In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d talk about the things that scare me most: Koreaboos (not really).
Some of the stigma surrounding K-pop can be attributed to Koreaboos, someone who is obsessed with Korean culture (usually K-pop or K-dramas) to an extreme extent. The term comes from the predating term Weeaboo, who is a person with an obsession with Japanese culture.
While I can appreciate the people who want to learn Korean and the history of Korea, it is frustrating when I hear Koreaboos reduce Korea to its music and TV. Many Koreaboos tend to glorify Korea, thinking of it as some sort of paradise that parallels the one they see in K-dramas.
Althought I can appreciate how popular South Korea has gotten over the years, sometimes I do miss the times in elementary and middle school when Korea wasn’t as “mainstream” as it is now. Nowadays, Korea is reduced to two things: K-pop and K-dramas. Sure, these things are great, but I wish people would take some time to appreciate the history of Korea.
Maybe it’s because I went to a Korean language learning school for eight years and learned about the history of Korea every year, but Korea’s history has always been interesting to me.
Take the creation of Korea’s official language, Hangul, for example.
Hangul was created by King Sejong, known as Sejong the Great, during the Chosun Dynasty. His reign is often hailed as the Golden Age of Korea, a testament to his leadership. The 15th century is marked by the birth of Hangul, initially known as Hunminjeongeum, published on October 9, 1446.
Until this point, the Korean language was written in Chinese characters known as Hanja, which was only used by the educated elite. Hanja was a product of Korean people who wanted to record their thoughts but had no way to do so. Because Hanja was complex and difficult to learn, commoners were illiterate as they could not afford to learn to read or write. In addition, because Chinese characters were not meant to express Korean words, Hanja never quite served to express Korean ideas or sounds adequately.
It was the combined struggle of the country’s illiteracy and the country’s lack of language dedicated to Korean that inspired the birth of Hunminjeongeum. King Sejong set out to invent a language that the Korean people could readily learn and use, gathering a group of scholars and linguists to create a new script.
Following the creation of Hangul, people of all classes had a chance to be literate as they were able to learn Hangul independently. The language quickly became popular and was quickly adopted by Koreans. Because of its accessibility, the Korean elite opposed it, as Hangul threatened their status.
Hangul is so simple, in fact, that by the time children reach school age, most exhibit mastery of Hangul. Illiteracy is very low in South Korea, having a 97.97% literacy rate. Compare this to America’s literacy rate of 70% in 2022.
While there is nothing wrong with enjoying K-pop and K-dramas, fantasizing about Korea reduces the country to a set of stereotypes and ignores Korea’s rich culture and heritage. It’s important to remember that Korea is not limited to just these facets.
