Girl, you're good!

Your summary was really interesting.After reading this i looked up the Rain's original video and then Stephen Colberts segment. My first reaction, "That was horrible! *then wipes away tears from laughter*. Though I'm not a die hard fan of Rain I do support him (after seing Full House,IJUKSA) and I enjoyed the segment. The "He's singing in Korean" line particulary tickled me :P

I enjoy k-pop culture and have basically been hooked on the dramas/ actors and actresses within them. Full House was one of the first k-dramas I watched and I've been following Rain since. I'm in an odd position because I only know one other person who's actually seen some of the dramas I have (people can only ask, "What in the...why are you watching stuff in Korean??" the fact that I'm not asian confuses them even more) so whenever something from the korean pop culture pops up in my american one I get really excited. Rain in Times top 100? I was estatic. Reading this article and finding out he was parodied on the Stepen Colbert's show? I was like, "NOO WAY! That's awesome!" because it means that Rain has enough importance to be recognized on such a show.

If all the stuff about Koreans not understanding satire is true then I can understand the overreaction, but honestly- this is a good thing. I know people upped and googled Rain after watching- in fact, if you google "rain" his picture will come up along with the photos of H2O droplets. Congrats for Rain on this free publicity- I definately hope he'll be an "It Getter"

I laughed to tears when I saw the video. The first thing to come to my mind after watching it: Wow, Rain is going to be more recognized in the US after this show. I see it as a good thing for Rain. He should've expected this thing coming (not necessarily from Colbert) if he were to break into the US market.

Sarah,

Rain commented on this issue. He GETS it..

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705250015.html

yes... here is his quote:
Asked about the recent parody of his music video on the popular U.S. satirical show “The Colbert Report,” Rain said it was an honor. “I've watched the program. I was surprised when I saw the show host imitating my music video. He chooses only world-class celebrities as his topic.”

I love Colbert - I thought the parody must've been great publicity for Rain and I'd no idea the backlash on that was so strong! Andand man he really was singin' in Korean hee o_O

The first time I watch Colbert Show talking about Rain..to me, it was funny. Colbert can actually make fun on Rain but in the other hands, he is helping Rain to promote and get him recognized in the US market.

But first thing comes to my mind was, someone will make it as a big deal and create news about accusing or critic their idol and Colbert is getting into troubled. Within a day, news start to spread here and there, and people that couldn't catch the joke thought that someone is trying to criticized their idol, but never think properly what is actually really going on..

I love Rain too, and part of Rain fans. And we should be happy that someone is trying to making fun on Rain but is making Rain to get recognized in US market. Besides, Colbert show is really a great show..!

It is such a bad impression for the Korea media to jump on conclusion that Colbert was attacking and mocking on Rain.. It is a shamed to Rain although media or fans are caring and concern about every movement or news about Rain. But they should make things clear first before jump to conclusion..

We as fans of Rain or Media people, should think rational and find out the truth before making thing mess and troubled. Think for Rain, think for his market in US.. open your heart, think rational, think widely.. No matter what, we should be proud that this is some sort of the publicize that this is the first step Rain is getting recognized in the US market.

No just Rain should prove to be "It-Getter" ..I guess everyone that loves Rain should prove to be one of "It-Getter" too..

Well said, well said.

Someone should translate this into Korean and distribute it widely.

This was just truly funny. As a Korean myself I can honestly say that this was absolutely funny. I definetely agree with you here. Korea needs to seriously calm down and take in the joikes. I think that maybe it's all the attention that shifting towards Korea lately that's kinda freaking them out.

Ever since the World Cup 2002 Korea's been getting "known by the world" so to speak. If we recap... there was the famous "boom" of Korean dramas (died down a lot now), the Korean guy that became some important figure in the U.N., the V-Tech thing... and the rise of many K-Pop singers (including Bi) in the U.S. so I guess I can kind of understand them. [not necessarily in chronological order]

But the things that the "hot-blooded" Koreans don't understand is that everything is just a joke and that life (or anything else for that matter) shouldn't be taken so seriously. Steven is a friend (I love his show) and is doing more good than bad here. Remember... This is his character and therefore he acts completely different from his real self. His real personality is very smart and witty. To prove it... Watch this behind-the-scenes video on and listen very carefully at what he says (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfiL2hpnmZ0&mode=related&search=). Case Closed.

