By SHELTON BUMGARNER
Marmot’s Hole Guest Blogger
What’s gotten hold of the folks over at Slate? Is this an article or a mash note to the Korean biotech industry? I kept expecting writer David Plotz to slip us some tongue in this little smooch.
I’m not saying that Koreans haven’t done some really special and amazing things vis-a-vis cloning, but just read the extended lede:
The Chopstick Theory of Scientific Supremacy goes like this: Koreans eat with narrow, metal chopsticks. Nabbing grains of rice with slippery, steel sticks requires a surgeon’s dexterity. That’s why Koreans have mastered extraordinarily precise “micromanipulation” of eggs and embryos required for stem-cell and cloning research. Westerners with their clunky forks???and even other Asians with their thick, grippy wooden chopsticks???can’t hope to compete with the dexterous Koreans.
The Chopstick Theory is how Hwang Woo-suk, the world’s greatest cloner, accounts for his nation’s stem-cell success. The theory has undeniable appeal: It’s exotic, it’s funny, and it’s even partly true. But it only begins to explain a peculiar anomaly of global science: how South Korea, a nation of only 48 million people and no history of biotech accomplishment, has emerged as the world capital of stem-cell and cloning research.
Yesterday Hwang and his colleagues announced that they are opening a stem-cell library in Seoul. The library, the first of its kind, will create 100 or so cell lines a year to supply the world’s scientists. Americans, whose stem-cell investigations have been hampered by Bush administration policies and funding restrictions, are expected to be the bank’s best customers. The bank is just the latest first from Korean stem-cell researchers, who make some new, jaw-dropping advance practically every month.
People ask me what I mean when I shake my head and joke about something being “So Korean.” Well….
For example, despite a nearly absolute ban on abortion, Korea has one of the highest abortion rates in the developed world because the government looks away and no one protests.
Overall, the article is actually interesting and insightful, but I still found it a bit overboard. Be sure to read the rest on your own.
38 Comments
Shotgun cloning is in no way innovative or a landmark discovery in molecular biology. They’re just making the same, boring, short-telomere junk clones we’ve been making ever since mammalian cloning started. I see nothing economically useful coming out of that.
Koreans dont worry too much about the morals of cloning because they havent watched gattaca. If they did they’d see just how horribly wrong a marriage can become between an actor and an actress in a movie dealing with gene manipulation. oh ethan, why did you divorce uma!?!?….maybe it was her name.
It is really a no-brainer that this country most prone to falsehoods and altered appearances should lead the world in cosmetic surgery and eventually genetic modifications and cloning.
Save face!
just three posts and the knives are already out.
mark’s post has got to be one of the most bigoted i’ve ever read.
Clone Wars
Why South Korea seems to be leading the world in the controversial science of stem-cell research (via The Marmot’s Hole).
Some explanations are interesting (cultural view of “blood” and genetics, reverence for scientists), some are questionable (…
There’s more where that came from.
The opening lines show somebody - the writer? a Korean? - doesn’t know short-grain sticky rice from basmati from Uncle Ben’s.
uncle ben’s…now that’s the bomb!
officially setting up the cloning hub here is one of the greatest and smartest things korean business has done in conjunction with government in the last five years.
five years ago, i was at an alvin toffler conference in marina del mar discussing this exact same issue and arguing with a time asia editor (korean) over whether or not korea could actually do this. i remember at the time saying that it was their window of opportunity to push ahead with stem cell research and cloning as there weren’t the moral hurdles we have with the christians in the US. it’s nice to see that they have now made the move official (the research has been going on quietly for years). collaborating with american and british technology and know how without social constraints (but with government funding i assume) will prove to be a deadly combination.
as for the actually article about the chopstics and diligence, that’s crap. korea’s power lies in its ability to actually go ahead with testing.
When science gets mixed up with nationalism, it loses objectivity. A lot of “WooRah”s and no useful result.
The Uri party’s poster boy will disappear as the party wanes. Other Korean scientists with real research will take his place.
