than the venerable Kim Soo Hyun (who weighs 51kg, according to this Drama Wiki). She's known for relying on witty, but sometimes verbose, conversations and monologues, and I generally like her approaches to character development. Kim Soo Hyun, of course, wrote the hugely popular 엄마가 뿔났다 "Mom Has Grown Horns" in 2008 (broadcast with the terrible title, "Mom's Dead Upset," in Canada) which I thought was fantastic. I can't help it -- I have the drama taste of a 50-year-old ajumma.

There's been a series of media coverage on these dramas with "homosexual content" (like here) but for the most part, they simply marvel at how far along Korea's come in overcoming a previously taboo topic, and there's very little (if any) reflection on media representation versus legal and social rights of real lesbian, gay, and transgender people in Korea. Now, that would be too political, right?

Popularity: unranked [?]

North Korean TV ads

Links from here. The first ad is for Taedonggang Beer.

They sure seem to like the echo effect. This one is for ginseng.

And this one, for Pyongyang naengmyeon.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Youtube: sand art

This is amazing stuff. Doodles in sand elevated to an art form through evocative music and lighting -- and brilliantly meaningful story.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Amazon.com: Tongue: A Novel: Kyung-Ran Jo: Books

Following up on a previous post...

Tongue: A Novel by Kyung Ran Jo has been translated by Chi-Young Kim and published in English. With a weird cover.

From Publishers Weekly
In this plodding, reflective novel, bestselling Korean author Jo's first to be translated into English, a young cook spurned in love works her way out of a depressed stupor and up to an implausible, violent act of revenge. Talented cook Jeong Ji-won and her longtime boyfriend, Han Seok-Ju, run a cooking school together, but after he leaves her for an ex-model, Ji-won falls into a funk and returns to the kitchen at Nove, an Italian restaurant where she had previously worked. There, she gradually restores her confidence in life and with a knife. But circumstances surrounding the death of Seok-Ju's dog lead Ji-won to commit a puzzling and violent act of revenge. The narrative's heavy reliance on reminiscing and ruminations about food shortchanges character development; particularly troubling is how little is revealed about Seok-Ju (we do know, however, that he likes steak), so Ji-won's reasons for wanting him back feel hollow and make her grotesque revenge plan tough to swallow. There's more fat than meat on this one. (From Amazon.com)

Popularity: 1% [?]

DEADLINE post-it stop motion

It's brilliant. It's inspiring.

Popularity: 1% [?]