Oh, the things you learn when you run a Naver News search on “foreign teachers.” Sports Seoul reports that a particular star famous for her “pure” image apparently likes imported sausages. Or so says the barbarian English teacher who used to teach her English. When he asked the star, identified as A, why she was studying English, she replied that Korean guys didn’t understand her body and that she was studying in order to hook up with foreign dudes.
The Sports Seoul noted that while there are cases of people studying foreign languages to make foreign friends, it’s “rare” to study a language for sexual reasons.
Apparently, the paper has never polled foreign males learning Korean.
Anyway, Miss A, despite her image, is apparently quite the libertine during her off hours as well.
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And the outcome of this story is that all the starlets are now cancelling their lessons.
Sadly, though, this will be understood by some readers as further proof that foreign men are damaging the mythical purity of Korea.
It really sinks my sausage.
Am I missing something? I’m reading the blurb and it looks like maybe she was just joking, trying to shock, and/or flirting with the teacher.
Well, evidently there are a lot of stars and starlets in Korea who have “pure” public images, and in particular may play pure, innocent characters on TV or in movies, but enjoy somewhat, shall we say, impure personal lives…in other words, the project persona A in all their public appearances, but are opposite persona B in real life.
It’s not my business to care what they do in their personal lives. To each one’s own. At least in Hollywood, however, this kind of stuff is out in the open (although I suppose most stars would prefer to live in a world without tabloids and celebrity gossip).
A year or two ago, Samsung or some other large conglomerate had a dossier on all the big Korean stars, detailing scandals and rumours for each one. I guess the idea was that they wanted to make sure that whomever they chose for sponsorship wouldn’t end up embarrassing them. The stuff got leaked, apparently causing a minor sensation in Korea. Apparently even after all the dirt was dug up, there were still a few squeaky-clean celebrities!
“the project persona A” -> “they project persona A”
“whomever they chose for sponsorship” -> “whomever they chose for celebrity endorsement”
…It’s called the “연예 X파일”—”Celebrity X-Files.” For those who can read Korean, here’s a link to an article on them (sorry, no salacious gossip there).
I suspect the same sort of phenomenon prevailed in Hollywood in the 30s and 40s, during the golden age of the studio system. Actors were under long-term contracts to studios, typically to do, say, X number of films over 5 years. They were frequently typecast, leading to a public image of themselves that (a) may have been different from how they were in real life and (b) didn’t change over time—something that seems to beset Korean stars today. (I don’t know about films, but aren’t Korean TV actors under long-term contract to broadcasters, and not “free agents”?)
Meanwhile, if you read about some of the seamy stuff that some of the old-time Hollywood stars got up to in their private lives, in some cases it’s even more scandalous than the endless trysts today’s Korean stars get caught up in.
Now, here’s a rumour. It’s public knowledge and not particularly salacious, but I heard it a few months ago. I don’t even remember the star in question, but it was a guy whom I shall call X. A radio DJ called him up to interview him live on the radio. The DJ was friend of X, and X thought he was just calling up to say hi. So the first thing that popped out of X’s mouth—on live national radio—was “Hyŏng, I just ****** Lee Hyo-ri!” (in so many words).
…The slang he used in Korean was something like “ate the apple.” So then they tried to cover by saying they were talking about literally eating apples….
That is either an extremely unusual woman - in which case her story is in no way representative of what goes on - or the reporter made most of it up. And there’s no reporter’s name attributed to the story, either. I find it very hard to believe a woman would be telling a reporter all this. Unless, like I’m saying, she is very UN-typical and thus irrelevant.
There is a famous (so my wife tells me) Korean star that is often in the slot machine room at the Dragon Hill on Yongsan doing her best to support the MWR by playing slots into the wee hours. We also saw her getting quite friendly with a middle aged GI-looking Miguk in the Bentley’s Bar next door.
I saw the lady in question but didn’t recognize her but then I don’t watch much Korean TV. She was quite the hottie though. We’ve only been to the Dragon Hill twice in the last month and my wife spotted her both times which resulted in frantic phone calls to her friends each time to tell of her discovery.
If this leaks out that Korean stars are dating soldiers and gambling on base there will be candlelight vigils of mourning across the nation.
Well! I guess I’m just going to have to start teaching privates again.
…
heh heh… privates…
“people studying foreign languages to make foreign friends, it’s “rare” to study a language for sexual reasons.”
Not really. I now find myself taking free Hebrew courses at the JCC in order to meet single women. Well, actually, my initial reasons for taking this course was to actually learn something new and expand my horizons. I have always made a point of challenging myself by putting myself in places somewhat unfamiliar to my usual experiences and outside of my comfort zone. And plus, well, it was free.
