Cozmopolitan Sunkyoung

몇 주 전에 트랜스포머 2를 보면서 몇 가지 생각이 들어 정리해 보고자 한다.
I would like to collect my random thoughts of Transformers 2 that I watched a couple of weeks ago.

트랜스포머 1을 보지 않고 2탄을 먼저 보았는데 거리에 붙은 포스터나 예고편을 봤을 때에는 모든 로보트가 ‘그들’ – 즉, 나쁜편이라 생각했다. 그런데 몇몇 로보트들은 군공무원이더만.
I didn’t have a chance to see Transformers 1 while it was on screen, and from posters and a trailer of TF2, I had thought all the robots were ‘them’ – that is, evils. However, some robots were even military civil servants.

헐리우드에서 만든 거의 모든 외계 세력/생물체/현상의 지구 박살내기 영화에서는 무조건 미국이 사태를 다 처리한다.  이 영화에서도 상해와 빠리가 쑥대밭이 되는데도 결국 머리 싸매고 고민하는 곳은 미군 사령실이나 펜타곤이다. 중국이나 프랑스도 왠만한 군사강국 아닌가? 미국영화니까 미군 나오는 게 당연할 수도 있지만 연합군도 못 꾸린단 말인가? 오히려 그게 더 자연스러운 것 아닌가?
In most of the Hollywood movies where the external forces/lives/phenomena strike the Earth, it is always the USA who mainly deals with them. In TF2, Shanghai and Paris were blown up, but it was the US military commander’s room and Pentago where people gathered to solve the situation. Aren’t China and France also such military powers? One could argue it’s fair to show these core decision-making bodies in the US as TF2 is an American film. But, I can’t help but ask, even in that case, why the US military doesn’t arrange the coalition forces with China and France. Isn’t this more realistic?

마이클 베이 감독의 작품에는 군대 및 그들의 장비를 근사하게 그리는 장면이 자주 등장한다. 한 친구의 retweet을 통해 보게 된 Transformers FAQs라는 웹페이지에서는 이 감독이 원래 제트기, 탱크, 항공모함에 환장해서(Because Michael Bay has a huge erection for jets and tanks and aircraft carriers [...]) 그렇다고도 하는데, 이걸 읽고 떠오른 사람이 있었다.
In many of Michael Bay’s films, he has often made scenes where the military forces and their arms are nicely picturised. At a web page, Transformers FAQs, which I came to read through a friend of mine’s retweet, it is explained that he ‘has a huge erection for jets and tanks and aircraft carriers [...]‘ Reading this phrase, I recalled one person.

그는 바로 2003년에 ‘비상‘이라는 책의 서평이 신문에 나서 알게 된 ‘이원익’이라는 사람이다. 이 책은, 그가 2001년 빠리국제에어쇼에 참가하여 항공선진국들의 첨단 기술 및 그들의 영향력에 자극을 받은 후 세계적 한공산업의 에이전트가 되기 위해 하버드 케네디 행정대학에 입학하기 직전에 낸 자서전이다.
It is Wonik Lee, whom I came to know through a newspaper’s book review of his autobiography in 2003. The book was published right before he went to John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (hereafter, HKS: Harvard Kennedy School). He applied for this school to build his career as an agent in the aerospace industry after he was stimulated by what he saw at Paris Airshow 2001 – high technologies of advanced countries in the industry and their power.

나와 비슷한 시기에 유학을 갔고 그의 앞으로의 행보가 기대가 되어 생각날 때마다 뉴스 검색을 하였는데 가장 최근에 찾은 뉴스는 그가 2년 간의 석사 과정을 마치고 한국항공우주산업(KAI)의 항공기수출본부에서 일하고 있다는 것이었다. 한 마디로 전투 훈련기 장사를 하고 있는 것이었다. (2007년 5월 14일자 조선일보 관련기사)
In addition to that he went to study abroad in the similar time as me, I was looking forward to his future path so I have searched some news whenever he called to mind. The latest news I’ve found is that, after he completed 2-year master course, he was working at aircraft export team of Korean Aerospace Industries, Ltd. In a word, he was selling training aircraft. (Related article in Chosun Ilbo on 14 May 2007: Korean only)

이원익은 전투기 조종사인 부친을 둔 덕에 일찌기 어려서부터 전투기에 관심이 많았고 스스로도 전투기 조종사가 되고자 하였다. 그러나 고등학교 때 시력저하로 인해 공군사관학교 진학을 포기해야 했다. 하지만 관심과 열정을 멈추지 않아 전문가 수준에 가까운 지식을 쌓았고 여러 사회 활동을 통해 다방면의 실력도 키웠다.
Thanks to his father, combat pilot, he got interested in jet fighters at his very early age and he wanted to become a fighter pilot himself. However, because of a decline in his eye sight during his high school time, he had to give up going to the national air-force academy. Despite this, his high interest and passion led him to acquire as much knowledge as the professional’s and he also built his capacity through experiences in various fields.

