The Style Is Everything

Living in Korea, it has become apparent to me that your "style" is everything. Style is used much more commonly here than in the U.S. Stores advertise using slogans about a certain style or just style itself; kids talk about doing something "ajumma style"; ...and I don't have a third example to complete this triad, so I'll make something up...President Lee Myung-bak makes speeches about expected upcoming spring and fall styles all the time.

Thus, style is important. I want to discuss with you at least two styles that I have noticed around here. First, this pattern:

Let's talk about this pattern for a second. For those of you living here in Korea, you probably recognize it. The fact that I could reproduce it on MS Paint from memory says something. If you don't recognize it, look out your window. You'll probably see it somewhere. What I'm getting at is that it's everywhere. It took me a while to realize it. The first time I saw it was pretty early on. Maybe a month into my contract, my co-teacher gave me an umbrella with this design on it. I have since lost said umbrella during a night of drunken mishaps, but the pattern was memorable enough that when I saw someone wearing a scarf with this pattern, I noticed. "Hey, that's the matching scarf to my umbrella!" I thought, and carried on with my life.

I didn't start looking for it until I saw it twice in one day. "Hey, that's the matching visor to that scarf and that shirt and that belt and that glove set and that skirt and that flag and that throw blanket and that other glove set that matches my umbrella!" I thought. Then I stopped. Hmm, that's a really common pattern in Korea. To me, it looks like a really crappy wrapping paper from Christmas 1982. Your Atari 2600 was wrapped in that paper. Steve Perry wore that pattern on stage. That dull cigarette smoke stained off-white background and the silly red lines not really complimenting the varying shades of puke tinted black. For some reason, Korea can't get enough of this pattern. Just look for it then next time you're out. I saw it three times today in my school.

Next, let's talk about a really sad one that we all knew was inevitable:

"Hey, Steve, why is there a picture of the American flag above this text?"

"Because, Timmy, we're being sold out by The Man."

Walk around in Korea for a day and if you don't see an American flag on someone's shirt, I'll give you ten bucks. Seriously. It won't do you much good here and I'll have to go through a lot of trouble to get a ten dollar bill, but I'll do it. That's how confident I am that you won't be able to complete the temple challenge (obviously, you could walk around a forest all day and not see it, but seriously, we all know and accept that as cheating...Koreans are not qualified [see last post]). The American flag has become nothing more than a brand, a style, an image.

What if it was cool to wear shirts with the Ukranian flag on it? How would Ukranians feel? I'll tell you how I feel. I don't want to salute it when I see it on some kid's shirt, I want to punch my nearest politician in the face. Clearly, our flag is not sacred if putting it on a t-shirt with the words "American Style" below it is used solely to make money. Am I a gun-toting, Bible thumping Tea Partier? No. Not at all. I think it's on the shirt for the wrong reasons. It's exploitation of something that should be taken seriously. If it's illegal to burn the flag or even place it on the ground, this should not be ok.

"But Steve. They're wearing it because they support us."

"Timmy. Shut up. You're out of your element."

How many Korean elementary school students do you think could find the U.S. on a map? How many know what U.S.A. stands for? I'm guessing less than half. They don't know what they're wearing on their shirts. It's a statement. It's an image. It's a trend. America has become a trend to fill The Man's pockets. How do you feel about that?

I'm not sure what's worse. The previous paragraphs or the fact that I couldn't find an American flag t-shirt when the World Cup was going on. The one time you need The Man to come through for you...