NU Asian Fall/Winter 2015

NU ASIAN

N U

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ISSUE 11, VOL. 1 FALL 2014

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, It’s that time of the year when everyone is busy looking for that perfect summer internship or a promising fellowship — and no matter what I do, I seem to be falling behind everyone else. And especially as a Korean junior who has yet to fulfill my mandatory military service, the prospects of getting a job in the States any time soon seem pretty damn grim.

And I don’t think I’m the only one feeling helpless. Amidst this craziness of studying abroad as an international student, it’s easy to lose track of all the things that make your college life... well, fun.

So, for this issue, we wanted to include both spectrums of our lives as Asian students at Northwestern. Sure, we have to worry about expensive health insurance and the next-to-impossible job search. But what about joining an Asian-American sorority, looking at bizarre Asian souvenirs, or examining international versions of “Frozen” movie posters? (Because let’s face it — “Let It Go” is the perfect anthem for our perpetually sleep-deprived minds during finals week.) I hope you can find comfort, or at least a little laughter, in this issue of NU Asian, and know that you’re not alone in this battle through college life.

I would like to thank my previous editor-in-chiefs Cheryl Wang and Tony Kim for trusting me with NU Asian, and all the incredibly talented writers, editors, designers, business team and publicity team for making this issue happen.

DJ Oh Editor-in-Chief

Cover Photo by Katherine Yao

TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 Extreme Makeover: Poster Edition 04 Cut Records: Another Man’s Treasure 05 Human Flesh Search Engine 06 Debunking the Myths About the Student Health Plan 08 Inside Look on ISO 09 The Rebirth and Renewal of VSA 10 H1 Visa War 12 To Join or Not to Join: Asian-American Greek Life 14 From East to West: The Wildcat Experience 16 Travel Like a Local 17 Bizarre Asian Souvenirs 18 Humans of NU: A Sociology Major’s Experience in Korea 20 From Osaka to Tokyo: A Week in Japan 24 Getting Catcalled in Latin America 26 K-indie Spotlight: Glen Check 28 One Year, One Shot

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EXTREME MAKEOVER: How was Frozen marketed to different Asian countries? Why did the design of the official movie posters completely change depending on the audience?

Believe it or not, “Frozen” was all the rage less than a year ago. It seems to have come full circle as winter approaches once again and temperatures begin to drop below freezing. Inspired by a Buzzfeed article titled “14 International Movie Posters That Are Very Different From The U.S. Version,” I compared and evaluated a number of “Frozen” posters across the world, specifically the ones in America, Japan, China and Korea. Each country has its own unique official movie poster, designed and marketed to cater to its respective target audience.

None of the “Frozen” posters, in fact, bear any resemblance to each other.

Even the title of the movie changes depending on the country. Only in America is the title of the movie “Frozen.” In China, the title literally translates to “Snow Romance.” In Japan, the movie is called

“Anna and the Snow Queen” and in Korea, it’s titled “Winter Kingdom.” Each title implies something quite different.

One main difference is whom each poster features as the main character.

The American poster depicts Olaf, and the Japanese one features Elsa on one side and Anna on the other. Surprisingly enough, the Chinese poster doesn’t even include Elsa, one of the leading characters. Instead, Kristoff and Anna take center stage with the two sidekicks: Sven and Olaf. The Korean poster, on the other hand, features Anna and Elsa equally.

Below Anna and Elsa, the Abominable Snowman is depicted, which is odd to say the least, since it’s a character that barely even plays a role in the movie.

What could account for the differences between these four drastically different posters? Filmmakers and film companies

are aiming to attract an audience, which changes with each country. Naturally, the marketing tactics need to be adapted accordingly.

Looking at the official movie poster for America, one might reasonably believe that the movie is about an animated, headless snowman. While that’s not completely off the mark, the movie doesn’t revolve around Olaf. The film marketers were most likely trying to attract families with young children, hoping to enjoy another winter holiday animated film, with the main character as a goofy snowman.

According to a blog post on Variety, the gender-neutral title of “Frozen” used in the U.S. may involve some degree of gender politics, given how niche of a commodity princesses are and the poor reception of “The Princess and the Frog”

* *PoSter ** in movie theaters. Considering the overall chauvinistic characteristic of American society, it makes sense why “Frozen” would be marketed in America as a playful, animated Disney film featuring an adorable snowman rather than a female-led musical.

Japan’s movie poster is definitely more to the point and accurate in providing viewers with a glimpse of what to expect when watching the film. An article from Hollywood Reporter indicated that Disney’s marketing plan in Japan “originally targeted young women and girls with the somewhat unconventional dual-female lead characters and the film’s musical-like qualities.” Accordingly, both Anna and Elsa are the focal points of the movie poster. The wonderful poster design also runs in the same vein as other award-winning, animated Japanese films

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like Makoto Shinkai’s “5 Centimeters per Second” and Miyazaki’s “Howl’s Moving Castle.”

The Chinese movie poster oddly fails to acknowledge Elsa’s role and to foreshadow the epic snow battle that takes place in the movie. The Chinese title for the movie, “Snow Romance,” is a misnomer for a more romance-heavy film than a fun family-oriented movie filled with a variety of musical numbers. A good conjecture would be that this poster was meant to accentuate the romantic “relationship” that occurs between Anna and Hans to perhaps draw out couples and romance-genre lovers.

Korea has always been an important country for Disney in terms of box office performance. Peter Del Vecho, an Oscar-winning Disney movie producer, commented how “Koreans love music

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and musicals,” and how “Frozen” was that and more. Korea was, after all, the number one market for “Frozen” outside of the U.S. In the Korean poster, Elsa and Anna are center stage, their faces looking directly toward the viewer as if to catch their attention. Marketers may have wanted to take advantage of Korea’s well-known high societal standards of appearance. The poster emphasizes the beauty of these Disney princesses, while the Abominable Snowman adds an element of action that the target audience greatly appreciates as well.

Altogether, this analysis goes to show how much the audience determines the marketing strategies of various movie posters. Efforts that paid off well, considering “Frozen” was the most profitable movie of 2014.

By Johan Qin

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

CUT RECORDS:

ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE

In the 1990s, contraband of cut-out CDs and tapes fueled Beijing’s counterculture movement and rock music scene. These illegal, unwanted batches of records from the West traveled half way around the world, where avid consumers brought about a new age of Chinese music.

Imagine this: it’s the 1990s, pre-Internet globalization. You’re a teenager listening to The Beatles. Halfway around the world, unbeknownst to you, there’s a Chinese girl of the same age jamming out to almost the exact same album. Almost, but not quite – some songs are missing because there’s a small gash in the side of her tape.

Wang Yue, lead singer of prominent Beijing rock band Hang On The Box, and other Chinese would-be-rockers of the 90s call them dakou records, or cut-out records.

One man’s trash is truly another’s treasure: surplus CDs and tapes in the West were marked for their demise with

cuts. Yet, instead of being scrapped, they were smuggled into China to be sold, where they became increasingly popular with a generation of urban youth that came to be known as the dakou generation. Music critic Hao Fang estimates that thousands of contraband CDs were sold in Beijing per day. They fed a hunger for broader musical horizons that couldn’t be satisfied through legal channels; not only did harsh constraints on foreign music importation withhold sounds from Chinese ears, the high cost of the few legal albums in stores also kept overseas artists out of the reach of students. They often costed over 100 RMB. By contrast, the cut-out tapes Wang Yue bought were priced at about 30 RMB each, and the variety of artists was dazzling, ranging from the aforementioned Beatles to German digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot.

Armed with these new – and illegal – musical possibilities, the dakou generation carved for itself a space in history.

The generation rekindled the young rock scene as shown in Beijing’s New Sound Movement, where artists branched out into different styles such as experimental electronic music and pop punk, and developed a countercultural attitude of resistance represented in their cultivation of an underground culture and lifestyle.

Yet, perhaps what’s most striking is how the dakou phenomenon stood for a new attitude in Chinese rock, or yaogun.

Jonathan Campbell wrote in Red Rock, “Yaogun is a product of China.

It’s an obvious statement, but there’s meaning to it beyond the geographical…

It’s the product of a very particular set of circumstances, the circumstances that make China China.” In that sense, while the dakou generation was weaned on Western music, a Beatles album means something very different to Wang Yue than it does to an American or British teen growing up in the 90s.

That difference – the localization – is marked with a cut.

By Megan Pan

Photo by Katherine Yao

05 Chinese netizens take online vigilantism to another level with Human Flesh Searches, outing criminals and evildoers through search engines and social networking sites.

N f A l e M U H search sh engines Pictures of a Chinese driver dragging a dog behind his car recently outraged Chinese netizens and led to a detailed search for his personal information. The photos surfaced over a month ago on Sina Weibo, one of the most popular microblogs in China. Commenters since then have outed the driver’s full name, national ID, phone numbers and even his home address.

“Human flesh search engine” is not an unusual term for Chinese netizens.

The concept of human flesh search engines (人肉搜索) became hot in 2010 with the growing popularity and overall expansion of the Chinese Internet. Kai, an editor of chinaSMACK.com, a website dedicated to the translation of top Chinese stories and comments, noted in an email interview that the term developed negative connotations over time to signify what is now often recognized as a manhunt.

“It merely describes a search for information through people instead of machines,” wrote Kai. “The ‘human flesh’ was describing the tools in the search, but foreigners read it as the object being searched. We’ve always found this rather amusing. We suppose the English translation can be blamed, but it’s hard to come up with a better translation. Human flesh searches are nothing more than online data-mining and vigilantiism [sic].”

With the popularization of the Internet as a powerful means of communication, a diversity of stories erupted — some of which include disturbing and shocking news. The more negative the reactions to the news, the more likely a human flesh search will occur as a call for justice.

“Nowadays, people often say ‘human flesh search them’ just as a way to express that they should be held accountable for whatever bad behavior they’re being reported for,” Kai said.

Human flesh searches are not particular to China — the infamous international hacker and activist group Anonymous also engages in a similar practice known as “doxing.” Attitudes toward releasing personally identifiable information on the Internet are as mixed in China as they are in the West.

