[HanCinema's Digest] Culture Corner

Learn more about Korea's drinking culture with 10 Magazine, the BBC examines K-pop's influence on the world's stage, Variety shows us how China-Korea relations are strengthening, and find out what a North Korean thinks about all the information that finds its way to citizens over the DMZ.

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"SOUTH KOREA'S MOST TREASURED DRINKING CULTURE"

10 Magazine takes a closer look at Korea's drinking culture and reveals "contrary to popular belief, Koreans don't drink to the sole purpose of getting drunk. Getting together for a drink is to build up relationship with our peers, whether that may be our friends or our colleges at work". The article also mentions a few points of drinking etiquette (like holding your glass with two hands when others pour it), as well as how to drink with coworkers and your boss: "If you are drinking with superiors (in age or position) turn away your head away as you drink".

...READ ON 10 MAGAZINE

"South Korea's K-Pop stars look for success in Australia"

The BBC explores the borderlands between western and eastern culture, specifically focusing on the K-pop phenomena and whether or not Korea's popular music scene has influenced the global marketplace of pop idols and music. "Conceived in South Korea in the 1990s as a Western-Asian hybrid, K-pop is now a multi-million dollar industry..."

...READ ON BBC

"China-Korea Show Business Bonds Run Wide and Deep"

The rise and spread of Korean culture has not happened in isolation. The country has been actively forging and nurturing international partnerships and business relationships for years, but none have been more immediately felt that the country's "wide and deep" relationship with China. Cultural products like Korea's music, food, and cinema are already popular in China (and vice versa), but the two countries are still looking for new and exciting ways to form mutually beneficial collaborations moving forward.

...READ ON VARIETY

"Ask a North Korean: Can outside information bring change?"

Does information from the outside really influence North Koreans' perspective on themselves and the world around them? NK News takes one question each week and puts it to North Korean defectors and the responses are often as revealing as they are fascinating. "Of course, an influx of outside information is better than nothing. If information gets distributed around the country steadily and when the perceptions of North Koreans change, we can perhaps hope for the democratization of North Korea then".

...READ ON NK NEWS