Dr. Hwang soaks up all biotech research money in Korea. He is a pig. Got to go.
science has become the bitch of political groups everywhere. Lets just leave her to her own devices. And if we follow mark’s logic shouldn’t california be leading the way in gene manipulation and cloning?ZING!
A large majority of the really crazy things we could do with biotech aren’t done due to moral objections/lack-of-need. I could make a pig that glows green, has legs on its head, and has the brain of a human. It’s not particularly hard and none of the science or methods behind it are particularly difficult to grasp. Most of molecular biology is taking well-known methods and just inserting different pieces of genetic material into the methods. The actual work involved is entirely simplistic. You have a little eppendorf tube, a bunch of different ultra-high-purity reagents, and your main tool, a micropipette. Throw in some ice-baths, thermocyclers, ultrasonicators, and some liquid N2, and you’re ready to go. The most exciting stuff in molecular biology is in automation and simulation, not in taking old methods and repeating them until you get results; that provides no understanding of the underlying processes, and is about as useful as my human-brained legheaded glowing pig.
real researchers will take his place, baduk. i agree that hwang is egotistical and downright dumb outside of genetic research. however, with the collaboration, the idea is to bring in scientific theoretical research from the US and britain and apply it in hwang’s lab. in the end, i don’t expect anything new from hwang (there never has been any real innovation from the snu lab), but we can at least put some interesting theories through their tests and now start studying results that ostensibly will be open to the scientific community, as opposed to the private research going on in the US and other places.
Hell… The chopstick theory again… How long will the Korean AND the Western media play with this nonsense?!!
Anyway had to share this tidbit.
It was a joke mentioned by Prof. Hwang and the media took it as something newsworthy! And see how things get distorted out of the original intention…
I was over at some Prof. Hwang’s public lecture session about three months ago. 1. He stated that the whole chopstick thing was a joke and the media just ran with it blowing it out of proportion. He was acutally quite embarassed with what his joked turned into. 2. He gets majority of the credit for the technique, but he stated himself, that it was one of his students who actually developed it, not him. This will probably never make it into the Korean media. Where they are more after sensationalism than, straight from the hip, facts. Prof Hwang stated during his public lecture: The student who developed the, now famous, technique, was actually a unwanted student in the beginning. She was from one of the regional colleges and Prof. Hwang did not see any reason to choose her over the “better” qualified students. She stated that it was her dream to become part of Hwang’s team and stayed on performing menial tasks for the lab. After a hard day at the work (not as a team member, but doing all the dirty work on her own will) she would conduct her own experiments with leftover cells, eggs, and equipment. For one whole year she was the first person at the lab and often the last person to leave. She probably slept only about 2~4 hours. Prof. Hwang was impressed but still failed her from the team, thinking she would give up. When she stayed on for another year working the same grueling schedule, he had no choice but to accept her as a team member. He stated, “I was becoming afraid of her!”
Be sure to read the rest on your own.
Gotta tell you, this is “So Marmot.” You realize the “on your own” part is kinda redundant, and is only indication of influence from the Marmot’s writing style?
But since you’re not the only one I’ve seen doing this (and maybe he learned it from someone else too), this blog must be becoming an institution.
Juan, that’s pretty interesting stuff! Having done menial laboratory labor, I can only gape in awe of her endurance! I think most people who have never done lab work have this idea that most of the time scientists are doing something really exciting and “blowing sh1t up”. Scrubbing petri dishes all day, autoclaving, mixing up solutions for next day’s work, setting up experiment apparatus, running test, which can, and I imagine in her case, all day affair, waiting for the damn results to pop out… AND not being able to make any social plans because of the odd hours when the said experiments end/or must begin… Oh and we can’t forget the mindless hours formatting excel sheets and her being a Korean researcher, typing her papers in Koreans and translating them. Brrrr…. All for the gloriously small amount of research funds that gets dished out by KOSEF or some other institutions. Oh yeah, I forgot about the studying they have to do after doing all this research to keep current.
Then if they become a “made man/woman” they have the fun joy of writing tons and tons of proposals and begging and groveling for funds and hoping that you don’t have to can that bright-eyed young promising research assistant.