“There are people who care about privacy and how the wrong person could be targeted, but there are also people who think ‘yeah, this person should be named and shamed for what they’ve done,’” Kai said.

The Chinese government currently views human flesh searches as an invasion of privacy, but Chinese netizens suspect that these are mostly views of corrupt government officials afraid of being exposed online. There is currently no significant push to end this online vigilantism, and its reference and usage continue to appear regularly on Chinese websites.

By Jenny Phan

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

Debunking the Myths about the Student Health Plan Northwestern University’s AETNA Student Health Plan is one of the most expensive student insurance plans in the U.S. It’s also mandatory for international students. Why does Northwestern have a binding student health insurance policy for internationals?

“It was a nightmare,” says Tae Heon Jeong, recalling the horrific moment of his injury. “My thoughts went blank. I didn’t know what to do.”

It was last April when Jeong, a McCormick senior form South Korea, hurt his knee during an intramural soccer game. His injury was bad, and he needed serious medical care. Although he was not familiar with dealing with such a medical emergency in the U.S., Northwestern University Health Services took good care of him and referred him to Northshore Hospital, where he got an MRI scan. He soon found out, fortunately, that all medical costs would be covered under his university-sponsored health insurance. “I got a procedure done when I went back to Korea for summer, and the school insurance reimbursed much of its cost despite the hospital’s location,” Jeong says. “I’m currently on physical therapy in the U.S., and that’s still being covered as well.”

Jeong says he is overall satisfied with the service he received from the Northwestern-sponsored AETNA Student Health Insurance Plan (ASHIP). ASHIP is a Platinum level insurance with the richest coverage of injuries and diseases — complete with $250 deductible per policy year, unlimited maximum coverage, individual out-of-pocket maximum of $1,800, and co-insurance mostly at

20 percent.

In plain words, ASHIP is a decent safeguard against the formidable costs of the American medical system. Except that you pay a $3,449 annual premium. And you have to use it if you’re an international student.

Non-international students can waive ASHIP if their health insurance plans meet the Northwestern Office of Risk Management’s minimum criteria, as well as the basic federal and state requirements. However, the Office of Risk Management’s website explicitly states that international students holding an F1 or J1 visa cannot waive ASHIP. Because many internationals come from countries that have much lower costs of medical care and health insurance, they struggle to understand why they have to pay such a high price. “Sure, ASHIP even covered my expenses in Korea and I benefited greatly from it,” Jeong says. “But that’s not always the case. I don’t understand why the university requires us to pay for such an expensive plan. There should be cheaper options for people willing to accept less coverage for risks. ” Christopher Johnson, Director of Northwestern University Office of Risk Management, explains that a great deal of consideration went into the process that chose ASHIP. “There are two big players in student health plan. AETNA is

one, United Healthcare is the other,” Johnson says. “AETNA provided the most reasonable, least-cost premium with the best coverage.” ASHIP’s relatively expensive rate comes from the fact that Northwestern deals with two of the most expensive hospitals in the U.S, Evanston and Northwestern Hospital, according to Johnson.

Johnson says that the university spent a lot of time interpreting policies that came from international insurance underwriters, but found them inadequate because a vast majority did not cover pre-existing conditions. Many were designed to have high out-of-pocket expenses by excluding certain conditions and stipulating significant co-payments.

According to the data Johnson provided, Northwestern ranks third among 22 peer institutions in student health insurance price, topped only by Stanford and University of Michigan. The University of Chicago, a comparable peer institution, does not have a binding policy for international students. If students are able to show proof of alternate comparable health insurance coverage, they can opt out of its University Student Health Insurance Plan. Columbia University is another peer institution that has AETNA as its health insurance carrier, with almost the same premium as Northwestern ($3,441). However, Columbia gives its students, regardless of citizenship, an option

07 to choose a less expensive Gold-level ASHIP, or waive ASHIP to choose plans from other carriers. Northwestern spares its international students the hassle: buy the one and only Platinum-level ASHIP. “We had a history of too many international students arriving with inadequate insurance coverage, and incurring significant debt because their insurance doesn’t pay nearly as well as the domestic plan pays,” Johnson says. “Until three years ago, we were granting waivers for international students, but we are not doing that anymore.”

Out of 8,349 undergraduate students enrolled full-time in fall quarter 2013, 1,489 had ASHIP, according to the Office of Risk Management statistics. Given that all 614 international undergraduates are bound by ASHIP, only about 11 percent of domestic students choose to sign up for ASHIP. This is because a majority of domestic students are on their parent’s health insurance policy until they turn 26 years old. In addition, they are eligible to apply for Medicaid or other health insurance services with lower premium rates, depending on their financial situation.

This does not mean that ASHIP services are unsatisfactory — students like McCormick junior Atul Adhikari appreciates the convenience of Northwestern’s mandatory health insurance plan. “The school covers the insurance for me as a scholarship,” says Adhikari, an international student from Nepal. “I knew nothing about health insurance, coming from Nepal, you know. It would be a lot of work for me to actually research possible plans.”

Still others find it unnecessary and unfair that Northwestern forces international students to take up ASHIP, when they have more affordable plans back home. “I have a decent health plan with good coverage back in my country but Northwestern forces me to get another expensive health plan,” says Woowon Jang, a WCAS junior from South Korea.

“When people have a serious injury or illness, they would probably go back to their own countries and get treatment because they feel much more comfortable with their family in their home country, still covered by adequate medical service and insurance.”

The biggest problem, it seems, is that Northwestern’s mandatory health insurance does not give international students a chance to compare the plan with other options. “In the end, it boils down to a matter of choice,” Jeong says. “Students should be able to assess and decide expenditure for their own risks.”

Every year, a health insurance committee in conjunction with the Office of Risk Management meets and discusses insurance plan design, but it only involves graduate and professional students, who make up about 85% of the ASHIP clientele, according to Johnson. “The delicate balance for us is to make insurance as affordable as possible so that we don’t detour students who need healthcare from getting it,” Johnson says. “We want to get a plan in place where, yes, the premium is high because it’s an excellent plan, but it gets coverage right from the get-go for students.”

By Danny Na

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

INSIDE LOOK ON

ISO

Before the Wildcat Welcome Week, international students from all over the world arrive early on the Evanston campus to participate in the International Student Orientation. Is ISO a necessary procedure for all international students, regardless of their level of acclimatization?

When one thinks of an “international student,” Weinberg freshman Peter Peng isn’t exactly who comes to mind. As a Canadian who attended high school in Michigan, he seems nearly indistinguishable from his American peers. Yet, four days before the rush of Wildcat Welcome, he was among the groups of new international students who flocked to campus for the mandatory International Student Orientation (ISO).

On paper, the program claims to help students adapt to Northwestern college life through information sessions and IPA groups (a la Wildcat Welcome), where they learn about topics ranging from immigration to best restaurants in Evanston.

In terms of execution, however, ISO’s results vary from student to student.

For instance, Peng found that the program didn’t particularly help him adjust to school because he was already acclimatized. “I think that ISO is mainly for students who are not familiar with education in the Western world,” Peng said.

Indeed, it may be a case of overgeneralization on ISO’s part to assume that all international students need help getting their bearings. Even so, Peng retained a positive outlook, saying, “It was worth my time. I think that it first lets you move in early, lets you settle, get used to the campus, and it’s also good meeting other international students as well.”

Fellow Weinberg freshman Cara Pereira, hailing from Mumbai, India, was able to glean much more from the program. “ISO is an amazing opportunity to meet so many different people and know that you’re not the only international student and not the only one who’s going through a culture shock.

A lot of the friends I have now are people I met at ISO,” Pereira said. She also thought that the information sessions and the IPAs were helpful in answering her questions about the Northwestern experience, and she was especially fond of the session on places to eat in Evanston.

Pereira and Peng both agreed on one thing that the program could improve on: the organization. Cara Pereira was disappointed that ISO was “loosely-programmed,” with people going to events as they pleased. “For most things, people

By Megan Pan

didn’t show up sometimes... It wasn’t as much fun as it would’ve been if everyone was there,” she said. Peng expressed a similar view. “I hoped it could’ve been a little more structured, but I understand that as a student-run organization, there are definitely limitations to what they can do,” Peng said.

Photos by Astrid Goh, Tiffany Li & Jisoo Lee

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The Rebirth and Renewal of

VSA

Photos by Katherine Yao

Stacey Huynh brings the defunct Vietnamese Student Association back to life, in hopes of gathering Northwestern’s Vietnamese community together.

During SESP sophomore Stacey Huynh’s fall quarter of her freshman year, she realized that she had not yet met a single other Vietnamese person on campus. While she understood that that there aren’t that many Vietnamese students attending Northwestern, Huynh figured that she was eventually bound to run into one.

“I would ask people if they knew of any other Vietnamese people here, but the answer was always no,” said Huynh, president of the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA).

“This was when I began to want to form VSA, but it was just an idea in my head.”

The VSA was a student organization at Northwestern University in the past, but due to lack of membership, the club was dissolved.

Recognizing the importance of creating a community of Vietnamese individuals, Huynh contacted prospective Vietnamese students through social media in hopes that they would also be interested in establishing a cultural club.

“I didn’t think I could do it alone,” Huynh said. “I Facebooked people from Northwestern groups

who seemed to have Vietnamese last names and I asked them if they were Vietnamese and were interested in helping me form the Vietnamese Student Association.”

Later in her freshman year, Huynh and a group of other Vietnamese students underwent the process of successfully initiating the new VSA club. Since its creation, VSA has allowed members who share a common cultural background to interact with each other.

“The overall goal is to create a social forum for everyone,” said Phan Le, external vice president of VSA. “We wanted to feel really welcomed and to be really Vietnamese sometimes because you can’t do that in other clubs.

Our goal is to spread Vietnamese culture and understanding of certain values and how Vietnamese Americans grow up and how strange it is sometimes.”