자신의 꿈을 이루기 위해 굉장한 노력을 기울였다는 점에서는 그에게 아낌없는 박수를 보낸다. 하지만 그의 꿈을 이루는 과정에서 얽혀진 여러 관계들은 그의 행보를 마냥 칭송하게 만은 만들지 않는다. 케네디 행정대학의 학비와 생활비의 대부분은 삼성 이건희장학재단에 선발되어 벌었고, 그가 역할모델로 삼은 홍정욱은 한나라당 소속으로 국회의원이 되었고, 유학 직전 결혼한 상대의 부친은 진대제 전 정보통신부 장관이다.
In view of that he has put enormous efforts to make his dreams come true, I give him applause. However, several relations he’s got connected to on his path towards his dreams, do not make me only applaud him. He earned most of his tuition fee and living expenses through the scholarship offered by Samsung Lee Kun Hee Scholarship Foundation. And his role model – Jungwook Hong became a member of National Assembly of Korea, affiliated with the Grand National (Hannara) Party, a conservative political party. The father of his spouse to whom he got married just before going to the States, is Deaje Chin, a former Minister of Information and Communication after his resignation as CEO of Samsung Semiconductors.

그가 개인적으로 일궈낸 성과 및 쌓은 인맥을 비판하고자 하는 것은 아니지만 그의 선택이 우연히, 혹은 의도적으로(!) 사회의 보수세력과 밀접히 연관을 맺게 된 것에 나는 주목을 하고 있다. 그리고 그가 케네디스쿨에서 공부한 뒤 하고 있는 일이 살인과 관련된 전쟁무기(당시에는 훈련기였다 할지라도) 수출이라는 점도.
I do not intend to criticise his personal achievements and human relationships, but I do pay attention to the fact that he has built those relations with a broad conservative segment of society by chance, or on purpose(!). My attention also goes to what he is doing after graduation from HKS is exporting arms – though they were training jets at that time -, that could cause civilian casualties.

내가 항공 및 군수 산업에는 문외한이라 그 안에 얽힌 국가 간, 지역 간 역학 관계를 무시한 것일 수도 있다. (사실 그 검은 세계를 알고 싶은 생각도 별로 없다.) 하지만 그가 케네디스쿨에서 배운 것에 그만의 영특함과 근면, 성실함을 더하여 인류를 위해 보다 인도적인 차원의 일을 했으면 좋았겠다는 안타까움이 크다. (어쩌면 내가 케네디스쿨에 대한 일면만 알고 있는지도…)
As an absolute outsider of aerospace and munitions industries, I may be ignorant about the politics entangled between countries and regions in these fields. (Actually I’m not really interested in this dark side of the world.) But what I regret is that he could have done a work of rather humanitarian dimension for mankind with his intelligence and diligence as well as things he learned at HKS. (Maybe I only know one aspect of the school…)

자, 결론이다. 글 제목에 대한 변이자 왜 트랜스포머 2 보고 나서 이 사람 생각이 났는지에 대한 답변. 부친의 직업의 영향 외에도 이원익의 진로에 결정적인 영향을 미친 영화가 ‘탑건’이었다.
Here is my conclusion. This explains a reason for the title of this post and why I recalled him after watching Transformers 2. Besides his father’s job, it was a movie, ‘Top Gun’ that had a decisive influence on his life.

어제 오랫만에 세진이와 네이트온에서 채팅을 했다. 올 4월에 결혼하는 그녀에게 신혼 여행지를 물었더니 하와이로 간다고 하였다. 그래서 내가 “와, 오바마 고향으로 가는 거네?” 했더니 세진이가 웃으며 말하길 하와이 간다고 하니까 많은 사람들이 “니가 가라 하와이”라고 하던데 ‘오바마’를 언급한 것은 내가 처음이라고 한다. 나도 그 말에 낄낄대고 웃었다.

While chatting with Sejin online yesterday, I asked her, who’s getting married in April, a destination of their honeymoon and she said they were going to Hawaii. I replied, “Wow, you’re gonna visit Obama’s hometown!” Then, she laughed saying whenever she had revealed this destination, the response she got most was “YOU go to Hawaii (a famous quote from the Korean film “Friend“).” And she said I was the first one who mentioned Obama.

나는 친구의 대사 중 “마이 묵으다 아이가”가 제일 기억에 선명하게 남아 “니가 가라 하와이”는 생각도 못 했다. 그리고 바로 그 전 날 하와이가 오바마의 성격 형성에 끼친 영향을 다룬 신문 기사를 읽어서 더 그랬을 거다.

Since the quote that remained most impressive to me is “You stabbed me enough”, I never thought of this another famous quote. And it was also because just the day before I read a newspaper article talking about how the influence of Hawaii on forming Obama’s characteristics.

As I twitted, from today onward, Koreans can travel to the USA without visas for up to 90 days. On this historical day, I would like to talk about my link with the USA.

Since my first living abroad was in the Netherlands, I have become pro-Europe but I’m quite certain that if it was in the States, I’d have been at the forefront of promoting its culture like I’ve been with the Irish one. Interestingly, however, before I went to the Netherlands in 2003, my view on the Western world had been formed heavily based on how the US was projected in me from my childhood.

