Vicology

      Attending my first birthday party in America, my 6 year old self was appalled by the abundance of calories present on the food table. Greasy pizza, cheesy fires, oily chips, chocolatey desserts, cavity-inflicting drinks, and mountains of candy. Although that table was my childhood dream, I’m now realizing how detrimental it is to a person’s clean, healthy diet. I’ve learned that the unhealthy lifestyle of this country is the one-way ticket to obesity and the pivotal factor in many overweight Americans.       In contrast to the destructive diet of American birthdays, in Korean tradition, one’s birthday is celebrated with organically cooked food — made by the guardians — that provide a healthy yet flavorful and fulfilling meal and sometimes consist of dishes that take up to 5 days to prepare: a period of time where an American could order about 10 different fatty meals, 15 different sugary drinks, and consume about twice as many calories.    ...

      Do you remember back in 2012 when the song, “Gangnam Style” by Psy, took the Internet by storm? It inspired flash mobs, countless parody recreations, and was even featured on SNL. With it’s music video racking up more than 4.3 billion views, it remains one of the most influential K-Pop songs of all time. But behind the addictive dance and easy-to-follow lyrics, there’s an underlying criticism against Korea’s materialistic society.  Gangnam is Korea’s equivalent to America’s Beverley Hills. Although the city supposedly portrays wealth and economic respect, the song contradicts those claims and defines the opposite of the cosmopolitan, sophisticated lifestyle of Korea’s most wealthy district.        The music video opens up with Psy laying on a “beach” but the camera soon pans out to find him chilling in a sandy playground — with children swinging on swings and climbing up jungle gyms in the background. From the start, he makes fun of people ...

      I’ve always had a dislike for first days of school. Not only is there that nervousness and anxiety of starting a new school year, but an underlying feeling of dread that I possess every single time. Out of the 13 first days of school I’ve experienced, I’ve spent 11 of those days abnormally uneasy during attendance. Excluding pre-school and kindergarten, when I was too young to have such complicated feelings, I was ashamed of my name that was on the attendance sheet. Ashamed at how teachers were always stuck on me after smoothly saying everyone else’s name before me. Almost every teacher has butchered my name one way or another. Therefore, I’ve always had the phrase “I go by Victoria” on standby, ready to proclaim my American persona.      My birth name is Youngchae, a typical Korean name but an atypical American name. Even as I am writing this, my name is underlined in red indicating that it’s spelt wrong when it is actually, undoubtedly spelt right! ...