Due to the disparity of backgrounds amongst different ethnic groups, it may be difficult for students of one race to completely relate to students of another. VSA allows students to interact with individuals who may have experienced a similar Vietnamese

upbringing.

“My family taught me a lot of values that I think are really unique from certain American households,” Le said. “They are Buddhist values, such as learning what suffering means and I feel like certain values like that, I can’t really talk about at Northwestern, because not a lot of people grew up with that kind of household.”

To allow club members to bond with each other, VSA has planned numerous social activities such as Pho Outings and day trips to Argyle, a local Vietnamese village. VSA is also collaborating with other clubs to host events such as Southeast Asian Nite to promote cultures of Southeast Asian countries. Huynh hopes that these events will inspire members to better relate to each other and appreciate their shared culture.

“The biggest thing is for the group is to get along and meet students and each other,” Huynh said.

“I just wanted to create space where people would feel comfortable being friends with each other while also learning aspects about the Vietnamese culture.”

By Lisa Chen

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

H1 VISA WAR With the rising number of international students at American colleges, more and more international graduates flock to job interviews and recruiting sessions in hopes of finding a job. What does it take for an international student to work in the U.S.?

Photos by Katherine Yao

Many of us have been there: at an awkward info session dressed up as if you already landed a job, at a coffee chat running out of words to speak, or even on the phone trying to hide your shivering voice.

While recruitment is a grueling process that all undergraduates go through, international students have particularly higher barriers to climb when it comes to employment in the U.S. “I went to an info session trying to get the best out of it, perhaps a contact number or even an email address. But then as soon as I learned that there was a slim chance that I would get a visa sponsorship, I walked straight out the door,” Sam Kim says.

Kim, a sophomore majoring in Economics and Mathematics, is a South Korean who just came back from the mandatory 21-month military service. He started looking for internship opportunities after seeing his non-international class of 2015 friends secure jobs and internships,

only to discover a huge barrier into the job market. “Of course I knew that as an international student, it would be harder to find jobs because I needed a visa sponsorship, but I didn’t know that there was this few number of companies providing one,” Kim says.

Kim would scroll down lists of potential job opportunities on CareerCat in vain because only a few companies and research grants accept international students. Even large and renowned companies in the manufacturing sector only accept permanent resident and U.S. citizen applications.

Kim is not the only one having a hard time. As economics professor Mark Witte puts it, only a handful of industries are willing to provide visa sponsorship. “Basically it comes down to a situation in which the only companies that are going to support visas are the big banks, big consulting firms, and the IT firms,” says Witte, who also serves as director of undergraduate studies at the department of economics.

Other industries have it worse, according to Witte. “I think that [other industries such as] journalism is like theatre. You have all these outstanding talents, but there isn’t enough jobs for all of them.”

On top of that, Witte says that the number of sponsorship is positively correlated with the state of the economy. “There is a limited number of these visas available, but it doesn’t fill every year. So if the economy is bad, they don’t get used up. But if economy is good, the quota gets used up,” he says.

Tae Heon Jeong, a McCormick senior studying applied mathematics, thinks that there is no visible discrimination against international students in hiring — he recently secured a job at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational professional services firm. “I think the only thing that really matters is whether the company sponsors visa or not. As long as they said yes to sponsorship, being an international does not play against you,” Jeong says. “They

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There is a limited number of these visas available, but it doesn’t fill every year. So if the economy is bad, they don’t get used up. But if economy is good, the quota gets used up.

say that if the two candidates have the exact same GPA and experiences, the one with a work permit will get the job. But how likely is that to happen?”

Jeong says that the real barrier is not the visa status, but rather the cultural barrier of working in a foreign environment.

He says that he felt the recruiters were looking for his ability to get along with potential co-workers. “If you are friendly and able to work together with other people, then you are fine. The real trouble is when you stay in silence with your interviewer during the interview. That is a real minus,” Jeong says.

Vincent Li, a Management Studies master’s degree candidate at the Kellogg School of Management, also believes that big names such as McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group do not discriminate against international students.

“Internationals are not required to have higher grade point averages,” Li says. “In fact, using Vault as a guide, half of the top 25 companies that support visas are consulting. I got the impression that once you get an offer, that’s it. You don’t have to worry about visas.”

Nevertheless, Li feels limited by the fact that his only opportunities came from on campus recruitment. “This is a problem with the university, but CareerCat didn’t list out the work permit section properly,” Li says. CareerCat often lists what kind of visas or permits you need to be eligible for application. But, according to Li, the system makes no mention of whether the employer wants those who already carry

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that specific visa or if the employer is willing to sponsor a work visa.

In some cases, companies reach out to promising students first, only to reject then after finding out they are international. “I was contacted by AT&T Leadership Rotation Program,” Li says. “They reached out to me via the Russell Fellows Program. After some positive talks between us, they notified me that they do not accept internationals. It was a lot of frustration.”

Some industries cause less of this inner turmoil. McCormick senior Luke Ahn, who studies electrical engineering and computer science, has some good news to share with fellow international students.

“With the IT companies, visa is never a problem. Even startups sponsor visa,” Ahn says. “Oh also, you don’t have to be fluent in English.”

Ahn emphasizes that the seemingly flexible industry does not mean a free pass for international students. Remember, he says, there is never a free lunch. “To be very honest with you, if you have the skills and you can show it to the recruiters, there isn’t a single job you can’t meet no matter who you are, what background you have, or even how old you are,” Ahn says. “That being said, if you are an international student with extremely good coding skills, consider yourself hired.”

There remain some tasks for the university to do, not just for international students, but also for the entire student body at Northwestern University. While Northwestern is known to be a rather practical, vocational institution, an insider perspec-

tive shows otherwise. Both Jeong and Ahn stressed that Northwestern is a very academia-based university.

“Our school has projects. We meet up, we learn teamwork, and we participate in that project. However, this experience is only a small part of the interview,” Ahn says. “Interviewers ask you to come up with an algorithm within five minutes, or test your problem solving abilities by giving you brain teasers, but there isn’t a class where you can learn this.”

Ahn says that the only way you can prepare for these types of interviews is that you do it yourself. You need to find out what you want to do — the quicker the better — and read books related to the subject. Better yet, have mock interview sessions with your colleagues. It’s not an easy task, of course, once you have classes to worry about. “The business sector is a little bit better because we have Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations and NU Student Holdings,” Jeong says. “Still, this doesn’t compensate the lack of training we receive compared to schools with undergraduate business schools.”

Evidently, there are a number of obstacles between international students and employment. Everyone knows that this is not a fair game, but then again, what is? The system will hopefully change, but probably at an extremely slow pace, and international students cannot all afford to sit back and wait for the change to come into effect.

By DK Lee

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

to JOIN or not to join : asian-american greek life

Photo by Wayne Xun

Melissa Shin muses on her own rushing experience and gives an insider’s information on Northwestern’s two premier Asian-interest sororities: Kappa Phi Lambda and Sigma Psi Zeta.

By Melissa Shin

I never saw myself in a sorority.

Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement. Until I entered college, I was utterly clueless about Greek life. Don’t ask me why, but I was under the notion that hazing was a fun ritual where people got spray-painted. Clearly, my mind works in interesting ways.

I never saw myself as the ‘sorority girl’ type.

I’m the girl who read “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” cover to cover the day it was released and has yet to own a bottle of makeup foundation. Definitely not the typical “sorority girl.”

So, how did I end up joining Kappa Phi Lambda?

The funny part is most of the girls in the two Asian-interest sororities at Northwestern (Kappa Phi Lambda and Sigma Psi Zeta) will tell you that they never planned on joining Greek life. It just sort of happened.

For me, I actually almost joined Sigma Psi Zeta. So, in other words, I’m the per-

fect person to tell you the difference be- see the appeal of “sisterhood.” tween the two.

Moving away from Maryland to attend Fall quarter sophomore year, my suite- university near Chicago, so cold and so mate dragged me out to a Sigma rush far away from home, was an adjustment event. Her excellent words of persuasion that I found very difficult to make. I caught went a little something like, “If you’re not homesickness more easily than a cold doing anything better, you might as well spreads during midterm week of winter come.” quarter. Having a constant in my life like a sisterhood was something I could definiteAt that moment, I was debating in my ly appreciate. mind whether staying in to watch an episode of “Vampire Diaries” would be doing So, I dolled myself up and nervously something “better.” I think what convinced interviewed for Sigma Psi Zeta. I received me in the end to go though was the sur- a bid to join, but after much deliberation prise I felt during the latter half of freshman I chose to not take it. Why not, you may year at how many of my classmates joined ask? Let’s put it this way: if I were a charGreek life in college. No one in high school acter in Greek mythology, my fatal flaw ever talked about this possibility, yet so- would be indecisiveness. rority squats and pictures of Greek life inundated my Facebook newsfeed. A small I rushed out of pure curiosity, so underpart of me wanted to go and see what all standably I needed more time to think and the fuss was about.

I was more than happy to put my decision off until winter recruitment.

I ended up attending pretty much all the Sigma rush events. I kept going back beWinter quarter finally came around and cause I was genuinely having fun getting I was ready to rush, but this time the questo know girls I would’ve never met other- tion became ‘Sigma Psi Zeta or Kappa wise. Learning how to play mahjong, a tra- Phi Lambda?’ Kappa Phi Lambda didn’t ditional Chinese board game, was also an offer fall recruitment, so this was my first enjoyable bonus! I was slowly starting to chance to see what they were all about. I

13 knew for sure I wanted to join an Asian-interest sorority, and I wanted to get a taste of all my options. Ironic, since having more options means having more to consider.

KPL are in other campus organizations like the Chinese Student Association, Undergraduate Economics Society, Asian Pacific American Coalition and more. So many former and current female presidents — Trust me, the decision was not easy. I how could I not be impressed? repeatedly cursed my fatal flaw as I went back and forth comparing the two.

Once I received a bid from Kappa Phi Lambda, the intake process began. The The decision I made is not a reflection intake process is when you learn more on which sorority is better. I chose based about the sorority and bond with your line on where I thought I fit in personality wise. sisters, the girls who are going through this To be honest, I think that’s where the major with you. Many girls who rush don’t realize difference lies. When you meet the girls of that a bid is not the only thing it takes to KPL and SYZ, you definitely feel a palpable join. distinction in the overall personality type.