My parents, who were very keen about education, bought me a set of English books and cassette tapes directly licensed by the American publishing company when, if I could remember, I was three years old. Through a family of anthropomorphised rabbits in the books, I could observe the different settings of the Americans’ daily lives: two-storied house with a garden and a garage, big shopping mall where people carries carts, school bus, Christmas and so on. And as lovers of pop music, my parents also had a big collection of 60′s to 80′s pop music and I think I listened to these songs more than to children’s songs.

When I grew up to be a teenager, I recall it was a booming period of absorbing American culture and most of the channels were through media. You could easily imagine how I understood the Western world - which practically meant the US only at that time – with the names I list as following:

• New Kids On The Block - These five boys from Boston had a significant influence on my interest in English language because what I did during my spare time in junior high school was mostly singing along their songs and trying to understand what the lyrics meant. I actually thank them for this and next February in Amsterdam, I’ll finally see these now-men after nearly two-decade since I became their fan. Not only their songs but their music videos – yeah, we are the generation of MTV – stimulated my curiosity about the Western life with the sights and incidents filmed in the videos.

• Toy Soldiers- As an adolescent girl who reached the stage of valuing friendship most in life, this movie fired my fantasy of the perfect friendship, trouble-making at school, dormitory life, and teenage hero. I liked the film so much that I bought the video tape from the video rental shop, which was very rare for anyone of my age at that time, and that I even rewrote the story by adding myself as a troublemaking girl who was sent by her parents to the boarding school, where there are only boys, as a very exceptional case. I named her (or myself) Kevin to defeminise her original name, Catherine, with a thought at the time that the first sounds of these two names were the same. Anyway, this is not the end of the story. I even wrote my first-ever fan mail to Sean Astin to the Tri Star in Hollywood, which produced ‘Toy Soldiers’ and which was listed by a Korean film magazine to send a fan letter to. (The mail was returned to me a couple of months later, though, with a stamp of wrong address.) Now you can imagine how sad I was when I saw Sean Astin in the first piece of the Lord of the Rings. I was really shocked at how much a person can change over a decade.

• TV Series - The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser, M.D., Beverly Hills 90210 up to my teenage and Ally McBeal and Sex and the City in my adulthood: No more words needed, right?

With this visa waver programme, I now can directly experience the American culture without the heavy burden of application with the various documents and a lot of money. As much as the gap between fantasy and reality, my future experience in this vast territory of Northern America will be different from what I had learned and saw from all those pieces of American pop culture. However, I’m excited to be able to see and feel them in their own country, recalling the fanatical curiosity about the world outside from my childhood.

Into The Wild (USA, 2007)
Director: Sean Penn
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone

“Happiness Only Real When Shared” – Chris, or Alexander, may have gone too far to learn this simple truth. But, in today’s world which often seems getting too crazy, do we ever pay any attention to the truth unless it’s dealt in an extreme way?

“행복은 함께 나눌 때에 비로소 현실이 된다” – 크리스, 혹은 알렉산더는 이 간단한 진리를 얻기 위해 너무 멀리 간 것인지도 모른다. 하지만 종종 완전 미쳐가고 있는 것 같은 오늘날 세계에서, 극단적인 방법이 아니면 그 진실에 주의라도 기울인 것인가?

As you can see on my twitter on the right side bar of this blog, I watched ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Weird‘ yesterday, which has ranked #1 in box office here in Korea. The idea of seeing this film came from S whose boyfriend also wanted to watch it because he learned from a local English newspaper that Yongsan CGV offers an English subtitle exclusively for the film. (I guess this aims at promoting the film widely to a lot of foreign residents in town and the location, Yongsan, where there is a US Army Base, makes sense to be chosen for this unusual occasion.)

Since there was a long queue at the box office, we instead decided to get the tickets by ourselves by using the ticket machine. Above the machines, there were the big signs promoting ‘English Subtitle’ on the billboard as well as on the screen and this note was attched on to every machine. Finding this interesting, I took some pictures of the cinema as below. (For bigger pictures, please go to my Flickr site.)

When the movie started, however, we were stunned that it didn’t show any subtitle! As it was an action movie, it didn’t require high Korean proficiency for E who understands the language. But, still, it was very disappointing to us that Yongsan CGV didn’t do properly to inform the audience of the separate schedule for the English subtitle which I believe should have been posted near from the machines.

While S was heading to the toilet, I went back to the machines and confirmed that there was no time schedule around the machines but found the leaflets of time table at the opposite side from the machines. We could have checked the time table before approaching them, but it is also true that, given no additional information about the different screening schedule displayed very close to the machines, we simply were not provided with full information.

I love any kinds of film festivals because most of them show some films you can hardly see not on these special occasions. In the mid of April, I went for the 10th International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul, and, among the films I saw, the one made by a Turkish-German director was absolutely brilliant. I will post about the film soon.