Westernisation of Asia

I have a lesson in one of my English textbooks about the Westernisation of Korea. It speaks of blond hair on Koreans and imported red wines. When I first went to Korea, I was very surprised to see so many Koreans with brown or blond hair. During my first week I went to a PC bang to check my e-mail and was surprised that the man at the desk had a voluptous mane of light blond hair. I wanted to laugh. Many of the Korean models and movie stars have brown hair. One of the soccer players in the World Cup in 2006 sported a shock of blond hair. I also noticed lots of Pizza Huts, Dunkin Donuts, Outback Steakhouses, and Subways. It was nice to have some of those things, yet I felt it was also sad that there were so many of them. Many Korean children are now overweight because they eat lots of fast food.
I was shocked to find out how many of my students said they wanted "bigger eyes". They felt that larger Western eyes were desirable. Many people in Korea and Japan have surgery to remove their eye folds to make their eyes more "open". I found that sad because they weren't accepting themselves as the way they were.
For westernisation of Korea, I blame corporations for trying to make money here. I also blame Hollywood films that are so popular here.
I found an interesting essay on the internet that was saying that English teachers and Western businessmen are to blame for trying to westernise people here. They often push their values on Koreans. They try to make western societies seem superior. They should realise they are guests in their host country and respect their culture.

Comments

Mary-Jane said…
On the other hand, westernization can not take place if a culture doesn't support it. So, why do Koreans (and other culture groups) accept western as 'better' so willingly?
That makes sense. I think a lot of it could be trying to be modern. The old ways are considered "backwards". I do think western media is a big part of it.
Mary-Jane said…
Makes sense considering the young always wants to be modern and different - could be that this is one outlet, that contributes to that phenomenon

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