by Gerry Krzic (K-41; 1977-80)

Summer:  a time for vacations and reunions...a time for FOK members to relax at the beach listening to K-pop -- a major part of Hallyu (한류) - the Korean wave.

Hallyu (한류) has been going strong in many parts of Asia for over a decade.

However, except for fervent followers of K-pop or fans in the Asian-American community, the Hallyu hadn’t really caught fire in mainstream America until PSY came along last summer with Gangnam Style (강남스타일). While people may be tired of hearing "오빠, 강남스타일," there is no doubt that PSY is now a part of American culture and wedding celebrations will never be the same -- move over Chicken Dance and Macarena.

The spread of 강남스타일 throughout the U.S. surprised me. When the song first came out in the summer of 2012, my daughter, a fervent K-pop fan, asked me what I thought.  "Cute, but a "one-hit wonder," I said with extreme confidence. "It'll never catch on in America."  Then, a few weeks ago, while on summer vacation, my nephew, who has never been to Korea and knows little about the country, told me how much he likes PSY's newest song "Gentlemen" (젠틀맨) and then proceeds to do the dance steps.  Now, I am thinking, "This can't be possible."

PSY posted 강남스타일 on YouTube in 2012 and by summer of 2013 has had over 1.7 billion views!  The big question is: How did PSY make it in the U.S. while all the other K-pop acts such as Rain and the Wonder Girls have fallen short?  Is he seen as a novelty?  Is it the music?  The best explanation I have found to date is here.  

Interesting. My prediction for PSY is a "two-hit wonder," but I have been wrong before.

Many FOK members will remember some of the golden songs of the past before K-pop. Too bad the world seems to have missed great Korean singers such as:
* Yang Hee Eun's (양희은) 1970's hit 아침이슬. 
* Han Dae Soo's (한대수) 1974 classic 행복의 나라로
* Lee Sun Hee's (이선희) 1984 popular J에게
* Kim Kwang Seok's (김광석) 1990's 나의 노래

FOK blog post by Gerry Krzic (K-41)

Yang Hee Eun (양희은) was the winner of our survey. So, we offer one more selection of hers from a mid-90's television performance:  "When I'm 40 Years Old (내 나이 마흔살에는)."

President 박근혜, the first female president of the Republic of Korea, came to Washington this week...and made the rounds. She had meetings at the White House, gave a speech to a Joint Session of Congress and went to Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to those who died in the Korean War.

She also hosted a wonderful dinner at the Smithsonian Museum as part of the 60th anniversary of the Korean-American partnership forged during the Korean war. The evening was full of tributes and thank you’s..to the veterans who served during the Korean War and to the many others in uniform who have continued to serve over the years. And to the Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea between 1966 and 1981.  We were well represented on the guest list - with nearly 45 returned volunteers present, including former Ambassador Kathleen Stevens who gave the final remarks of the evening and delighted the crowd with some well chosen phrases in 한국말. 

All in all, a lovely evening. One of the highlights of the evening for me was an encounter I had with a woman who was busy serving dessert - she asked if I had been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Korea. When I said ‘yes’ she said that she had served in Nepal in the 1990s....and was just delighted by the tribute and acknowledgement we received at the banquet. Yes, it was a wonderful event!

Click here to see more photos.
(Thank you to Gerry Krzic, Ben Bryan and Margaret Pollack for the photos)



　

I have been President of Friends of Korea for a few months now and am beginning to get a better understanding of the organization, both who we are and what we might become. As I have said many times in the past few months, there are no more newly returned Peace Corps volunteers from Korea.  Our future lies in expanding our vision of the organization.

To that end, we are looking at creating a broader, more inclusive organization, one with members united by an affection for Korea and with a commitment to fostering friendship and understanding between Koreans and Americans. We have even changed our tag line to "Fostering cultural awareness and friendship between Americans and Koreans."

The past several months have been busy. Plans are in the making for the last revisit trip to Korea this fall. This extraordinary opportunity to return to Korea and to see the many changes in the country as a guest of the Korean government is truly a remarkable gift. For those of us who have been on one of these revisits, it is a gift that will never be forgotten.

The website has been completely revamped in the past several months, in part to reflect this new, broader focus of Friends of Korea. We are looking for photos and ideas for the website. Please feel free to
e-mail [email protected] with your suggestions.  We want this site to be one that is of interest to you and others with an interest in Korea.

We now have a Facebook page.  Please click on Facebook widget at the top to visit it.  If you have suggestions or photos or stories to share, please let me know.

On the more mundane side of life, we are currently revising and updating the Friends of Korea bylaws, which are seriously out of date. It is my hope that we can have a final version ready for review and action by the voting members of Friends of Korea in the next couple of months.

The photo exhibit "Americans in Korea and Koreans in the World" continues to generate great interest and excitement,  It was shown most recently in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building. Our thanks go to Senator Susan Collins and her staff for supporting this. There is a wonderful article in Roll Call, a magazine about Capitol Hill, that might be of interest. There is also a link to it on our Facebook page.  

To all who have paid dues and made donations to Friends of Korea over the past year, I thank you. If you have not renewed your support in the past year, I encourage you to renew now. Click on the "Join Us" tab on the top of this site.  Your dues are critical as we seek to expand our vision and role.

Thank you for your interest and support.

Welcome to the Friends of Korea BLOG.  We will be adding information and comments about FOK activities as time goes by.  Stay tuned.