Little did I know that out of 20-25 people in my class, all but two of them would turn out to be attractive, young women. The only two guys in the class are myself and my half-Jewish friend, whom I dragged with me into taking this class. I felt like I stumbled upon a freaking gold mine or something. There’s this one girl who seems impressed by the fact that some eccentric Asian guy is taking an interest in learning a relatively arcane like Hebrew. I got all sorts of good vibes for her. Maybe she has an untapped taste for goyim/not-kosher sausage, who knows?
I really didnt know what to expect in the beginning. I went in thinking: OK, Hebrew is an ancient language stepped in Biblical tradition and is a big part of Systematic Theology. That’s the reason I gave when everyone was asked to give a reason for why they were interested in learning the language during the first class. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Hebrew alphabet is completely phonetic, just like Hangeul! In fact, it’s even easier to learn than Hangeul because Hebrew doesnt have those annoying things called “dipthongs” or whatever they’re called. I was also touched by how beautiful Hebrew sounded whenever my instructor Barbara spoke a few lines during class.
My dream is now to find a nice Jewish woman who can scream out nasty things in Hebrew while I’m busy….
Ehrev Tov!
Sewing: shall I upload the X-File somewhere for your perusal? It made for fun reading too
Not only that, but the actors in question were often signed to contracts that specified that the actor would not do anything to bring themselves or the studio into disrepute. If the actor were involved in a sex scandal (for example), they could potentially be sued for breach of contract and/or have their contracts terminated. Once the studio system ended, those sorts of terms were generally dropped, since stars could usually bargain their way out of them (and the association with the studio wasn’t so great), but they did generate one or two notable cases in their time. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if such terms were still in-use in South Korea for things like endorsement contracts and the like…
Bluejives, you are full of surprises.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Miss A, B, K, L…
I really hate when these gossips printing with initial. Why don’t they just disclose the real name?
My wife tells me there’s an OBGYN clinic in Kangwon that’s regularly frequented by teenage stars.
sewing, that sort of stuff doesn’t occur in Hollywood? You don’t remember that whole Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake shacking up without shagging nonsense? People actually believed them.
bluejives, fess up. You wanted to learn Hebrew to meet those hot Israeli women. Probably was inspired by watching ‘Weeds’.
bluejives, fess up. You wanted to learn Hebrew to meet those hot Israeli women. Probably was inspired by watching ‘Weeds’.
Yup, you got me. Anyone who’s ever seen my old blog, before I stopped doing it, knows that I have this “thing” for pic’s of hot Israeli Army babes. Guilty as charged.
A’hat, schtey’in, shalosh…mitsuyaaaaan.
JiMong, I know, it’s pretty lame. There aren’t a million Korean surnames that start with the letter A when romanized (it’s obviously not going to be Agbayani de la Cruz).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....mily_names
In any case, it’s pretty obvious who the star is. There aren’t many Korean female stars whose surname begins with A.
I knew it…
Heck, if I wasn’t married…I’d be in Israel.
I quite like her, but I assume it’s not Ahn Moon-sook, or however she romanizes her name.
Actually, I’m really bad with Korean actors’ names. More than a few times, though, when watching a drama with some annoyingly “pure” character played by an actress known to be not quite so “pure,” my significant other has given me the dirt on the actress.
Dda…re comment 13, if you want to upload it, that’s your call. I might happen to have, er, inadvertently seen some of it at some point in the past. (I was glad to discover that my favourite male actor is actually squeaky clean. It’s the same kind of feeling of hope for mankind you get when you learn that some Hollywood couple has actually been happily married for 20 years.) I don’t know if it’s publicly posted anywhere, though…are there any legal issues involved?
In re the language issue. Reminds me of why the few guys in any High School French class signed up. As for the Yongsan club slots, every Korean female I’ve seen there was whacked by the ajuma fairy’s wand at least 20 years ago. Perhaps i need to imbibe more before looking in.
Sewing, you just crack me up! She would be toooo tough even for the Barbarian English teacher.
Did you know that the writer of this “X-file” ended his professional career in Korean media industry after this “investigative” gossip report disclosed and spread on the net. He used to be a very active reporter in Korean “Entertainment News”.
@JiMong:
That’s not true. Reporters involved in ‘X-file scandal’ (including very well-known Jo Yeong-Gu and Kim Saeng-Min) still appear quite frequently on ‘Entertainment News’ shows, as if nothing has ever happened.
Meh… I’m glad their careers have not been destroyed.’X-file’ must be the most frank and entertaining compilation of gossips on Korean celebrities ever.
ZZOOzzoo,
That’s him, Jo Yeong-Gu..
