Hallyu Research Interview

Hi hi sisters ..... done something a bit unusual today, hehe you can even say, on the verge of being 'serious'. Remember a few months ago, a US Phd student has posted in Quilt asking for subjects (specifically Japanese fans) to participate in her research on the Korean Wave? Well, after finished conducting her interview with some N. American and Korean subjects, this past week Hyejung has arrived in Tokyo to interview some volunteers from the Japanese family.

Dear cloudnine is nice enough to ask me to join them for the interview. I know I don't really fit into the subject category that Hyejung is targeting, but as a diligent blogger (or you can say, a nosy body), I welcome any interesting topic that I might come across. So armed with my camera and a lot of enthusiasm, I rushed to where all the sisters were supposed to meet - Shin-Okubo Station. Now for those frequent Tokyo visitors like bb, you know this is the famous Korean town where you can practically find any BYJ goodies; CD case, tissue holder, socks! You name it, they have it. Ok except BYJ himself of course.


You know another reason that compelled me to go is Kiyomi has reserved a 'Yong Joon' room for our lunch! Yeah yeah, I know it's the decor that gives it the name, not that HRH has graced that eatery. After a short walk, we arrived at a small restaurant on a narrow laneway. Frankly, I have no idea how to return to that same spot again, so I took a picture of the front entrance. Hehe, I feel like those little rabbits making a mark in the forest to avoid getting lost :)


The restaurant is posted with pictures of Korean hunks. Not that I am complaining, wink wink ;)

But this is the only one I have my @@ for. The walls of the 'Yong Joon' room :

May I borrow your interior decorator, Mr. Restaurant owner?


Now before I get carried away with too much HRH talk, I should say a little about Hyejung. She is a Korean student studies in University of Oklahoma working on her Phd degree in communications. Her research study is to examine the globalization and localization of Korean Wave in E. Asia (haha told ya, it's serious stuff!). She is obviously a very intelligent and open-minded young woman. She came focused with her objectives in mind, so the questions are very logical in terms of order and flow.


She started with asking how we get attracted to BYJ/Korean drama and what qualities do we treasure him most, the impact of BYJ on our daily lives, to what extent does this lead us to Korean culture ....... etc etc. Well, I'm not going to summarize or conclude all the Q&As here, why? Because if I do, I might as well get the Phd degree myself! Hahaha, just kidding, the truth is I haven't really asked Hyejung for her permission to write about her research.

What I want to applaud also is our Japanese sisters came very well prepared. Of course the smart and quick cloudnine has done her homework and translated some related JOB posts for Hyejung. The calm and cool Kiyomi obviously has all the information clearly processed in her mind, and the wise and diligent moichan even has notes for her answers! The other 2 sisters YonYon-san and OK-san are so sincere and sweet, I can feel their genuine hearts and love for Yong Joon in their responses. Hyejung is amazed at the calibers of the Japanese BYJ fans and thier unwavering dedication to Yong Joon. What strikes me is a few of them mentioned that Yong Joon captured their hearts the moment he put his hands close to his heart on his first visit to Japan 2004, so touching!


The interview lasted for an amazingly long 3 hours without us even feeling it. What's interesting about it was amid the Q&As, we had a lot of offline discussions on the Japanese-Korean political relationship, Korean family values and this new generation's culture. Hyejung shed some lights on how Korean traditional values still shape the family behaviour while our Japanese sisters also share the recent history of Japanese entertainment. I am sure all the sisters present will agree that, we have indeed witness a bilateral exchange in culture.

HyeJung ssi, I wish you all the success in your future endeavours.


Hehe, one cute thing I want to share is : when I bid my sisters goodbye after the interview, we all waved to each other and said, "See you in Osaka!" and stuck our thumbs up!! Hahaha, see how positive and confident we are!