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“I WOULD say roughly 40-50 minutes every day,” Kim Yu-shin (Jr., UIC, Asian Studies) replied when inquired about how much he accesses media platforms to view short-form content. He is an ordinary university student who leads a vibrant life with studies and an internship. Contrary to the hectic sched
Culture
Shin Jung-yeop
2024.04.03 15:45
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EVER SINCE movies were introduced to the eyes of the public, critic reviews have provided a seemingly “objective” criteria for selecting an adequate film to appreciate. Tooled with professional theories and methodologies to validate the content, critics opened a new prospect for the public audience
Culture
Shin Jung-yeop
2024.03.05 12:34
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BEAUTY IS a defining feature of the South Korean identity today. Indeed, it is everywhere one’s eyes can behold—from the expansion of K-beauty products to infamously strict beauty standards, and even the prevalence of plastic surgery. Beauty in Korea—its varied definitions, the origins of its promin
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.11.05 20:44
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PURE CATHARSIS is a phrase that could accurately epitomize the emotions provoked by the horror genre. Horror films reject all expectations of “watching a movie” by offering us anything but a wholesome or relaxing experience. They keep us on the edge of our seats or pinching the arms of those next to
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.10.10 23:11
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THE FEELING of enjoyment is a compelling force behind most human behavior. While pleasure is often associated with such feeling, it has been argued by art, philosophy, and psychoanalysis that enjoyment also constitutes an element of pain. Listening to sad music or eating spicy foods can render the f
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.06.08 00:44
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WHETHER PRODUCED in a Hollywood studio or abroad, the recognition of recent films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once in the Academy Awards and beyond seem to indicate the greater presence, popularity, and influence of Asians in Hollywood[1]. The growth of Asian cinema in Hollywood is multi-di
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.05.04 12:41
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FOOD HAS been inextricably linked to the human experience from the earliest of times. As such, it is no surprise that it has made its appearance in literature, one of the artistic mediums that attempts to make better sense of the human experience. By paying close attention to the foods an author inc
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.04.04 22:23
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AN ENIGMATIC profundity—at once enlightening and familiar—exists within the mundane nature of films and novels where nothing much happens. In fact, such pieces are devoid of dramatic moments and lack a visible climax; even if there was a story arc, its slopes are ever-so-slight and the narrative com
Culture
Lee Ho-Yeon
2022.12.07 03:58
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A SOUNDLESS cry, a cracking voice, and a trembling musical note that persists over the lonely wind: these are just some of the examples of what han, a sadness that best reflects the Korean sentiment. It is a mother’s sorrow, the loss of one’s homeland, and above all, the crushing burden of life that
Culture
Park Jin-seo
2022.11.03 19:45
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THE POPULARITY of horror is rooted in the fact that the genre reflects the collective consciousness of the public as shaped by shifting social circumstances. Through the world of horror fiction, writers and film directors have used metaphors to project the complex fears of society into their work. W
Culture
Park Jin-seo
2022.10.05 18:20
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KOREAN CHILD variety show content on YouTube and Netflix has been continuously gaining attention as a distinct brand, with viewers appreciating the endearing children appearing in programs like The Return of Superman and Cool Kids. However, in recent years, Korean child variety content has become mo
Culture
The Annals Staff
2022.06.10 00:34
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MILITARY FICTION goes hand in hand with the development of human history. Inspired by the historical events of war, military fiction had traditionally attempted to appeal to its audience by portraying exhilarating action and heroic tales. However, after experiencing multiple wars as a civilization,
Culture
Park Jin-seo
2022.04.03 11:18
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WHEN ONE thinks of Korean entertainment, it is normal to think of our favorite K-pop groups or actors who fit perfectly into the ideal Korean celebrity model: fit, lean body, fair skin, face with perfect proportions, and, most importantly, Korean. What if you saw someone non-Korean debut in a K-pop
Culture
Kim Na-yoon
2021.10.10 19:16
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WHAT DO you think of when you hear the word “family?" For some, they might immediately picture the stereotypical nuclear family: a mom, dad, and children. However, taking a closer look at the families in South Korean society, they come in all forms and do not often fit exactly into this image. The m
Culture
Jung Ye-won
2021.09.03 18:00
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EMPHASIS ON minimizing contact through “untact*” services has started a new age for the arts. Back when offline gatherings were still allowed, musicals and concerts were held at their offline venues, and people were free to roam around museums for hours on end. With heightened social distancing meas
Culture
Lee Jong-min
2020.10.11 20:18
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LEE YOUNG-EUN is an ordinary Korean citizen. She was born in Korea, received Korean public education from elementary to high school, and is now attending university in Seoul. Lee’s mother tongue is Korean, and like many of her peers, she identifies tteok-bo-kki as her comfort food. During her free time, Lee binge watches Korean TV shows and listens to her favorite group, EXO. From how she describes herself, Lee seems like a typical Korean college student. However, Lee has never felt that Korean society had accepted her for who she is—a Korean. Her slightly tanned skin and larger facial f
Culture
Noh Ruby
2020.05.02 00:06
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“INTRODUCING THIS must-have item, brought to you at a special price.” Nowadays, consumers tend to purchase various products from social media stars they admire—known as influencers. Influencers, with thousands of followers in their fanbase, make use of their accounts by establishing one-person stores online known as “cell markets.” However, there are limitations as to what individual shop owners can do by themselves, and as the fairly recent trend of cell markets have risen, several problems have begun to emerge. Many “fansumers” who were disappointed after receiving the so-called “flawl
Culture
Lee Jong-min
2020.04.04 16:03
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“THE ONLY divided country in the world.” This is one of the more infamous titles that Korea holds within the global community. It has been over 70 years since the Korean peninsula split into South Korea and North Korea, during which many North Koreans crossed the barbed wire to resettle here. There are various reasons North Korean defectors become motivated to flee to South Korea; economic difficulties, political oppression, and in pursuit of an overall better living situation. However, while they live on South Korean soil, several barriers continue to leave North Korean defectors feeling estr
Culture
Kwon Do-in
2020.03.13 03:38
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“THERE IS a whole language we have developed to communicate with each other where we are using signals: clothing items, articles of accessories, all sorts of ways,” comments a self-identified gay man in a video titled “Gay Men Decide Who’s the Gayest” by Cut, a YouTube channel known for making videos about identity and how social groups perceive each other in the United States. In some societies today, the LGBT+ community is pushing previously private vocabularies into everyday conversation and demanding to be heard, but in others, different levels of visibility are preferred and pursued. The
Culture
Prairie Soh
2019.12.02 02:39
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RICH BRIAN, Joji, Keith Ape...are all names you have probably heard of or have seen in your YouTube recommendations and Melon discovery. You would have also noticed that these artists share two significant similarities: they are all under the New York City-based hip-hop label 88rising and are all of Asian descent. CEO Sean Miyashiro’s 88rising is currently an Internet sensation, producing one viral song after another and amplifying the exposure of East Asian artists in the western pop culture scene. Today, hip-hop music is no longer a genre for black artists only—with the founding of 88r
Culture
Kim Kyu-ri, Noh Ruby
2019.11.02 22:15