What is a mother? Are there certain standards regarding age or socio-economic class that determine when it is acceptable or desirable to become a mother? Do these standards differ by country and over time? Finally, do Korean dramas have a responsibility to show us reality or fantasy? There will be various answers to all of these questions and it is for that reason that a popular television drama has the country debating what is acceptable in terms of television portrayals of motherhood.
Punk Christianity in Korea
By David A. Tizzard
Christianity is punk. It can be a progressive force in Korea capable of being the catalyst for vast social change and challenging the existing social order. It is capable of flouting convention and providing new vistas.
At least, it used to be.
An idea that fascinates me is how ideologies with very real effects on people s day-to-day lives can act as either forces of change or tools of oppression, according to the environment in which they manifest.
Here in South Korea, Confucianism and Christianity (admittedly very broad terms which don t always accurately convey the various denominations and approaches found under the singular umbrella) both arrived as anti-establishment forces. With the passage of time, they ve become negatively associated by many with the status quo, as well as of holding the country and people back from achieving modernity.