The intake process is definitely time-conFrom my own humble experience, girls suming — just think of it as adding anothin SYZ seem to be down-to-earth and er class to your schedule — but I cherish more soft-spoken, while the girls in KPL what I gained from it. I can’t imagine my life tend to be effervescent and more outgo- here anymore without my two line sisters. ing. I personally felt like I fit in better with Pretty amazing considering one of them Kappa Phi Lambda — relaxing with an didn’t even like me to begin with because aloe face mask and partaking in an im- she thought I had an advantage over her in promptu dance workshop during rush being offered a bid. Cue my exasperated was just my cup of tea. face here.

I connected on a deeper level talking with the girls in KPL, even when the topic at hand was as trivial as K-Pop. These were girls I felt I could be completely myself with, crazy antics and all. I was also impressed by how prominent the girls in

When I officially “crossed” or joined the sisterhood, I felt like I was entering another world. I got a number and a nickname, #66 Soigné, which means sophisticated elegance in French. Even more exciting, I became a part of my big’s “family” —

she’s actually a Kappa from the University of Michigan. “Big” is short for big sister, someone in your sorority who “adopts” you into her family line. I’m a little unique in that I have an outside big. She’s gifted me so much KPL gear — hoodies, shirts, cardigans, sweatpants and more — that I’m pretty sure I could rep our Greek letters every day for at least a month! I learned how to make the Kappa sign and now my fingers very naturally assume that position for pictures.

Attending New Member Retreat, going on sister buddy dates, strolling (a fusion of stepping and dancing), planning events as co-cultural chair and many more experiences I only could’ve had as a Kappa make paying dues and sitting through chapters worth it. I never saw myself in a sorority and now I can’t see myself in any other sorority but my own.

There are so many options to choose from when you make the decision to join Greek life. Whether you choose to go the Panhellenic route or the Multicultural Greek Council route as I have, just know that taking a risk and trying something new is the essence of college. You’ll come out of it with something of value, so go for it and the best of luck!

Multicultural Greek CounCil panhellenic Asian-Interest Sorority sorority Φ Recruitment Process:

- Rush events are “fun” and nonbinding

Ex. Spa Night or Game Night - Attend a minimum number of events and then are asked to do an interview - Notified within a day or two whether you are offered a bid or not

Φ Dues:

-Approximately $100/quarter

Φ Other:

- Specifically Kappa Phi Lambda—interact and are close with other KPL chapters around the nation - Smaller pledge class—around five girls - More chances to hold leadership positions

Φ Recruitment Process:

- Have to regiester in Fall Quarter

-Costs money - Assigned a Recruitment Counselor - 15+ hours visiting different chapter houses and learning more - Don’t necessarily get bid for your top-pick sorority

Φ Dues:

-Approximately $500/quarter

Φ Other:

- Possibly required to live in house - Bigger pledge class—around 40 girls - Panhellenic community is much bigger

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

FROM EAST TO WEST:

The WILDCAT Experience Experience

Two students from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology visit Northwestern as part of an exchange program, to face the bitter cold and strange American culture.

Moving in to a new place is not easy, especially if it means flying over 10,000 miles to another continent.

Andrea Kuniasari and Bella Yang, exchange students from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), did just that on September 13. They boarded the flight to O’Hare all by themselves, two luggage dangling from their frozen hands. “It was a horrible experience on a cold, raining September day,” Kuniasari shivers, thinking about her first cold weather experience. It was a rough start for someone from Hong Kong, where air conditioners are on 24/7 — though it was around 50 degrees that day.

Having arrived on campus, Yang found the way people here greet each other interesting. She had an impression that unlike Asians who are mostly reserved about greetings, people here come up to her and say hi first. Even responding to the simple question “how are you” was awkward for her. “[In Asia,] People don’t really want to

Photos by Katherine Yao

share their feelings,” Kuniasari says. She first had a hard time thinking about a better answer than just “good.”

Now she knows that saying “good” is not rude and is enough.

At first, Kuniasari didn’t recognize Northwestern. She had thought that just like schools in Asia, Northwestern would be “gated,” surrounded by brick walls separating the campus from the city. “I didn’t even realize that I was inside the university, even while walking along the Sheridan. Office buildings look like houses, not like university facilities,” she says.

Fortunately, Kuniasari was not alone on her journey to the U.S. Hailing from the outskirts of Beijing, Bella Yang accompanied Kuniasari on the frigid exchange program to Northwestern. For her, the fall quarter at Northwestern is a heads-up experience of this country, as a chance to test whether a life in the U.S. would fit her. She is now a junior majoring in chemistry — one of her reasons for

15 choosing Northwestern was that it is ranked third nationally among universities with strong chemistry programs.

Unlike Yang’s academically driven desire, one of the biggest reasons why Kuniasari decided to come over to Evanston is her fascination with American culture. Having grown up in Indonesia, she always wanted to visit the States at least once. Kuniasari said that the opportunity the U.S. provides its immigrants is highly valued in Indonesia. It seems that she has seized her chance: HKUST is paying full tuition for the fall quarter, allowing her to experience this country that often denies Indonesians any type of visas. “For Indonesians, it is really hard to get a visitor visa to the States,” she says.

Kuniasari, a computer science major, chose Northwestern over several University of California campuses — despite the abundant IT job opportunities in California and the freezing Midwest winter — because she wanted more diversity. More precisely, she was looking for schools that have smaller Asian population to try something new: getting out of her comfort zone and trying to make friends with someone who is not her own race.

Her roommate, a Mexican student majoring in psychology, is one of her friends outside of her ethnicity.

Kuniasari said that it was at first intimidating to hang out with people of different race. Although Hong Kong is a global city, most people have Asian cultural background, and this Midwest city came to her as a surprise. However, her roommate made it easy for her to “get to know about the school.”

“She really helped me build confidence. I was worried at first but after we talked, I felt that we connected. We clicked,” she says. Her roommate even lent her a thick winter coat that she needs neither in Hong Kong nor in Indonesia, but for just a quarter in Evanston.

It is not only that their friends look different but also that the class atmosphere in which they learn varies significantly from that of Hong Kong. Kuniasari and Yang both say that it is not the educational system that is different, but how professors lead classes. “The biggest difference in Northwestern is that the professors encourage students to think and ask more,” Yang says. “We can stop the professor anytime in class and are not afraid to say ‘silly’ questions. In Hong Kong, most people are shy and only a few students ask questions during class.”

Kuniasari says she enjoys a teaching environment that is generous to students’ mistakes and believes in more open cultures where conversation naturally leads to education. “In Indonesia, teachers look down at you

if you ask ‘stupid questions,’” she says. That’s why her favorite class this quarter is a sociology class, Cities and Society, although she is a computer science major. The class mainly discusses Chicago’s history, especially its long history of urban planning. Kuniasari says liberal arts education is what attracted her to the U.S. colleges in the first place.

Kuniasari and Yang have both in a way studied aboard twice: first in Hong Kong and now in the U.S. Having studied in a global city like Hong Kong, Kuniasari considers living in a western culture her ultimate goal. She also wants to get a job in the States if she were to get the chance. She calls Silicon Valley a “dream place of all computer science majors” in HKUST. Kuniasari attributes her high ambition to her mother who is in a sense a “tiger mom” but is also open-minded.

Kuniasari’s mother was greatly interested in Kuniasari’s academic success, giving her high-level private lessons such as English conversation courses and music lessons that public schools do not offer. Despite the stigma against women majoring in mathematics and science in Indonesia, her parents respect her decision to major in computer science. “They let me do things that I want as long as it is reasonable,” she says.

They say they have enjoyed the fall quarter at Northwestern, but Kuniasari and Yang also reluctantly admit that they sometimes feel homesick. They Skype friends back in Hong Kong and Indonesia and call their parents for advice. Kuniasari also has a friend in Wisconsin, who has been a great source of comfort. “I actually felt homesick even before the school started so I went there. I still visit her sometimes during the weekend,”she says.

When they get sick of dining hall food and yearn for the nostalgic taste of the East, Lao Sze Chuan, the Chinese restaurant in Evanston, is the place they go. “It is probably the best Chinese place here,” Yang declares with confidence. “It’s legit.”

By Minho Kim

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

TRAVEL LIKE A LOCAL Tired of generic tourist spots? Looking for some place interesting, fun and far away? Check out this tour guide of Gunsan, South Korea that will help you travel like a local.

Photos and Narration by Laura Munkyung Kim

In Gunsan, South Korea, you can indulge in the beauty of one of Korea’s oldest port cities, without the hustle and bustle of big business hubs like New York and Boston. Located in the province of Jeollabuk-do, a three-hour drive from Seoul, Gunsan is relatively unknown to city-dwellers. But this by no means implies that Gunsan won’t satisfy your traveller’s appetite.

1. L E E S U N G D A N G B A K E R Y Okay, I kind of lied when I said Gunsan isn’t crowded — there is one exception: Lee Sung Dang Bakery. To the locals, it is just a popular neighborhood bakery that offers healthier bread options compared to its bakery chain competitors.

But after being featured in Korean media as the “Oldest bakery in Korea,” now a flood of tourists from all over the country wait for hours to taste the bakery’s famous red bean bun and vegetable bun, made with 100% rice flour. Founded in 1920 during the period of the Japanese imperial colonial administration, it is indeed a bakery with a history. Lee Sung Dang bread is certainly unique and delicious, but the locals also go for its delicious milkshakes.

2. R A I L W A Y V I L L A G E & WALLPAINTING VILLAGE It feels almost as if time has stopped in the suburbs of the city; walk along the alleyways, and a scenery of the kind you’d see in old films opens up: abandoned cats following your footsteps, countless clotheslines in the air, houses and shops that look centuries old. The locals have recently teamed up to make these timeworn villages more approachable by decorating them with nostalgic paintings and flowers.

