As per one photo blog:
“This is funny. Britney Spears, wearing Korean-printed-dress by Dolce & Gabana. It says, ‘ShinHeungHoNam HyangWooHoei’– new rising society for soldiers. Of course Britney or D&G didn’t know the meaning . . .”
Considering how many dumb people get nonsensical Chinese ideograms tattooed on their bodies, I’m just glad this phat babe did not get a tattoo.
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At least she’s unlikely to offend anybody, unlike Cameron Diaz trapsing around Peru carrying a bag with a Maoist slogan:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19410813/
I predict that all Americans will start wearing clothes with nonsensical gibberish written in Asian languages. It’s a natural consequence of seeing Asians parade around in nonsensical gibberish written in English.
Only that this time gibberish is in the quoted translation of the dress text, not in the text itself, which is not about military. Or then, nonsense is in Britney Spears wearing a dress with the text meaning “Rising Honam [Jeolla] Association.” (Hyang’uhoe are the associations that Koreans living away from their native places have, and the common understanding is that the one Ms Spears here gives exposure to is one of the three most influential and tightly organized associations, with the Korea University Alumni association (고려대 교우회) and Marine Reserves’ Association (해병대 전우회). (Here’s a Korean-language piece from Hankyoreh about the Honam people’s associations existing all over Korea.)
Could we please stick to local talent?
It was only a matter of time before a designer label would try to cash in on Korean nationalism. It makes total sense, really. To put it frankly, South Koreans are obsessed with labels, whether they be legit item or cheap knockoffs. Even if nobody here buys the dress because of its awkward choice of text, it will certainly help D&G’s brand image.
Wasn’t this like a couple of years ago, like when Britney was actually relevant?
Yes, it was. CyWorld fodder circa 2004 or 2005.
she was relevent once?!
Cyworld!? That explains why I never heard of it before now I guess. Cyworld is more like “Korea-world” here any way since the Korean version is a Koreans-only online club.
Isn’t she like bald and barking mad now?
LoL . . .
On the plus side, maybe a few “waygook” Brittany watchers will get inquisitive enough to delve into Hangul. Empraptor has seen the future, and the way is open for a few former Hagwon Engrish teachers to transition into hip NYC and LA tattoo artists.
The text on her cloth sounds simply stupid and funny for virtually every Korean. It cannot have anything to do with nationalism. I think someone who didn’t know Hangul decided to use the text because Hangul looked sort of exotic to her.
It’s a pity she couldn’t find a hairdresser who could have dyed her hair properly with all the money available to her.
Not to defend our Trailer Park Queen, but is this really any different than clothing worn in these parts with random English words/sayings?
“The text on her cloth sounds simply stupid and funny for virtually every Korean. It cannot have anything to do with nationalism.”
No, it’s not a nationalistic message…but it certainly seems like someone–her, her stylist who may have added the text (I now realize), or the designers– was trying to get noticed by Koreans.
Speaking of exotic-looking gibberish:
http://www.hanzismatter.com/
Things like these help maintain equilibrium in the universe, by balancing out all the Engrish in the world.
#16 – Along those same lines, I seem to recall photos floating around of her in hanbok.
Ah, the wonders of Google. After my hasty post #18, I found this Yonhap story from 2005 which mentions said appearance—along with our eminent bloghost. The story is mirrored here, with the added benefit of the photos actually loading.
#2 ‘I predict that all Americans will start wearing clothes with nonsensical gibberish written in Asian languages.’
#17 You beat me to it. The Hanzi Smatter link is a must-see.
Yes, some folks are going a step further and getting gibberish written in Asian languages tattooed on them. If you’re going to get a freakin’ tattoo in hanzi make sure you consult this link first. The idiots on the site wished they did.
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