Yes. I am thoroughly impressed by scientists.
P.S. I forgot to mention that they sometimes do this working with dangerous substances.
3 hours/week of chem lab in first-year university taught me (a) respect those who do this kind of tedious work for a living and (b) that it’s not for me!
(I can tolerate all kinds of tedious work in other fieldslike computer science, my professionbut not when it comes to messing around with chemicals.)
KrZ: So what? Even if he/they are not terribly innovative, the fact is that they’re doing the work, getting the recognition, and raking in the money. If it’s so easy, why don’t you going into that line of work for yourself?
Sonagi: There are 2 kinds of people in the worldthose who know there are different kinds of rice and those who don’t, I guess.
Sigur Ros: Touch??. And they’re also not generally burdened by moral qualms in Hollywood, too.
“why don’t you going into that line of work for yourself” should be “why don’t you go into that line of work for yourself”
“us”? So the owner of migukin.com is now Korean?
Thanks for sharing your first-hand knowlege, Juan. Now the chopstick analogy makes sense. I chuckle to imagine ol’ Hwang telling the story while American reporters earnestly scribble the pearl drops of Oriental wisdom in their notebooks. Ah, it’s those thin metal chopsticks! That’s the secret!
It’s good to know that it was originally meant as a joke (unless this is Dongguk-professor-style backpedalling), and that he gave credit where credit is due…to a female student from one of those darn provincial universities, no lessshock! horror!
…Actually, the more I think of it, the story of that student’s persistence is really impressive. Sticking it out for a year when you’re not really welcome, working with other people’s table scraps after everyone else has gone home…this has the makings of the next big MBC melodrama, but they’ll have to make here an adoptee with an evil, rich half-sister who works in the same lab and went to SNU, of course.
…Oh, and then sticking out for another year after the professor has written you off!? That’s right, KrZ, it’s so easy, anyone can do itall it requires is working at it alone for two years with no support and no sleep.
Why yes, California should claim it’s place in the sun as a hub of altered appearances:
The numbers are highest in California, where both the Asian and plastic surgeon populations are growing rapidly. A study by the American Academy of Facial, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery also indicates that facial cosmetic and reconstructive surgery increased exponentially among minorities from 1999 to 2001. It has more than quadrupled among Asian Americans, compared to a just 34 percent increase among Caucasians.
Touch?? douch??.
I’m not sure that the article you linked actually bolsters your point as the piece is really about the internalization of racism by minorities.
I’m not making any point; just returning fire for this and this.
Save face!
The SLATE article seems like an attempt to attack the Religious Right, extol Confucianism, and legitamize racial nationalism, all under the guise of analyzing Korean science.
I’ve sometimes thought that “Confucianism chic” would make the perfect fit for aging North American hippies who want to do the usual middle-aged embrace of conservativism, while at the same time maintaining their hip “eastern” facade.
why don?t you go into that line of work for yourself
I worked at the Linerberger Cancer Center for 3 years and at the NIH for 3 years. No one will fund the type of work that I would really like to do, but if I ever get the kind of cash it would take to set up a private laboratory I will.
Evolutionary anthropologists have found certain universal preferences for large eyes, a small nose, and an oval or heart-shaped face among the world’s peoples. That explains the eye surgery and jawbone shaving. Why Asian women have their nose bridges raised? I dunno.
That’s an easy one…if you want to be even more snooty, you’ve got to raise your snoot.
A heart-shaped face sounds creepy. They would have a little crimp in their skull running down the middle.
Mark=reverse-nulji
So blame the Asians for all those fake Hollywood boob jobs?
And you’re (Mark) citing growth rates, not actual numbers. As JYC hinted, all those numbers are demonstrating is that people immigrate, move to California, and adopt the local customs.
(Don’t mind me, not to pick a fight or anything…I guess I had too much to say after not commenting here for a month.)
Or bringing their customs with them. Sex-selective abortion rates are higher among first-generation Asians than native born Americans. They didn’t pick up their preference for sons from us.