3. H I R O S H O U S E During the period of Japanese imperialism, almost half the population of Gunsan was Japanese. The Gunsan harbor was a once a major harbor used for exporting rice to Japan. The city has preserved the breathtakingly beautiful Japanese-style houses that were once home to rich Japanese merchants.

4. E U N P A P A R K Who would’ve thought that you could find a bridge in Korea’s countryside that resembles the Lucerne Bridge in Switzerland? No vehicles allowed, the Mulbit Bridge is a popular esplanade for locals and Seoulites seeking a break from the city. Adorned with thousands of multi-colored lights, the bridge is even more beautiful if you visit at night. But a good, relaxing stroll is never complete without good food. If you are a seafood enthusiast like me, you are in luck — Gunsan has some of the freshest seafood in the country, and the restaurants around the park are filled with locals in need of a serious seafood fix.

BIZARRE ASIAN SOUVENIRS

17

Photo by Katherine Yao

From dung coffee to viper wine bottles, souvenirs around the world are bizarre to say the least! Check out what you should buy next time you’re visiting an Asian country.

By Minho Kim

JAP AN

In Japan, you have the awesome opportunity to see what different dishes look like before you even order them; many restaurants display fake plastic foods at the entrance. You can actually buy these artificial imitations at “100 yen stores,” which is a Japanese equivalent of a dollar store. From sushi to udon, you can get all sorts of Japanese food models. These souvenirs look quite realistic — so resist any temptation to take a bite because they’re definitely made of plastic!

SOUTH KOREA

In this country of Gangnam Style and eccentric K-Pop stars, there are street vendors selling socks adorned with caricatures of Korean celebrities. These celebrity images look ridiculous — they’re completely disproportionate, with the heads taking up half of the body, making these souvenirs look even more comical and entertaining. The street shops also sell T-shirts with hilarious phrases in Korean printed on them, like “I’m A Foreigner,” “Sorry I’m Hot” and “No Public Urination.”

CHINA

While the Vietnamese put dead animals into wine bottles, the Chinese use live animals as keychain ornaments. In China, pretty much everything goes into a key chain — turtles, fish, lizards and any other small animals that can fit inside a sealed package. For the sake of these poor animals, I suggest you free them after purchasing these bizarre keychains!

THAILAND

If you ever have the urge to try elephant dung coffee, visit Thailand. The name sounds unappetizing, but this coffee, made from coffee seeds that elephants chew up and defecate, costs more than $50 a cup! Supposedly, the enzymes in an elephant’s stomach dissolve the protein in coffee beans responsible for the bitter taste.

A great number of coffee seeds are needed to brew the drink and it takes time for the elephants to poop out the seeds, so the supply is very limited.

VIE TNAM In Vietnam, you can find wine bottles with unusual animals floating inside. The most common animal used is a snake. Most of these wines are made out of venomous vipers, but don’t worry, the alcohol cancels out the poison! Locals believe the contents are a natural cure for back pain and rheumatoid arthritis. Many people also consider these interesting wines to be strong natural aphrodisiacs — who would have thought that venomous snakes could make such good love potions?

INDIA

India is a country of gods: There are about a billion gods in India.

Among these numerous deities, Ganesha, a Hindu god of obstacles and faith who resembles an elephant, is most widely celebrated in India. In the streets, tourists can find many souvenirs of him, but the most interesting version is the “New Age Ganesha,” featuring Ganesha lying down comfortably in his sofa working on his laptop.

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

Humans of NU:

A Sociology Major’s Experience in Korea He is a sociology major with a keen interest in mastering the Korean language. Johan shares with us how he came to choose such an unusual major for an Asian student, and his thoughts on Korean and American culture.

“I don’t do things according to the flow, but venture out on my own.”

That’s why Johan Qin, junior at Northwestern, decided to switch out of his music and biology double-degree program and study sociology. The switch seems strange. Johan’s original music and biology combination is not common among the majority of college students, and sociology isn’t a major that tops the “Most Popular College Majors” list.

To Johan, following his heart was important enough to make him go against the typical Asian stereotype. Contrary to his Asian friends who are interested in math and science, Johan admits that he identifies himself as a liberal arts oriented person.

“

I’ve always been the one who likes to do something dif ferent. I’m accomplishing that by being a sociology major

”

Johan wanted to learn about another society as well as its culture, values and function, and Korea was the country where he thought he could pursue his goal. Not only was he already familiar the East Asian nation thanks to his Korean childhood friends, but also he had already visited the country the previous year.

During his first visit, Johan stayed with his friends and took a sneak peek of the Korean society as he roamed around the

crowded streets of Myeongdong, Gwanghwamoon and Gangnam. “I’ve always wanted to explore Korea, so five days was definitely not enough and I wanted to come back and experience more,” he says.

Just when he was thinking of going to Korea once more, the second opportunity came, but this time, it was through the Korea-America Student Conference. “I wanted to both attend the conference and go to Korea, so it was a win-win situation,” he says.

The Korea-America Student Conference is a bilateral program in that its venue alternates between the two countries every year. The highlight of the annual conference is the roundtable session in which participants with similar interests sit around different roundtables. Being a sociology major, Johan applied to the Communication and Culture roundtable where he and other students discussed how mass media influenced cultural communication.

Johan had the advantage of being a sociology major throughout the session, especially during his team’s final presentation on masculinity in Korea and the United States and its portrayal in advertisements.

“I contributed to linking how social media influenced social perceptions and ideas about masculinity, and how the two are not exclusive but rather interconnected,” he says. “My sociology education definitely helped me make connections between society and external influences.”

Interestingly, Johan was one of the few sociology majors in his roundtable group.

“I think there weren’t too many sociology majors because it was such a broad conference,” he says. Johan also believes that other roundtables that focused on politics, human rights and education drew a di-

verse selection of students from different majors.

In addition to the roundtables, the conference took participants on a trip to four different cities within Korea – Seoul, Jeju, Busan and Gangwon. Busan, with its gorgeous beaches, was definitely Johan’s favorite. “I just enjoyed the feel of it,” he says.

“I also liked Seoul a lot, but didn’t get to spend as much time there as I would have liked. Jeju was beautiful, as expected, and I learned a lot about Jeju history and the massacre that happened there, which was very interesting because I never knew Jeju had so much in common with Hawaii.”

Just like many college students who end up forming great relationships with people after such networking events, Johan built great connections along the trip. At the same time, some of the expectations he had before coming to Korea were not met.

At the core of his disappointments were the underlying differences in Korean and American culture.

Johan says that there were a good number of Koreans who did not care too much about the conference and spoke only in Korean. Johan definitely sees parallels among the Northwestern Korean community. “It’s definitely something that would be nice to change, but that would require a change of NU culture and the Asian American community as a whole as well, and that would be difficult to achieve,” he says.

Other aspects of Korea he found uncomfortable were its culture of “age hierarchy” and its education system. Holding a cup with two hands when drinking with older people, for instance, barred him from having sincere interactions during the conference. Korea’s rigid education system in which exams determine students’ entire future, was another “flaw” of the Korean

19

society, according to Johan. “It doesn’t allow for students to pursue creative avenues as much,” he says.

Despite such imperfections, Johan says he gained a lot from the visit. “It made me more interested in going back to Korea and to stay there for a long time,” he says. The conference also made him realize the historical differences between American and Korean culture. This was where his sociology education helped him a great deal, as it helped him to view Korean society in a different way than how other people would view it. “I tried to understand what different factors affect how and why Korean society is the way it is today,” he says.

Johan’s childhood upbringing also contributed a great part to his understanding of the Korean culture. Born into a family of Chinese Americans in North Carolina and growing up in California, Johan has had a lot of Korean friends with whom he could share his interest in Korea. He taught himself Korean during junior high, although he did not retain much of what he learned back then. At Northwestern, he has ceased to give up mastering the language and is currently taking a Korean language class.

Combining his childhood experience and his sociology education helped Johan to have a new perspective on Korea. “I realized that like American society, Korean society also has its flaws, they’re just well hidden and not portrayed,” he says. “Media often try to cover up flaws of its society, so I guess I was not aware of what Korean society really was like until I went there and experienced it for myself.” Once becoming fluent in Korean, Johan sees himself using the language if he goes back to Korea for

vacation or even when finding work.

Johan found his lateral experience of Korea very rewarding, and at the center of that experience is his sociology education.

“People say sociology isn’t the most lucrative major but I think it gives you a lot of skills, like research, writing, critical, cross cultural and interdisciplinary learning,” he says. He wants to thank his parents for supporting his choice, and considers himself very lucky.

While he originally applied to Northwestern for its prestigious music program, Johan says he has never regretted switching into sociology. “In fact, it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made,” he says.

As of now, Johan is busy preparing for his senior thesis and getting an internship for the summer before his last year at

Northwestern. He says while he is unsure of his future, there is one thing he is determined not to do: to work for a major corporation. “I want to work somewhere I can pursue my field of interest,” he says.

To Johan, as long as he can make a living off of it, the reputation does not top his priority list. “As I said before, I’m not a big fan of structure.”

By Stephanie Jee Won Yang

Photos Courtesy of Johan Qin

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

from

OSAKA oTOKYO : a week in japan

Right before giving up their civilian lives to begin their mandatory 2-year military service, two Northwestern students from Korea embarked on a six-day trip to Japan. Follow Louis Oh and T.J. Kim on their epic journey from Osaka to Tokyo.

Narration & Photos by Louis Oh

Osaka: A Castle & the Glico Running Man

H

aving gotten (somewhat) used to 13+ hour flights, the less-than-twohour flight to Osaka Kansai International airport was a breeze, just barely enough to catch up on sleep lost from getting on the morning flight. After fumbling through the ticketing process, we managed to catch an express train to the center of Osaka.

We got off at Namba Station, which is at the heart of an area called Minami, the downtown area of the city. Our first impression of urban Japan was the strange feeling of familiarity yet distance from what we were used to in Seoul. We were both used to the sidewalk tiles, the blocky yet sign-packed façades, the occasional faux western-style building in the luxury brand areas, and of course, the general “Asianness” of people. Still, there were things that were somewhat jarring. First was the left-sided order of things. It took us a while to remind ourselves not to walk on the right… err, the wrong side of the road in busy sidewalks. It may have been a good thing we decided not to look into renting a car.

