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China, South Korea hip to each
other
By Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING - China's young and hip generation
is in the grip of a "Korean wave" - a powerful
taste-making force influencing everything from
music and films to fashion and beauty. But an
equally strong China fever, or "China wind" as
Koreans call it, is sweeping South Korea, infusing
all things Chinese with retro chic and allure and
making China a top tourist destination.
"Coming to China was easy - I wanted to
make and save money because everything here is so
much cheaper than in Korea," says Piao Zheng Shu,
who works for the South Korean corporation
Ssangyong in Beijing. "But leaving China won't be
that easy. I really felt like I had come home -
life is relaxed and simple and I enjoy myself."
Piao's feelings about life in China, which manages
to retain a somewhat leisurely pace despite the
high-tech ambitions of its leadership, illustrate
a growing affinity South Koreans feel for China's
economic and cultural revival, although suspicion
still shrouds the two nations' political
relationship.
"Koreans feel quite
intrigued with China," says Minkwoon Yoon, a
28-year-old office worker in Seoul. "There are a
lot of energy and opportunities in the country and
if one speaks the language it seems that it is
easier to succeed in China than here."
More than 300,000 South Koreans are now
long-term residents in China, and the country has
become one of the top destinations for Koreans
traveling to study overseas. Nearly half of last
year's foreign students in China came from South
Korea. Most big cities in China now have a South
Korean neighborhood, like the Wangjing residential
complex in Beijing, where a proliferation of
Korean restaurants and saunas has given character
to otherwise featureless clusters of high-rises.
The proximity of China's booming economy
is an advantage South Korean companies have rushed
to capitalize on, by investing more than US$26
billion since the two nations re-established
diplomatic relations in 1992. Nowadays South
Korean brands are ubiquitous. The offices of
China's largest state bank, the Bank of China, are
equipped with Samsung flat-screen computers; the
new taxi fleet of the capital - geared to meet the
needs of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games - is made
up of Hyundai cars, and many modern urbanities
choose the sleek modern designs of LG air
conditioners and microwaves.
As increasing
political friction between China and Japan
threatens to have a chilling effect on booming
trade between the two neighbors, South Korean
companies have pushed ahead and overtaken Japan as
the third largest investor in China, behind Hong
Kong and Britain. Last year, South Korea's foreign
direct investment in China rose to $6.3 billion -
more than twice its registered investment in 2002,
according to the Korea International Trade
Association (KITA).
But the scope of China
and South Korea's blossoming friendliness far
exceeds trade links. The Korean current, or han
liu as it is known in Chinese, has permeated
pop culture and become a measure of "cool" for hip
Chinese youngsters. In many areas like online
games, South Korean makers already dominate the
Chinese market. "The legend of Mir II", developed
by Korean company Wemade, has been the most
popular online game in China since it was
introduced in 2000.
In fashion too,
Chinese girls are now looking for inspiration to
their neighbor, having realized that South Korea's
outfits with their cute cuts suit their Asian
physique better than European brands. "My business
is thriving," says Song Chun, a trade woman whose
boutique in Beijing Jiayi market sells Korean
fashion clothes. "I have to make the trip to Seoul
to buy stuff more often that I used to do few
years back."
If the "Korean wave" has
become a big trend in Chinese pop culture, the
richness and variety of China's ancient heritage
is drawing more South Korean visitors than ever.
Last year, some 2.8 million South Korean tourists
visited China. In comparison, the United States
attracted only 700,000.
"I was amazed at
the respect South Korean students have for Chinese
language and culture," says Professor Dong Hongli,
a lecturer in Chinese classical language at
Beijing University who spent two years teaching in
South Korea. "In a way, they [South Koreans] have
preserved some things better than us. For
instance, their shuyuan, or classical
academies, are a treasure long lost to China but
nevertheless, Koreans feel deeply for the common
origins of our both cultures," Dong added.
The imperial system - created by China's
first emperor Qin Shi-huang in 221 BC - with its
civil service, ideological examinations, wealth,
power and durability over the centuries became a
model not only in Korea, but also Japan and
Vietnam. Although Korea retained its independence
and monarchy for years, it operated within
imperial China's sphere of influence, submitting
tribute and copying some Chinese institutions.
Both countries share the same respect for the
Confucian school of thought.
But the brand
of virulent nationalism among many Chinese that
has been nurtured by the Communist Party, and
China's long history as the region's hegemon, make
Beijing also feared by its neighbor. Unlike
China's ideological alliance with the communist
regime of North Korea, which dates back to the
early 1950s, Beijing's relationship with the South
is newer and more fragile. The eruption of
sporadic wars of words underlies the suspicions
harbored by both countries, which battled each
other in the Korean war five decades ago.
Last year the two countries crossed swords
over the history of Koguryo, an ancient kingdom
that spanned the current China-North Korea border
for about 700 years. Both nations laid claim to
the origins of the kingdom and asked the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) to award it the prestigious
title of World Heritage Site under their own
patronage. The crisis was eventually papered over
after weeks of diplomatic negotiations, and the
World Heritage Committee declared Koguryo a joint
world heritage site for both countries. However, a
new potentially noisy clash might be in sight as
China draws up its first national list of
"intangible cultural heritage" items to be
submitted to UNESCO for recognition.
Beijing intends to include the Dragon Boat
Festival, a lunar holiday on the fifth day of the
fifth month celebrated by boat races in the shape
of dragons, as one of its unique folk festivals.
But South Korea celebrates this traditional
festival too and has added a lot of local color to
its rituals. Fears about the other side's
nationalism go both ways: South Korea's defiance
in handling disputes about its historical and
cultural heritage has made China worried about
rising Korean nationalism.
When earlier
this year Seoul decided to change its Chinese name
from "Hancheng" - which literally translates to
"Chinese city" - to "Shouer", a phonetic
transliteration of Seoul, the decision sparked
intense speculation on Chinese Internet forums.
Some Chinese accused South Korea of "extreme
nationalism" and seeking to obliterate Korea's
Chinese heritage. The intensity of speculation
prompted the South Korean Ambassador to China, Kim
Ha-Jung, to step out in May and publicly deny that
the name change had any relation to cultural
disengagement with China.
(Inter Press
Service) |
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