Opportunities and Rock n Roll

Gotta grab those opportunities when they come up. However Malcolm Gladwell says in his book Outliers that opportunities find the person and not the other way around. You are who you are and you are either born in the right decade of success or not. You either experience smooth sailing or run into a few bumps either preventing or leading to your success.

"In Outliers, he hopes to show that there are a lot more variables involved in an individual's success than society cares to admit, and he wants people to "move away from the notion that everything that happens to a person is up to that person"

Outside forces obviously have an impact. Knowing where you stand (or fall) in a particular generation should help you determine what you are....supposed to be. Or does this sound too pessimistic -

Maybe this will help~

"When asked what message he wanted people to take away after reading Outliers, Gladwell responded, "What we do as a community, as a society, for each other, matters as much as what we do for ourselves. It sounds a little trite, but there's a powerful amount of truth in that, I think."

Shout out to the individual to build his/her society.

What to build in South Korea? Can Rock n Roll do to Korea what it did for America? Maybe a little bit more "freedom" might do it some good, or not.

So far their culture and community are so demanding of the individual which in my perspective can be respected. Or maybe the active role of women in the economic history of the continent has helped it tremendously long term. Experts remark on how women are better with money due to their long term outlook, such as kids, household, and grandchildren. These perspectives prove to provide the whole community with more, because of its long term effects.

Seems to be the wave of the financial world these days with Christine Lagarde at the helm.

However, America has its opinions on how much time working as an impact on the economy...but certain things like working late every night are not considered. Americans may have their nights while Asians have their vacations.....Fareed Zakaria on Americans working

Apprenticeships, opportunities, private businesses give us this start. I do not know it all. "profit on the one hand, and wages on the other" is how capitalism works and that only works if you are giving and taking. Failure is not a bad option but consistently making the same mistake is.

I preferred it when people had the time, ....no, MADE the time to think before they act.

If you think about how your business can help the community as a whole either in the long term or every, month, year, etc. The actual term used when Old Choson was founded by Tangun Wanggum in 2333 BC was Hongik Ingan meaning "to live and work for the benefit of all mankind". This old traditional mindset and culture leads to what superpowers we will see in the near future. Even old stories about famous historical figures such as Yi Yulgok praise this virtue to work for the whole and give away what you have rather than hoard it for yourself. Was there self interest in Yi Yulgok's actions?

American ideals have changed as well. We are not in the economy to compete - ultimately we are here to cooperate and negotiate. So Why should everything be a game of winning? Adam Smith at first write The Theory of Moral Sentiments where he emphasizes the importance of relationships:

In the work, Smith critically examines the moral thinking of his time, and suggests that conscience arises from social relationships.^[56] His goal in writing the work was to explain the source of mankind's ability to form moral judgements, in spite of man's natural inclinations towards self-interest. Smith proposes a theory of sympathy, in which the act of observing others makes people aware of themselves and the morality of their own behavior

but in his Wealth of Nations he emphasizes the dangers of the invisible hand contradicting a the sympathy expressed in TOMS, the invisible hand is the gluttony of humanity and how it takes over:

"As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestick industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestiek to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other eases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the publick good. [emphasis added]."

The One Minute Entrepreneur - by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson gives a great example of how a business can help everyone - their community and their family. "When you give to others, it comes back to you in spades".

When you give you are still thinking of yourself. There is a balance to maintain. Overall personal relationships should be highest priority. BUT I am getting ahead of myself.

Maybe Fareed Zakaria's opinion on an economic platform as a government outline should be considered.

Korean culture demands a lot from its citizens but then again it offers a lot too. Things may be getting more expensive only because we are not in a fixed market, but they tend to come around here in bigger quantities and the people seem to appreciate the award at the end of a long run. Yearly, monthly, etc. Rather than weekly, bi-weekly. Again another example of the West's shortsightedness. BUT weekly paychecks are not bad either - people save in different ways. However take into consideration what has actually happened in reality - about how Americans did not save while Asians, Koreans saved quite a bit in recent years. The interest rate here is astonishing, ....while you may have some limitations - I guess I will find out if the wait is worth it. It limits temptation for sure but also that freedom that comes with the choice of temptation.

Now back to Rock n Roll. I just came from RENT(I know not specifically rock n roll, but influential music nonetheless), and it was in Korean. Overall I think this western influence is needed, through the arts. It does not need to be shut out or slept with just shown a seperate room perhaps~ Does this open mindedness make it better? Does the West hold a higher standard of art than Asia?

ART is the freedom to feel comfortable or sick from what you see or hear, not to restrict it. Do the older paintings do this, yes in a very respectful and subtle way, which can be and is appreciated. But RENT is an outlet for the many emotional limitations that Korea's culture subtly imposes. Do I feel suffocated? No. it is a city where there is a basic difference between running free in a field and being surrounded by people at all times. The difference needs to be embraced as well and understood - maybe not adopted but observed.

However with so many people it IS harder to meet others on the level in which I would prefer to meet them. It seems I know my neighbors who live a mile away from me back home better than those who live 2 feet from me here, it would be the same in New York or Los Angelos (I hear). Going back to Freshman year, I feel this is a natural way of city life from what was talked about in "freshman studies" and those art history classes I thought I was going to major in - help me pull the painting Paris Street, Rainy Day - by Gustave Caillebotte out of memory:

This may be Paris but it still reflects that loneliness of even an Asian city life. Coming from the country, I feel I need to insert something into this painting. For one it bores me, makes me feel like crap, and there is no focus point - typical for city life. There needs to be a Scream, or a smile :-)

So do I become unfocused while in the city? No. I try and work harder to carve those smile or scream niches of my own for myself.

Turn inward.

