Yura Kim, a 23 year old senior advertising student at Ferris and a resident of South Korea talked about similarities and differences between U.S. and South Korean culture.
Yura grew up in the city of Seongnamsi-Bundang, population of roughly 20,000, which is close to the capital city of Seoul. She will be returning to South Korea in January of 2013.
Q: “Gangnam Style” has exploded in the U.S. lately. Can you tell us why?
Yura: People around school ask me, ‘You’re from South Korea. Do you know Gangnam Style?’ It’s funny; Psy is the name of the artist. He is a crazy dancer, and that’s why people in America love him. I have gone to a concert before and it was a great time. I saw the video at a Ferris hockey game and it made me laugh.
Q: What is the meaning of the song?
Yura: Gangnam is a city in South Korea where there are many bars and night clubs. Basically, he is telling people that he’s going to go nuts and tear up the city. But many things don’t translate to English very well.
Q: What’s next for Psy?
Yura: I have heard that he is feeling pressure to come up with another great song. I like the song “Shake It;” you can see it on YouTube as well.
Q: What do you think of the food here?
Yura: Our country has western cultural influences; we have McDonald’s and pizza as well. Personally, I love hamburgers and anything with cheese.
Q: To switch to a more serious topic, are South Koreans afraid of North Korea’s leadership?
Yura: Many people are afraid of a war with North Korea. They have a nuclear program and blackmail South Koreans thrrough the media. I think Kim Jong Il’s son is more dangerous than his father was. We don’t want war though.
Q: Last, what do you like to do here at Ferris?
Yura: In South Korea we go to the clubs on Friday and Saturday nights. Here at Ferris there are many costume parties and house parties; this is new to me.