After checking in at the Vista Grande on Soemoncho, one of the major streets for nightlife in Minami, we headed out with a much lighter load towards the Osaka Castle. To get there we took the subway, and it would be the first of many metro rides we would be taking during our trip. Once we got there, we

found what at first seemed like a wide sprawling park with just the main tower jutting up over the trees, with intermittent joggers and dating couples. But once we started heading closer toward the tower, we found that what seemed like an innocent pond was actually a gigantic moat — and that was just the exterior one. As we walked across a bridge to the gates, we saw from the moat that the castle was on a landfill, jutting up from the moat on a formidable sheer wall of cut rock. The main tower of the castle was something to behold. With five exterior levels, the roofs were a pale turquoise lined with black and ornate gold. We also got to go inside where it featured a five-story museum. The top floor had an observation deck and gave us our first look at the sprawling city of Osaka. Unfortunately, autumn hadn’t yet reached its full peak there but it was nonetheless a fantastic view of the castle grounds and the city.

We then returned to Minami for dinner and explored the nightly urban scenery. With some solid map reading, we found a nondescript restaurant called Hokkyokusei, which prides itself as the inventor of the omurice dish.

After a spectacular supper we started exploring the vibrant urban nightlife of Osaka. We walked through some of the major streets in town like the Shinsaibashi-suji shopping street where we waded through a crowded store, buying strange and popular products like disposable aromatic heated sleep-

masks and pain-relief patches. On the Soemoncho street we shopped at a giant discount store called Don Quijote for offbeat and unique confections like fruit-flavored devil’s-tongue jelly and green tea flavored Kit Kats. On the famous Dotonbori street, where the lighting and signs were the most vibrant and Japanese, we lined up for Osaka-style takoyaki. And of course, we took obligatory photos at the bridge between Shinsaibashi-suji and Ebisubashi-suji shopping streets where the iconic running man sign continues to race in place.

Kyoto: Sights of Traditional Japan We got moving as early as we could, as we were going to head over to the nearby city of Kyoto. After a chance breakfast at a small ramen bar where we had our first legitimate Japanese ramen noodles, we took the subway to Osaka Station and got on an express train to Kyoto. After a surprisingly quick 30-minute ride, we saw something entirely different from Osaka. It was much quieter, and though the buildings were lower, remnants of traditional Japan were molded more deeply here.

We first went to the Tōji, a large Buddhist temple. The temple features Japan’s tallest wooden pagoda, the five-level Gojunoto, and other grand works of Buddhist architecture. We then headed southeastward to the Fushimi Inari-taisha, the head shrine of the Shinto spirit Inari. This shrine was possi-

21 bly one of the most visually memorable places I’ve been to in Japan. The shrine is characterized by its many bright orange toriis (traditional Japanese gates).

The coolest part of this place is a twoand-a-half-mile trail up a mountain that is densely lined with thousands of toriis, creating the illusion of an endless orange corridor. As Inari is the patron kami of business and fortune (as well as rice and agriculture), the orange gates are donated by Japanese businesses and the names of countless companies and merchants spanning decades, and perhaps centuries, are inscribed in dark black, seeking good fortune. Another distinctive thing was the kitsune, or Japanese white fox, which is known as a messenger of Inari.

From there we headed over to the most popular tourist destination in Kyoto: Kiyomizu-dera, an independent Buddhist temple known for its vista overlooking the forested hill it sits on.

It was packed with foreign tourists and even more students on their standard historical field trips. While it was an essential stop, I personally found what came after far more appealing. From the temple to the heart of the historical Gion district is a series of streets that look like they have been frozen in time.

Most notable among them are Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka. These romantic pedestrian-only streets are lined with restored traditional shop-houses.

As opposed to sightseeing by working your way to an major tourist attraction, there’s a certain leisure and immersion of strolling down streets like these, and though we didn’t dote around too much in the shops, it was a lot of fun. After a couple stops for traditional snacks like dango, a sweet dumpling made from rice flour, we made our way through more lanes like Nene-no-michi and Hanamikoji. The latter is particularly well known for being a hot spot for spotting real Geishas making their way to and from work. We were lucky to have a brief glimpse of one but it was from a

distance. For the most part we had to be content with costumed tourists. As the sun set we reached the center of the Gion district where the streets lit up and revealed another dimension of Kyoto’s atmospheric lanes. Shirakawa-minami Dori was another architecturally preserved lane, but it was quieter and more subtle in its beauty. The canopied street follows a small canal where bridges intermittently connect to restaurants, ryokan and hostess clubs on the other side. Our last stop before returning to Osaka was Ponto-Chou, a warmly lit atmospheric narrow alley full of riverside restaurants and tea-shops.

Arima Onsen Hot Springs & Osaka City Lights Since we weren’t traveling with a tour-guided package, we had the benefit of freedom but that also meant we didn’t have the convenience of taking tour-buses everywhere. For everything, we walked and relied on public transportation, so it goes without saying that we were pretty tired two days in. Day 3 would be all about relaxing as we were headed to Arima Onsen in Kobe. After an hour and a half bus ride to the hot springs, we went to Taikou-no-yu — the biggest and most comprehensive

bathhouse in the area. We were given a locker key with a bar code for payment and casual kimonos to be worn during our stay. After changing into kimonos we headed straight to the baths. Arima Onsen is known for two kinds of springs: kinsen and ginsen. The former directly translates to “gold spring,” referring to the yellow-brown color caused by iron and salt sediment in the water. The latter translates to “silver spring” for its clear carbonated water containing radium. Both these springs are said to have medicinal properties, helping alleviate aches, bruises and

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

fatigue as well as some diseases. Because of the color and the way bubbles would gather on our limbs, it felt like we were sitting in hot milk tea and soda.

But, my goodness, it was superbly relaxing. The baths also led to an exterior floor where we could enjoy the dichotomy of chilly weather and the steaming pools. There were several other regular pools as well with hot mineral water where other visitors sat soaking in the medicinal baths with their small towels resting on their heads. Some of the other notable baths were the single-person baths that looked like giant man-sized cups and a bench-shaped slab where you could cool-off while a stream of water ran down your backside and into a pool by your feet.

Afterwards, we dried up and had a bowl of udon for lunch. After a bit of wandering we discovered at a gift shop that Arima Onsen’s natural carbonated water lends to some interesting and unique treats, one of which is Arima Cider Teppo Water. The drink came in a glass bottle with a very classic-looking label. Apparently the drink’s roots go all the way back to the Meiji era and is considered Japan’s first cider.

The drink is essentially sweetened carbonated water, and the taste strongly resembled Cheonyeon Cider in Korea, which is also made with naturally carbonated water. It definitely had a milder carbonation compared to most other soft drinks and was slightly less sweet than your typical tonic water. We also got to try some soft ice cream made from the local drink and it was the best ice cream we’ve had in Japan. We then went to the “relaxation room” where several rows of reclining chairs were set in front of a wide window facing a bamboo forest. Despite having slept fairly well the night before and on the bus ride there, all the bathing and eating had us in a blissfully sluggish mood so we got into the surprisingly comfy chairs and napped for a couple hours before returning to Osaka.

We returned to Osaka for our last evening in the city before heading to Tokyo overnight. We first had dinner at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in an underground mall in Umeda, Osaka’s major commercial and business district. In terms of rice-to-sashimi ratio, let’s just say it put Todoroki to shame. For dessert we munched on slices of Patisserie MonCher’s famous roll-cakes. With a couple hours to kill we visited a small Studio Ghibli shop and bought a small collection of mini-figures and plush toys of iconic characters from Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films. After a bit of window-shopping in search of kooky Japanese novelty products at Loft, we went to the Umeda Sky Building, which would be our last stop. The Umeda Sky Building isn’t the tallest building in Japan, or even Osaka for that matter, but its two towers are connected at the top by two floors of a rooftop observatory called The Floating Garden Observatory and it gave us the best view of Osaka yet. We went up to the observatory and finally got to see the cityscape at night.

With that amazing 360-view of the city, we said our goodbyes to Osaka and the Kansai region.

Tokyo: Otaku Central, Harajuku Threads & Kicks, & Ebisu Beer

We arrived fairly early in the morning in Shinjuku, a major commercial and administrative center of Tokyo. Before checking in at our hotel, we headed to Akihabara. Both T.J. and I had been looking forward to going to this Tokyo district widely regarded as the “otaku cultural center.” The massive shopping district features shops for video games, anime, manga and computer products, as well as arcades and theme cafes like the Gundam Café (which actually turned out to be disappointing).

Both of us were fairly intent on buying some figurines or models of our favorite anime series. We looked around a number of different places, but the

most notable was Radio Kaikan. The building had several floors of privately owned shops that sold and displayed a wide variety of manga/anime collector’s items and memorabilia, as well as models and toys ranging from train sets to high-detail airsoft rifles. Some of them had special display cases with vintage collections of older classics like Astro Boy or even old-timey robots. Others shops were specifically for card-games, where they would have entire walls and shelves of individual, presumably rare, trading/playing/collectable cards. The bigger card shops also featured specially designed tables where visitors could come together and battle each other in their respective card game fortes. After a bit of exploring and comparing prices, T.J. and I left with a couple One Piece figurines.

The next day we spent most of our time in Shinjuku’s neighboring ward of Shibuya. We started off at Shibuya’s most iconic district, Harajuku, internationally known as the center of Japanese youth culture and fashion. From the bustling main streets to the quieter alleys, there was a wide variety of apparel shops, from mainstream bigbrands to subculture specialty shops to high-fashion luxury labels, and a diversely styled crowd to match. There was the oddly cutesy Decora, the gothic/punk, the Victorian Lolita, the exaggerated glam of gyaru as well as its male counterpart gyaruo, just to name a few of the extravagant Japanese subcultures. I took a more serious interest in the several world-class sneaker stores Harajuku had to offer, such as Undefeated Tokyo and Kick’s Lab. T.J. hoped to exploit the home-ground price advantages of local high-fashion labels like Comme des Garçons and Kenzo and dug through shops in the popular Cat Street such as Ragtag Harajuku and Opening Ceremony. Considering that we wouldn’t have much use for civilian clothes for the next two years, we didn’t go crazy and mostly win-

23 dow-shopped.