Well yeah, it’s a little bit o’ this, a little bit o’ that….
this is related:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10.....nvest.html
south korea becoming big asian ivestor by james brooks.
i told you south korea was the largest ivestor in china.
This is not related to the OP, but it is related to the comments about plastic surgery. Below is my humble translation of a short piece from the Hangyeore (my computer can read Hangeul but not type it):
Asian Rebellion Against Western Beauty?
A side effect of Korean fever?
Riding the wave of Korean fever in Asia, plastic surgery that imitates the features of Korean movie actors is a hot trend.
In the Wall Street Journal 1st edition of Oct. 20, the story “Korean plastic surgery is changing the face of Asia” dealt with the topic of plastic surgery in Korea.
“As Korean beauties have attracted a following through the export of Korean entertainment, Asian women and men are stampeding to Seoul to get their faces done,” the newspaper reported. Korea, long known as an industrial nation that sold cars and home appliances, is creating a new style by spreading Korean style beauty in Asia through its cultural exports, centered around Korean style plastic surgery to enhance one’s looks. The newspaper examined in detail the preference for a Korean appearance in the Asian region.
http://www.hani.co.kr/kisa/sec.....56766.html
Marmot,
How can I become a guest blogger? I’m not as witty as you or some of the other Marmot regulars, but I read Korean media online and I’m always happy to polish my translation skills.
Oops, I missed most of the story because I didn’t scroll down far enough. Translation continues:
The WSJ introduced as an example Hong Kong aspiring actress Kate Shu. Determined to become a successful performer, Kate made up her mind to go to Seoul in order to have plastic surgery. She especially liked the feminine appearance of actress Song Hye-gyo and had her nose done, her eyes made to look larger, and her chin whittled down.
She was a keen viewer of Korean dramas and gobbled up every little detail about Korean stars on internet websites. “Korean actresses are really pretty,” she said. “They have graceful, prominent noses.” That was the reason for having plastic surgery in Seoul, she explained.
Korean Fever in Asia: Korean faces set the standard of beauty in Asia.
Plastic surgery tourism fever: “Make me look like Lee Young-Ae.”
Korean fever is spreading beyond Japan and China to other parts of Asia. In countries like Japan and Singapore, Korean hip-hop, pop, dramas, and romantic comedies are gaining popularity. In Taiwan, the most popular Korean star is Clone, in Vietnam, Jang Dong-gun and Kim Nam-ju, in China, Kim Hee-sun, Jang Na-ra, and Lee Young-Ae, in Japan, BoA, Bae Yong-jun, and Choi Ji-woo. The final episode of The Jewel in the Palace, starring Lee Young-Ae, was the top-rated show in Hong Kong, watched by more than 40% of the population. In Japan, BoA has sold more albums than Brittany Spears. In China, broadcasting stations have shown more than 100 Korean programs. In Japan, Winter Sonata was wildly popular.
It’s 9 PM and I’m getting a little tired of translating a long article that is available perhaps in the print version of the WSJ, so I’m skipping down to an interesting part:
A Rebellion against the image of Caucasian beauty?
Plastic surgery fever is not unrelated to the Korean beauty ideal of huge eyes, a prominent nose, and a slender face. Having the right appearance is necessary in order to get work. For actresses, getting work done is an inescapable reality. Entertainers like like Jadu, Ok Ju-hyun, Shin Ji and others have been applauded for candidly admitting to plastic surgery.
Korean beauty may be setting a new standard in Asia, but Korean women themselves are the least satisfied with their appearance among Asian women. The reason may be looksism.
Multinational corporation Unilever surveyed 2100 women between the ages of 15 and 45 in ten Asian countries. 53% of Korean women responded “yes” when asked if they had ever considered plastic surgery, ranking first among the ten nations surveyed. The number is 5-13 times higher than in Malaysia (4%), China (9%), and Singapore (10%). Only 1% of Korean women expressed the opinion that they were beautiful in this survey, compared to 3% of all women surveyed. 43% of Korean women felt they were too fat, and 8 out of 10 thought they looked their best before the age of 30.
Okay, I’m tired of translating. G’night.
Link to the original English language story:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05293/592034.stm