Well, once again, it's the pop music that gets me. After sifting through several lists of horrible boy bands composed by excited 13 year old Korean kids, I took the plunge and bought a few records. One was by this guy, MC Mong. And now I finally have a Korean song stuck in my head.
The video is especially great. It's bookended by two distinctly Korean pastimes. The first is the PC Bang (PC room). These are just internet cafes, really, except the they're open 24 hours a day, and they're everywhere. There seems to be a culture of un- or under-employed younger males (much like the protagonist) that spend their nights in the PC Bang playing Starcraft, smoking, neglecting to feed themselves, and not getting home til dawn.
It closes with the heartbroken MC Mong drinking bottle after bottle of soju. This is Korea's indigenous hard liquor, made of rice and sweet potatoes. It's ubiquitious, dirt cheap and notorious for its brutal hangovers. There's a complex set of drinking rules that come into play when drinking in groups (scroll down to "Customs"). I've experienced this only once, really, when I went out with the boss and the other Korean teachers. All I can say is that the protocol seems pretty clear until you're knee-deep in drunken Korean elders.
5 comments:
soju is evil. but i love that it's often sold in little cardboard juice boxes.
Booze Boxes! Brilliant!
jason.
It's quite a catchy song. The beat reminds me of BEP's Where is the Love. The 'Malkovich Malkovich' aspect of the video really creeps me out, but the girl is criminally pretty.
Oh, there is now a version on youtube with english subtitles.
Ryan, it's time for a picture of you standing in front of something strange.
i second that sentiment!
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