Afterwards, we headed to Shibuya station with Tokyo’s iconic five-way intersection, where at rush-hour’s peak hundreds of people converge and disperse under the LED and neon lights of shopping centers towering above them. We didn’t do much but it was just

something you saw in a typical video of Tokyo and we had to see for real. The last stop of our final night in Tokyo was at Ebisu. The district is home of Yebisu beer, one of Japan’s oldest beer brands and currently Sapporo Brewery’s “premium” beer label. We couldn’t leave Japan without some local beer so we

hit up Beer Station by the Museum of Yebisu Beer. The food was sub-par western style dishes but we had cold draft pints: the Yebisu all malt beer for me and the creamy top Yebisu Stout for T.J. And with that, we concluded our final night in Tokyo.

MEMORABLE MEALS

#1

Dotkatsu at Kimukatsu

“

“

Kimukatsu describes its dotkatsu, or fried pork cutlet, as the mille-feuille of meat. It is characterized by its 25-layers of thinly sliced sirloin pork. We had a lunch set that came with freshly cooked rice, unlimited cabbage salad, and a selection from one of their signature sauces. The portions were slightly disappointing but the dotkatsu was the most juicy I have ever had. It was seasoned to perfection and the special sauces added a refreshing touch, heightening the aromatic flavors of the soft sirloin.

Once we got back to Osaka, we visited a restaurant famous in the city for its Osaka-style okonomiyaki, a savory pancake dish. Okonomiyaki is derived from the word oknomi, which means ‘what you like,’ so it can have a wide variety of toppings and batters. Ajinoya is apparently known for its minimal flour and extra cabbage. After a long wait we had a fortwo set that featured three of the restaurant’s most popular okonomiyaki.

The first was chow mein-based and had minced pork, squid and octopus covered in a layer of fried egg and cabbage. The second was chock-full of scallion/green-onion and chopped Kyoto muscle, which was surprisingly good. The last was a more typical looking okonomiyaki, full of minced pork, shrimp and octopus grilled under a layer of two fried eggs and writhing squid flakes. This was now my favorite Japanese dish. Period.

#3

Kobe Beef at Misono

” “

”

#2

Okonomiyaki at Ajinoya

The swanky Japanese steakhouse that sits on the 51st floor with a spectacular view of the city. From the beginning, it was pretty clear to us that this place took it’s grilling seriously. From the way they took care of the stainless-steel plate grill, the way they treated their personal cutlery, the way they meticulously cut slabs of beautifully marbled beef, it was obvious to me that everything was done carefully and deliberately. And then it went from meticulous to artful when the grilling really began. It wasn’t a lot of meat but our chef didn’t take his eyes away from the steak. Even the slices of garlic, which I’m told is also premium stuff, were fried with care to a golden brown. We shared two different grades of the premium beef and once we got to finally try… I was dumbfounded. The beef practically melted in my mouth as it barely resisted my teeth. It was a softness I had never experienced before with beef and I was struck speechless. I could only mutter to T.J., “Damn. This. Is. Good.” It was this times two with the higher-grade wagyu (also two-times the price). Unfortunately, the portions were less than satisfying but it was for the experience. The bill was a critical hit, but so was the food.

”

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

Getting Catcalled Sometimes the machismo culture and catcalling traditions in the streets of Latin America can seem offensive and demeaning. But is it offensive even if it’s a longstanding and non-threatening cultural tradition?

Can something be wrong just because it’s different from our own cultural ideals?

Speaking Spanish in the U.S. is one thing. Applying the language in its motherland is a whole different ball game.

Studying abroad can be an enriching and valuable experience — an opportunity that may not present itself again after college. Diving into a foreign culture means immersing yourself in a land with different rules, unfamiliar norms, and uncomfortable situations.

Through the Global Engagement Studies Institute (GESI), Weinberg sophomore Hayeon Kim was able to experience a rural view of the Dominican Republic this past summer. One of the first things she noticed was that Latin America is nowhere near as culturally diverse as the United States. “While some Asian communities exist in major cities and suburbs, there are virtually none in rural areas,” Kim says.

Kim’s Asian ethnicity was considered somewhat of a spectacle, attracting attention and comments from the locals.

Throughout her whole experience, Kim endured being called out in public spaces such as marketplaces or city streets.

She attributes this equally to being both an Asian and a female. Nearly every time, locals referred to Kim as “china” (pronounced chee-na), the feminine counterpart of chino. “Chino” or “china” translates directly into “Chinese,” but the word is commonly used throughout Latin America as a broader term to refer to Asians of all nationalities. “They don’t really know the difference between Chi-

nese, Japanese, or Korean,” Kim says.

Weinberg sophomore Sunny Song faced similar problems in Cuba when she went to study abroad with the International Program Development (IPD).

She explains that the bluntness of their words reflected a certain aspect of Latino culture. “We were warned about this before going on the trip,” Song says, who felt that the terms chino or china weren’t used in an offensive way.

Both Song and Kim found that the Latin American language was characterized by a level of direct, straightforward bluntness that also had the potential to convey a sense of affection.

Catcalling was also an everyday occurrence for both ladies.

Machismo culture looms heavily over Latin American countries, dictating both male and female behavior. Web. stanford.edu explains, “In terms of machismo, males have an expansive and almost uncontrollable sexual appetite, and it is their right to satisfy that desire in the ways they choose.” This culture is both responsible for, and a product of, a system of male domination and female suppression that is prevalent in Latin America. Catcalling is an example of machismo behavior among Latinos and is often a source of pride and a way to prove their manliness.

Kim describes dealing with catcalling as funny on some days, maddening on others, and annoying for most. “All the women got calls. Depending on the day,

depending on where I was, I would get catcalled,” says Kim. “They would stare, look at you up and down, they would hiss.”

Song shares a similar observation about how being a foreigner greatly increased the likelihood of attracting attention. “If you are foreign or even if you have blonde hair — if anything sets you apart — you will get that for sure,” she says.

Song recalls one particular day when her roommate, a blonde, was grabbed by the shoulder on the street. She cites this as the worst case she’d seen, and that more often than not, discomfort and annoyance was the worst she’d experienced. While it may seem arbitrary at first, it seems that even in machismo culture, a decent man would never lay a hand on a woman without a welcome invitation. Kim believes that most of it is just for show, and that most men will respect the woman’s boundaries. One can never be too careful, however, and traveling with a friend or in groups is a good safety net. “I feel like the general intention of harm was not there — I never felt like my physical wellbeing was in danger,” says Song. “We also walked in groups so I was never afraid of anything bad happening to me.”

In Latino culture, men who lounge about in the street and catcall women are often referred to as “tiguere” or “tigre,” which means tiger. The slang term actually has a few connotations beyond wisecracking flirts, and can also refer to

25

in Latin America hustlers, troublemakers, or players. It is most often used in a positive connotation and ultimately refers to a man who pulls off the machismo lifestyle well. While displays of machismo can seem intimidating and more than a little uncomfortable, in the majority of cases it is usually nothing more than just that — a display. “But what does that mean if you know what they’re thinking or what they’re implying?” questions Kim. This type of attention often leads to feelings of frustration and discomfort. Song says that throughout her trip what helped her out the most was talking these experiences through with both her peers and instructors.

Although both GESI and IPD brought up these problems during orientation, both Song and Kim couldn’t help but feel as if the topic was a bit underplayed. “The program was great, but I felt like I could’ve been a little bit more prepared,” says Song. “I was struggling with this for the whole eight weeks, and it was difficult determining what the proper response is and how to react.”

Could there be a proper response to centuries of deeply seeded sexism within a patriarchal society? And what right could a foreigner possibly have to enforce their ideals? “Sometimes I wanted to yell at them, sometimes I wanted to sit them down and have a nice little talk about all the different

Asian countries,” Song says. But ultimately, she came to terms with the fact that she was in a different country, Cuba, and that no matter her intent, she would not be the one to enforce the ideals of her own culture unto another.

Both Kim and Song agrees that the best advice they can give to students is to have fun, not to generalize, and take everything in with an appropriately distanced perspective. Being Asian in a Latin American country will definitely draw attention. Considering this as just a part of the experience in exploring a foreign culture, as opposed to some sort of national problem, may be the best way to go about enjoying your time abroad.

By David Rhee

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

Finding success in the Seoul indie scene is no easy task, but one band has risen through the ranks and has hit a sweet spot of originality and approachability. Glen Check is a two-piece synth-rock band with trendy yet independent, unique yet delectably catchy sounds. As one of the biggest names in Seoul’s Hongdae underground music scene, Glen check is also at the international forefront of K-indie: the duo hit up SXSW in Austin and CMJ Music Marathon in New York, and will soon play in Taipei and Tokyo.

I got to speak with the two brilliant artists behind Glen Check: Kang Hyuk Jun (a.k.a. Hyuky) and Kim June One (a.k.a. Juneoney).

By Louis Oh

T H G I L T O P S E I K-IND

K C E H C EN

GL

DISCOGRAPHY

Disco Elevator EP (2011) Haute Couture (2012) ClichĂŠ EP (2012) YOUTH! (2013)

INFO

www.glencheck.co.kr www.facebook.com/bandGLENCHECK

Photo Courtesy of Glen Check

27 cause it didn’t really have any particular meaning. I mean, once a name has some big philosophical thing behind it, it gets cheesy… So we tried to look for something that sounded cool but didn’t have any meaning to it. So I started flipping through fashion books and found something we liked.

HJ: Yeah, we especially didn’t want to find something that had any musical connotations.

