MGP+Deborah

__** The Changing Generation of Teenagers in S. Korea **__ In South Korea, how do teenagers of my generation (the present) differ from the generation of teenagers of my parents (the past)?

//Please click on the links to view preface, epilogue, introductions, outlines, and bibliography.// -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. PREFACE -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. GENRE 1 GENRE 1 INTRODUCTION: Research Paper **__ It's Time For Change __** __Although people say that parents were all once teenagers like I am, circumstances have changed drastically compared to our parents’ generations in a way that present teenagers in Korea like us, are provided with more opportunities and are influenced greatly by today’s society.__ The past generation was composed of repetitive labor and limited resources due to the post colonial era while the society today opens new paths for individuals who pursuit their dreams.

Multiple opportunities are open for the new generation. Language leads to many chances of experiences in different fields. For example, I was born in New Zealand but have Korean roots and began learning my third language at an international school. Thus, I was able to reach diverse cultures of the world and understand the different ways in which people think. However my parents had no choice but to attend an unhygienic local school crammed with students from the same area. However, when I moved to Korea I was able to choose whether I wished to go to a Korean local school, an international school, or a specialized Korean high school.

Students these days are able to study, work on hobbies, or build physical strength by joining sport teams after school. This is possible because the Korean society now consists of nuclear families, meaning a household is of two parents and children. About 50 years back, families of about three generations all lived together under a patriarchy system, which means that men, or the father figure are dominant over other members of the family (Patriarchy). My mother was required to perform multiple chores to help the massive household and could hardly invest time into her life for her future dreams.

Since 1950, Korea was experiencing a post-colonial era and the division of the North and South peninsula affected the young minds of my parents’ generation. The unstable economy and society led to teenagers working and laboring for money to serve the family instead of investing time or effort in building knowledge or education. Whereas now, the system of “hagwons,” tutors, or academies developed so greatly that students receive extra teaching out side of school. In Kyeonggi province alone, the number of hagwons increased 81.5% since 2002 (“The New Korean Government”). Although students nowadays have the opportunity to learn a winder range of topics from extensive curriculums, along with it is the increasing concern of the health of the teenagers. Due to the greed of parents and pressure for higher education in order to attend well-known universities, many of the students end up being held at hagwons till late at night after school. Thus, resulting in the lack of sleep or physical action that teenagers require.

Influential factors create the most difference between the two generations in South Korea. After General Park Chung-hee became president in 1961, he created policies and built factories to recover the economy and loss after the Korean civil war. Thus, South Korea was able to rapidly grow and fully recover and stabilize the economy; people called this event “the miracle on Han river.” Now Korea is known for high trading rated with foreign countries and the quality production of ships, electronics, cars, electronic chips and more. Through this process technology, electricity, and media developed. Through the fast develop of transportation and Internet, news are transmitted nationally and world wide in a split second. During national breaks such as Chusok where families had to meet, travels would be planned and started days before in order to reach the destination in time. However, bullet trains, airplanes, buses, etc. cut down the time of the tiresome journey.

The media plays a big role on teenagers in Korea. The K-pop culture recently developed and dominates the minds of teenagers over the nation. Fan clubs are created and teenagers set these singers as idols and copy their style, moves, gestures, etc. Fashion or trends are another major influence on teenagers that developed recently. My parents had to wear uniforms at school, and one at home changed to what ever was comfortable to work in. Teenagers in the more modern days tend to show off personality and wear the latest fashion item that is promoted by the media. The standard for beauty that teenagers think they need to have changed as well through globalization. Teenagers did not have much issues or complexes that gave stress about how they looked. Due to the cognizance of ‘western beauty,’ teenagers now are considering plastic surgery to have bigger eyes, higher noses, etc; other times teenagers use beauty products to maintain the look they want. When teenagers ate traditional Korean food that consists of various vegetables, rice, and fish, they were able to maintain a healthy diet. But as a variety of food can be obtained, including fast food such as McDonalds or instant foods, the rate of obesity of teenagers increased twice since 1998 (Korea’s Top 10 Problems of Teenagers).

Even though we live on the same geographic areas as our parents, the change in time periods have shown drastic changes from our teenage lifestyle to those of our parents. While there used to be more restrictions and fewer opportunities, teenagers of today’s society are offered with diverse options and highly influenced by the surrounding global environment. Teenagers nowadays are gifted to obtain more opportunities therefore, have multiple options towards achieving their dreams.

BIBLIOGRAPHY (WORK CITED)

Genre 2 GENRE 2 OUTLINE GENRE 2 INTRODUCTION: MAGAZINE ARTICLE BIBLIOGRAPHY 2

Genre 3 GENRE 3 OUTLINE GENRE 3 INTRODUCTION: ART

These are scanned pictures so the color seems faded and edges are cut off; please refer to the real posters that are turned in. Thank You! ANALYSIS: The two poster easily depict my interpretation of the understanding of the two teenage generations. Both posters incorporate pictures and words/phrases that I thought would represent the two generation of teenagers. For example, some words seen in the left poster are 'ideas' 'style' 'music' 'beauty' etc. Overall, the left poster, representing the present generation shows more color and vibe whereas the right poster, representing the past, is more of black and white because I thought of black and white T.V shows and pictures that were taken back then. The poster on the left is how I see present day teenagers in Korea: vibrant, passionate, free, but in a way, too stressed and kept pressured. That is why I put a dark cloud of navy at the bottom right corner of the poster where negative influences and stress have caused teenagers to break down and feel emotionally painful and find substitutes such as violence, alcohol, drugs, dangerous bike driving, etc. On the other hand, the future seems much brighter for teenagers who make the right choices. There are more opportunities and industries that provide various jobs and a diverse system of education to choose from, compared to the past in which most students thought of working at a factory, housewife, farming, and earning enough money to keep the family running would be the best choice. Teenagers have become more dynamic in thoughts and life styles, so I used various colors and the wavy and random lines portray the freedom that teenagers now enjoy. I drew straight, sharp edged lines in the right poster to show the more conservative and restricted life that teenagers in the past had to live in. Taking an overall glimpse at the two posters, the left poster shows more western values, such as clothing or other items, due to the vast globalization. There is a picture of a strawberry in the left poster, and a picture of kimchi in the right poster. I enjoy eating a lot of fruit everyday which keeps me healthy; I heard from my mother that she scarcely even saw fruit unless it grew in her backyard. Many teenagers back then lacked nutrition because the food they ate was not diverse. I put pictures of American soldiers in the right poster because they were often around, and provided corn powder and little sweets to the children that my father remembers. By creating an placing the two posters side by side, I was hoping to visualize the difference.

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