Really? I am surprised that he still appears on TV. I didn’t see him for a while and one of my buddy who works for Sidus said Jo yeong-gu was busted as he publicly revealed the “truth” on celebrities. I am sure he is preparing 2nd version of X-file.
The Korean entertainment industry and the “sports newspapers” that cover them never ceases to amuse me. At least those reporters can fall back on a career of writing sleazy novels if the “newspapers” that they work for lay them off.
BJ has a thing for sabras? That’s cool. I give props that you’re more open-minded than even some of the whiteys on here.
My wife brought home a copy of the “x-file” and most of it was “shows up late for shooting” and other dull stuff–it wasn’t Hollywood Babylon by a long shot.
sewing (et al.), you’ll probably find clues to the identity of the mysterious Miss. A here http://star.koreandrama.org/
Bluejives seems to have a bit much yetzer hara going on. That is very amusing.
Just because the lady in question has been designated “Miss A” doesn’t mean that her last name starts with “A”. The Korean media uses the letters of the alphabet regardless of the first letter of their last names so they can report gossip without risking a lawsuit from the star in question.
Of course I have yet to see a Mr or Miss Z.
Someguy: Bingo! That was my guess (after taking a hint from you and going through this list); I just didn’t want to say it here, just in case I was wrong (and it’s a hearsay rumour anyhow).
Bluejives never ceases to surprise, although he’s mentioned before that his love life is like a Bennetton ad. Just wait until he starts dropping Yiddishisms. (Yeah, I know it’s not Hebrew, but it’ll only be a matter of time.)
Okay, after reading minso’s comment I’m not so sure, and that possibility was in the back of my mind, too. There was a Korean article recently that compared search engines…something like “N” search engine versus “D” search engine, or some such thing. That one was pretty obvious….
Yeah, but what’s infuriating is how a TV show will do an hour on some businessman or restaurateur, but it won’t let us know the name of the business or the restaurant. I saw this great story about an Iranian who came to Korea to earn money to pay for med school (he’s like a year away from graduation), but eventually decided to stay here and open a restaurant. I watched the whole thing, hoping to get a phone number or at least the name of the restaurant. They showed the guy’s kitchen, interviewed his waitress, showed old pictures of him as a med student…everything but the combination of the safe in which he kept his saffron and information that would help me dine at the restaurant.
If you stop by the broadcaster’s website the day after the broadcast they usually list the contact info of the business or restruant.
Someguy, is it as if they want to avoid the impression of giving free advertising?
Is this anything like the phenomenon in Korean TV dramas that recognizable brand names, logos, etc. are always blatantly blocked out or pixillated?
Just wondering…
“Conspicuously” was the word I meant, not “blatantly.”
“Someguy: Bingo! That was my guess (after taking a hint from you and going through this list); I just didn’t want to say it here, just in case I was wrong (and it’s a hearsay rumour anyhow).”
So who do you think it is?
Either way, I couldn’t care less. If it happens between two consenting adults…
By the way, there’s far more scandalous behavior going on. I know from a friend who used to be a TV actress that trips to the casting couch are quite frequent in Korea (I’ve heard the same from one of my former students who used to do a lot of TV commercials). She said TV producers would call her agent at 11pm to set up ‘meetings’ after she began appearing regularly on TV. She quit acting because she just wouldn’t do it. Her agent was furious. The worm actually pressured her to bed the producers since it would have increased his commisions if she got bigger roles.
And, as I was saying, the quote attributed to Miss A. could have been made in stride.
It’s always the sweet and innocent type that wound up getting pregnant in highschool.
There are five actresses in Korea who are known to have a “pure” image.
1. Lee Young Ae
2. Son Yae Jin
3. Song Hae Kyo
4. Jun Ji Yun
5. Lee Na Yong
Out of the above 5, Lee Young Ae is known to have a “colorful” social life. (The “X-Files” says she is known to get on the top of the table in a host bar and dance)
From the article above, I say she more or less fits the bill. Of course, I could be wrong.
Someguy: I’ve heard that, though it’s always been fourth-hand rumour. Sad to hear it confirmed.
Alas, I believe entertainers were considered among the lowest class in the Chosŏn dynasty, and sadly, they’re still looked down upon today in some quarters, from what I gather. Of course, once they hit it big, then even the House of Hyundai may come a-callin’ (oh no, sorry, in that case it was a news announcer).
Same goes on everywhere, really.
Remember the book that came out in which the author claimed Nancy Reagan was a favorite of movie producers because of her…umm, umm, oral skills? I remember seeing Tony Curtis defending her on CNN when a viewer called in and mentioned the book. He said something along the lines of, “It’s unfair to use this against her because we all did it back then”, to which the viewer added, “Is that an admission on your part, Tony?” (Larry King changed topic before he could answer that one).