So we tried to pick a name that had absolutely nothing to do with music. We thought if it did have that kind of baggage it would be limiting in terms of the music we can make. Like, for example, Metallica can kinda only play heavy metal, right? But we didn’t want our name to limit us to any genre. So that was very deliberate.

How has touring in America been?

JO: Honestly, it was a lot of fun. In fact, it was through those experiences that we were able to set plans for the near future. Of course, the original goal was to tour and expand our perspectives but we kind of had no idea what we were doing. We just figured we’d do shows until we got famous. We weren’t sure how to make it internationally or if we could find a way to succeed regardless of where we’re from and just with our music. And on those trips we had some of our questions answered. The response was great and we were satisfied but it really got us thinking. They weren’t really festivals, just a bunch of clubs, so we didn’t expect more than like ten people. But then we had a packed house so it was really awesome.

Let’s talk about your history. How did you guys get started? What was it like coming up in the indie scene?

HJ: I met June One in high school, we graduated from the same school… and we ended up doing music kinda by accident. I mean, neither of us are music majors and it’s not like we were preparing for a career in music. We were each studying different things and then one day I was at his house. He had a guitar and, at the time, I didn’t know anything about synthesizers. We were just making music with the guitar.

And then we kinda stumbled into learning how to use a couple programs and we started making music with that and it slowly evolved into Where do you get your inspiration from and what Glen Check. are some of your influences?

JO: First of all, music, others’ music. And we You guys also tend to incorporate visual elements get a lot of inspiration from visual elements as to your shows, with either visual art collaborations well. By visual elements, it could be like a mov- or performers like Tiger Disco. What was the thinkie or clothes. Maybe a poster or people on the ing behind that? street… Maybe a photographer’s photos. And JO: OK, so basically we’re just really incapacolors that are popular that year. You know, ble of going crazy on stage and early on we stuff like that. I think we get a lot of inspiration thought that would make our shows really from those things. Things that we really get into boring. Instead of that, we thought we should in a certain year, or those sorts of sensibilities show something creative. I mean, we worried really determine what kind of music we make. about this from the beginning, like when we first started making music. ‘What happens Where does the name Glen Check come from? when we do live shows? We’re so screwed!’

JO: Well, at the time, I majored in fashion, and So what we came up with was to have visual in one of the books with fabrics and patterns, artists like Eyejin, or performers like Tiger Disthere was this one part where there was a co. It was essentially just to make up for our collection of check patterns. By chance I was ineptitude. looking through that and I liked the name be-

Let’s talk about the future! First, short term: any tour plans or albums coming up?

JO: So far we have put out two albums and a couple EPs in between. At the time we released them indiscriminately. Like, we put them up on iTunes and whatnot. But of course most of our success has been in Korea. Since we released our album through a domestic label it was kind of inevitable. So we decided that, next year, we’ll do tours in Europe and such, which we don’t have set dates yet for. We’ll tour Europe and Asia, possibly America again. Also, we’re planning to release an international debut album. We’ll pick out songs from our first two albums that we think will make it abroad, considering trends and such. We’ll also re-arrange and remix them appropriately. And so we’re basically retroactively designating our first two albums as domestic releases and this album will be our official international debut.

Could you introduce yourselves first?

Juneoney (JO): I’m Kim June One. I play the guitar and vocals in Glen Check. I also take care of producing for the most part.

Hyuky (HJ): I’m Kang Hyuk Jun and I play the bass and synths in Glen Check.

So before we get to the music side of you, if you’re Glen Check by night… who are you by day?

JO: Well first, I suppose I should be a student at this age but I’m not a student right now. I actually don’t do much else other than music. I’m kind of a boring person like that. When I’m not doing Glen Check things I’m usually DJing or producing for other artists. I also like to check out various clubs in the underground scene.

HJ: I’m mostly a pretty boring dude too. I’m a student at Sogang University.

Alright, now let’s talk about music. In your own words, what kind of music does Glen Check make?

JO: Well, we make awesome music. We don’t like to place any particular genre on us. We like a lot of different genres and our tastes change every year so… our music changes according to our tastes. We like to mash various genres together and so it’s really hard to pin down just one genre. Some people say we’re mainstream, certainly in a good-way, while others say we’re not. So I guess we make music that is approachable to a very wide range of diverse people.

Now, long term. You guys mentioned earlier this all happened almost by accident. So do you guys see this as a career or are you unsure and are things open?

JO: We just hope to take this as far as we can. I mean, it’s worked out pretty well, and we think it’ll continue to turn out well for us.

So now, what we’re looking forward to doing is reaching a point when we release songs that are influential. And expand our reach as well. In the long run, hopefully we’ll be pretty familiar in other countries. Basically we hope we become a world-class band.

SPEED ROUND If you had to pick just one song to introduce yourselves, which of your tracks would it be?

JO: “Racket” from our first album.

HJ: “Pacific” Which track is your personal favorite?

JO: “Pacific” HJ: “Disco Elevator” Most memorable show?

HJ: The last one.

JO: Yeah, the most recent one which was at 2014 Grant Mint Festival (GMF). It was probably the most energetic show yet. It was packed, too.

HJ: Yeah, and it was the first time we had zero equipment issues and no mistakes. Close to

perfect, actually.

On the flip side, a show you’d like erase from memory?

JO: It was like our first or second show. It was at a film festival in Sangam, and we were doing an acoustic set. It was raining and the audience was just old people passing by. I mean, it’s not like we want to erase it from memory but it was pretty sad.

HJ: Yeah, way back when nobody knew who we were. It was miserable.

Most memorable fan?

JO: I remember there was this Chinese guy at GMF last month. He told us he came all the way from China to see us play. And then he

gave us gifts, and it turns out he gave us cigarettes. And in big letters it says “SMOKING KILLS” on the box.

HJ: Yeah, it was weird… Actually, there was also a Japanese fan who gave us an ashtray.

JO: Right, for some reason we get stuff like that. Kinda morbid.

Favorite artist right now?

HJ: Recently I’m really into Prince. His new album is really good.

JO: For me, the master of house music, Louie Vega. I got to see him recently in Itaewon.

Favorite song right now?

HJ: Prince’s “Clouds.”

JO: Mø’s “Walk This Way.” It’s really good.

nu asian - issue 11 vol. 1

ONE YEAR, ONE SHOT High school students in Asia have just one shot to earn acceptance into prestigious universities. Is this type of college admission system for better or worse?

Getting a good night sleep, waking up two hours early to boot up your brain and grabbing a few chocolate bars for extra energy. We’ve all been through it at some point or another to get into Northwestern.

These pre-exam rituals may seem excessive, but are minor compared to those that Asian college entrance exam takers go through. Have you ever avoided eating slippery food to avoid slipping your grasp on answers? Have you ever booked a hotel near the testing center to save an extra few minutes before exams?

Have you ever had your parents and your whole school’s body of underclassmen wait in front of the testing center just to wish you good luck?

SAT and ACT, common standardized tests in America, may be daunting hurdles into college admission, but gaokao of China, suneung of Korea and Sentā Shiken of Japan are far worse. Asian entrance exams are not only known for their difficulty, but also for how they only happen once a year.

Prestigious universities in Asia don’t have the time or the manpower to review the personal qualities of 9 million Chinese gaokao-takers and 600,000 Korean suneung-takers.

They have to resort to “numbers” when it comes to the verdict between “Congratulations!” and “We’re sorry.”

Dong Hyun Kim, a junior at HanShin University in Korea, provided an insider’s view on college entrance exams. “Though the education system in Asia seems to be overly exhaustive, South Korea is globally competitive as a member of G20 because of it… even after the devastating war. That must mean something,” Kim said. On the other hand, Si Hyun Lee, a freshman at Korea Aerospace University, criticized the system, lamenting that the three years he spent to improve his scores on the entrance exams could have been spent to explore more life opportunities. “It’s frustrating,” Lee said. “You end up spending so much time just to achieve a certain grade.”

Students from China expressed similar opinions. Phyllis Li, a freshman at Brandeis University, and Daniel Li, a junior at Northwestern University, both articulated that scores on gaokao couldn’t be direct reflections of future success. A diploma from a prestigious university is a strong plus when landing a decent job, but the Chinese market is vast and compa-

nies have begun to look for qualities beyond just a fancy diploma.

Do these college entrance exams serve as an accurate guide for students’ aptitude for higher education, or do they fail to distinguish the most capable? Lee and his peers believe the latter, emphasizing the need for changes in the exams and admission process.

Many universities are, in fact, beginning to implement different admission selection processes — admitting students only based on interviews and high-school conduct records.

Recently, Hyun-Wook Cho from Korea survived HanYang University’s cutthroat admission process by demonstrating leadership and compassion. He aided his best friend suffering from bullying and autism throughout high school — a personal quality which HanYang University deemed acceptance-worthy. Hopefully, there will be room for more stories like this in the future of Asian college admission process.

By Hongkwon Lee

29

N U

A

Editor-in-Chief DJ Oh

Photography Director Katherine Yao

Publicity Director Helen Liang

Managing Editor Sojeong Kim

Assistant Photography Director Ann Ku

Print Editors Melissa Shin Sophia Ahn Katherine Lee Heather Budimulia

Photographers Lucy Wang Hannah Lin Lydia Chen Rosalie Chan Astrid Goh Wayne Xun

Publicity Team Serene Shiying He Yining Zhang Tianqi Jiang

Writers Johan Qin Megan Pan Jenny Phan Danny Na Lisa Chen DK Lee Minho Kim Laura Munkyung Kim Stephanie Yang Louis Oh David Rhee Hong Kwon Lee Creative Director Annette Hong Designer Lisa Rhee

Business Director Suyong Won Business Team Yujung Rho PK Kim Beomseok Kim Web Director Katie Fang Web Editor Catherine Zhang Web Team Leon Cheong Rachel Yang

WANT MORE? For a digital copy of this issue, go to our website or issuu.com/nuasian Twitter: @nuAsian Or search us up on Facebook as NU Asian Magazine Read about student identity and campus life on our website: nuasian.wordpress.com

Special Thanks to the International Studies Department, Associated Student Government and Generation Progress