Below: This picture I feel represents what I want the city to be like for me, probably not as familiar here in Korea as it was meant to be in the picture but I should become THIS comfortable with Korea, not the other way around~Richard Feynman demonstrates this when he writes about his frequent trips to Japan and how he wanted the Japanese style stay rather than the customary western style - made to make westerners feel more comfortable. This is ridiculous but totally respectful in the sense that "hey the Japanese are thinking about our comfort"

this could be within that niche:

I think this shows maybe a little loneliness, but it only appears that way and you can fill it with observation, of the couple or the open windows, or conversation with the bartender. In Korea I was prone to people watching just because I do it back home, and tend to be more aware of people since they were not always around me.

But when I talked to locals here, "people watching, what's this?" A lot of Koreans seem to not notice the person as much as the people (great big moving bodies walking around). I am distracted and curious about the PERSON rather than the people.

"Edward Hopper’s painting Nighthawks (1942) expresses the comfortable, familiar feeling of being in “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” in the midst of a dark and lonely city. " The clean well lighted place might as well be a friend as it is a place.

The root of a complaint usually comes from observing a person as people instead of seeing, or trying to see something else like the light in an unfamiliar place. Of course not all Koreans, and definitely not all Foreigners, do see the light but it becomes habit when people watching begins to hurt your eyes, because you are trying to look at everything instead of focusing on one thing.

"We Will See"

"Resist the temptation to hurry the process simply because the uncertainty of not knowing is uncomfortable. "
-Dr. Mini Kaur
Foreign Affairs article by Hilary Clinton

What better place to be than where the action is right?!

The obvious result will be that North Korea will fall just because it has zero resources, and still decreasing if that is even possible.

North Korea

Although I was contemplating talking about 'black swans' before I was introduced to the TV series FlashForward, which has now been canceled (not the most brilliant choice), now that it was mentioned in a very good TV series and has something to do with this entry I need to write about how it is relevant to the Koreas.

This Black Swan related to this entry is not necessarily as unlikely and massive as the disproportionate, high impact, unexpected event in FlashForward, but it is important to where I will be for at least the next year and of interest to the world. South Korea is a major economic, geographic, and political ally to the United States where is draws a lot of military support from, even if the South Korean youth think otherwise. Americans I hear are not too popular due to our reckless military youth stationed there. However, the relevance of South Korea in the political world and its future dealings with North Korea when, and I do mean when, it falls, will be a major concern for international trade in the future.

North Korea's new leadership will take on an even more militaristic character that threatens democracy and does not necessarily give the United States a choice, when it attacks South Korea. China claims that it does not support North Korea in the recent attacks on Yeonpyeong Island off the coast of the South Korean peninsula, but from my observations of "China's word", we better not rely on that. No matter how much I hope that China will stop the trade and destructive economic activity in Africa, and its self-inflicting poverty among Chinese individuals/citizens, I still think a better access point for China is through South Korea.

North Korea, due to common language (sometimes), culture, tradition, and history, will seek more help from South Korea because, first of all, they already do, and secondly it will make the peninsula more powerful in Confucian ideals and in 'fitting in' with the westernization of the rest of world. This combination can be achieved with hard (very hard) work, but it can also act as a bomb, when mixing two chemicals/(politicals), causing an explosion.

In Hilary Clinton's article she mentions, "Today's world is a crucible of challenges testing American leadership. Global problems, from violent extremism to worldwide recession to climate change to poverty, demand collective solutions, even as power in the world becomes more diffuse. They require effective international cooperation, even as that becomes harder to achieve. And they cannot be solved unless a nation is willing to accept the responsibility of mobilizing action." America's main motivation will need to be to reclaim or 'share' the leadership role.

President Obama frequently mentioned South Korea as a role model for the United States in his State of the Union address. He mentioned South Korean teachers to be "nation builders", as opposed to our 'tenure-hungry'-unionizing-blame-the-government teachers, and how when Americans are struggling to get internet all over the country, South Koreans have better quality and faster service, all over their country. This is a significant sign of America's lack of leadership. Are we already 'old timers' that we can't even implement a functioning wireless service to our entire country? Our country is quite larger than South Korea's but is it to large to manage efficiently, I mean we have done it for 200 yrs plus! Our ability to evolve as become slow, and this lack of creativity and curiosity in the world has hindered us. Generations before, well... mine, have been more focused on money. Money was what they built and created, rather than new economic methods for new technology etc. Was capitalism taken for granted?

The world is definitely getting smaller, and like in the previous post, America is becoming more vulnerable, therefore more worried and defensive because of the lack of knowledge about the 'outside' world. Although we have spent many years, since Nixon, developing foreign affairs for the better. Good things always take time, and to rush the process, like North Korea is doing, will ruin what it could possibly become. China needs to put a muzzle on their dog as a symbolic action that proves to the US they are serious about peace and security in OUR (as in everyone's) world.

I should be off to South Korea soon enough to teach English for at least a year. Once I start there, I am guessing this blog will take on yet another form, from Art to Politics/Governance (IR) to traveling and cultural anthropological observations - maybe it will just be more personal. I hope to learn more Korean, maybe an instrument?, who knows. Maybe I can find something on here that will lead me.

I was also told South Korea is not a place to 'find yourself', haha, well we will see. Having been to South Korea before I know to 'watch' myself in certain situations - pay attention to detail and emotions more so than I do in the stix of Kansas. This is probably for the best because I do care about certain people, and it will make me a better judge for those who care (or say they care) for me. Of course finding that medium between the two culture will result in some not so easy sacrifices, patience, and an extensive understanding by both parties involved.

Paul Kennedy emphasizes the strategy of "Wait and See"

Try Harder, Be Better, and Never forget to Smile :-D.