“In fact, it’s even easier to learn than Hangeul because Hebrew doesnt have those annoying things called “dipthongs” or whatever they’re called.”
I can’t speak for modern Hebrew, but ancient Hebrew certainly had diphthongs. Many of these had contracted by the time the Hebrew Bible was written. Thus, for example, the hypothetical *mawt (death) becomes mawet, where the “w” is now a consonant beginning the second syllable. (For the record, the “t” is really a “th”.) *aw also contracts to “o” on occasion, while *ay becomes either ayi (where the y is a consonant beginning the second syllable), or “e” (pronounced like the vowel in the English word “say”).
As for the Hebrew alphabet, it is, of course, a fairly close relative of our own; both ultimately derive from the Phoenician alphabet.
From Miss A to Nancy Reagan and ancient Hebrew…
체위= “body shape” or “sexual position”?
If it was sexual position, what sexual position? She likes doggy style and Koreans cannot deliver? The reporter should have pressed this point and cleared the ambiquity as a good reporter should have done.
I personally think she likes imported sausages because she had too many of Korean sausages and she knows the taste even before she puts them in her mouth. She wants to know how other sausages taste.
Some women can be happy with one brand of sausage for all their lives, but then there are some who want to taste them all before they die. We call them floozies.
Is there such a thing as “Korean sausage”?
Songs of Innocence and Experience:
When you’re 10 you think women just want a big sausage.
When you’re 25 you learn that women want tenderness, technique.
When you’re 40 you realize women just want a big sausage.
Baduk, you’re back! Man, you’ve missed so much….
Re Nathan’s comment:
What’s interesting is that syllable formation is very similar in both Han’gŭl and Hebrew. In both, block syllables are typically formed from a consonant and a vowel (with, of course, optionally a final consonant in Han’gŭl). In most cases in Hebrew, the vowel mark is placed under the consonant, in a manner similar to Han’gŭl. As a bonus, both writing systems have a special, silent placeholder consonant (aleph in Hebrew and iŭng in Han’gŭl) that together with the accompanying vowel markings represent a vowel sound. (This applies for marked-up, Masoretic Hebrew. A simplified (and older) form of Hebrew writing omits the vowel markings.)
sewing, vowels in Korean are nearly identical to French–or at least as they are pronounced by French Canadians. Korea is the country in Asia who has the most learners of French as a second language….but, I can count the number of Koreans on one hand that I have met who are fluent in French…heck, I can count on one hand the number of Koreans I have met who can more than
종주르, 코망할레부, and 지우테므 in my ten years here.
Of course, Sewing, we maybe shouldn’t say simplified, since the older system was not a simplification of the newer one.
There were, of course, three major stages: the initial stage, written without vowels, the next stage, with its limited use of “matres lectionis” to indicate certain vowels, and the final stage of “fully-pointed” Masoretic Hebrew, complete with all the vowels and accent marks.
Incidentally, many Hebrew syllables also end in consonants. The so-called “silent shewa” is used underneath the consonant that ends a syllable that precedes the next syllable, always started by a consonant (including Aleph).
I have often thought that Korean and Sumerian (which is not a Semitic language) seem distantly related, although I can’t really say why, and I’ve also often wondered what sources Sejong’s scholars used to invent their alphabet–might a Jewish scholar or work have been used as a source? The lateness of the invention of Hangul, the equivalence between aleph and the iung, and the similar way of forming letters (including the odd identically shaped letter, such as “m”) have made me curious. Perhaps you could help me with that last point.
I guess there is one further stage, too: Modern Hebrew, which does not use the Masoretic vowel pointings, except in pedagogical works for children. I do not believe that we have any fully-pointed, non-biblical MSS from earlier times.
Someguy: I meant just the written forms of the two languages, irrespective of their sound systems. Re your point, Korancais (?) can sound just as bad as Konglish if poorly done!
Nathan: I’ve noticed that, too about the “miŭm” looking like a final “mem.” Whether there’s any historical influence, I have no idea. As far as I know, there was no mediaeval Isaac of Hanyang on Sejong’s team of scholars! And yes, it would be better to say that Masoretic Hebrew was an elaboration of non-pointed script. Good point (er, …) on the modern stuff.
Word-final “mem” in writing, not syllable-final, although phonetically it does function as the final sound of the preceding syllable, like the Japanese final “n” kana/sound, I guess.
The discussion has officially gone way over the head of this gentile.
Or maybe I should have said…The discussion has officially gone way over the head of this ‘goy’.
The furor over the ‘x-list’ died down, didn’t it? If I recall, the group of entertainers dropped the suit against CJ Entertainment. That being said, never got a chance to see it and would’ve enjoyed seeing what they considered “scandalous”