Jaemin's Literature and Media Thought Bubble

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite classics novels. I absolutely love the witty, independent Elizabeth who adores her older sister and the complex, gentlemanly Mr. Darcy who goes to the farthest lengths to help those he cares about. They are wonderful characters that realize their flaws and try to change themselves. Their relationship is interesting with how they view each other turning a complete 180 as the story progresses. What I noticed about the story structure is that it is one that is very frequently used in east Asian media: a normal girl meets a bad boy of some status, and something about the girl catches the boy’s interest, and although she hates him at first, he changes into a better person because of her influence and the two end falling in love. These stories always include a male love rival who is also vying for the girls’ attention (like Wickham) and a female love rival who fights the main girl for the main guy (like Miss Bingley). I don’t know if the story o...

I was four when my dad found a job in the United States, and I was five when my family left South Korea and flew over the ocean to our new home in the land of blond hair and fast food. I believe it was then that my life created a fork in the road and I walked the road as a “1 ½ generation Asian American. The other road as a Korean in South Korea was left to my imagination. Sometimes, I think about what kind of person I am now and wonder about the girl who may have walked down the other road. It’s said that a person is the product of his or her environment. “1 ½ generation” immigrants are those who were born in another country and moved to America as a child. We grew up in two environments, which was confusing at first. I learned how to behave around adults in Korea, so I found my young self bowing to my pre-school teachers while other children waved, and although I learned to speak English pretty quickly, I was unable to keep up with who could speak louder, faster, and better. My ...