Koreans are a very dumb people. Too bad the japanese lost the war. Koera would be nice.

Facts:

1. The Korean media is a giant, unprofessional joke. They make the National Enquirer look like the Wall Street Journal. As a whole, they're constantly searching for any instance or event that they feel is an "insult" to the country or people, and they're more than willing to misinterpret, misrepresent, or flat-out lie in order to guarantee coverage of yet another "Koreans as victims" story.

2. Koreans in general don't understand sarcasm, parody, self-deprecation, irony, or satire.

3. The Korean public eats up the victimhood stories like side-dishes, so the press keeps dishing them up, regardless of whether they're true or bullshit.

1 + 2 + 3 = The ridiculous farce of a "story" this has become.

"SteveColbert" and "jonstewart," you can be as ignorantly racist as you want, but Colbert and Stewart would be ashamed to have their names attached to opinions like yours.

As for the "farce" of the story, take a look at the post dates of all these reports. Koreans were upset, mostly got informed as to the error of their initial reaction, and calmed down. They're over it.

Facts aren't racist.

If you'd like an encyclopedia of links proving #1, let me know. #2 is obvious to anyone that's spent any time in Korea, and is further proven by the reaction to Colbert. #3 seems obvious by the presence of all the sensational headlines you see in the Korean media trumpeting every "insult" to Korean "pride," such as a CIA website daring to use Sea of Japan, or Jay Leno telling a joke about a dog, or Wikipedia daring to use Takeshima instead of Dokdo, or any countless other examples of over-sensitivity followed by claims of wounded pride for generally trivial and inconsequential matters.

You wrote a good summary of the situation. Don't ruin that by crying racism at those that point out the obvious. I didn't make crude remarks about Koreans being dumb. I simply pointed out what led to this being a story in the first place.

sorry "jonstewart," i saw the colbert post above yours and assumed they were both yours. (you have to admit the timing and naming was suspicious.) but the ip addresses show otherwise. your post wasn't racist.

accusations of Korean "oversensitivity" on certain issues should perhaps be tempered with some understanding of their history, both recent and not. I'm not saying that the reactions such incidents provoke are always proper or positive, but they are understandable and comprehensible in context. And some of the matters are not inconsequential, especially to the parties involved.
besides, as the reaction (or in reality, non reaction) demonstrates, an initial surge of complaint turned into a trickle of discontent. And netizens are not exactly a representative group or majority opinion - simply a vocal set of internet users. Would you like the US judged on what its internet users say in chat forums? I've heard hardly any reaction at all from people here, and when I have it's been mildly positive.
that said, humor is very culturally based, and what's hilarious to Americans is incomprehensible to Koreans sometimes (and vice versa ) so while yes, the reaction reported in the Korean press seems inappropriate to us we should perhaps not be surprised that the exact meaning of a foreign comic utilizing a style of humor seldom seen in Korea could be misunderstood.
once again, not to say that the reported reaction was justified. And finally, Colbert was hilarious. And that's no bulgogi!

i agree with you 100%, the media outcry was ridiculous but (hopefully) i think most koreans understood it as just a joke. Also, did you see colbert's reply to the korean media? That was funny too, go check it out .

Although I agree it was funny, it's only funny here in America. It's understandable for other countries to misinterpret as offensive not fun at all. There's cultural barrier and for them to understand what satire is may never happen because of asian culture is by far more with respect and modest than US culture. I just thought the timing was bad for colbert to make fun of a korean star especially with anti-american sentiment going around the world right now. But then it only happens in America.

The korean media who took this the wrong way are basically idiots who deserve only ridicule. They are supremist scum with deep underlying insecurity complexes and its their job to shovel nationalistic shit at the mindless clones who read their moronic drivel.

Gosh, I just found out about this Colbert, Rain thing and checked it out on youtube....dang. it was funny....sure it could be taken the wrong way, but you gotta know what scarcasm is! colbert was poking fun of rain just like he would any other american....if fans expect rain to become apart of the american market, they should expect american criticizm along with it just like the critisizm any other american star got....

Boy, was Colbert's piece on Rain hilarious!!! I don't think Colbert didn't have the intention to be a "racist".

Truthfully, Koreans have wayyyy too much pride.... They can't take a little joke about a singer that Steve Colbert makes fun of because Bi got a higher position in Most Influential Person? Oh come on~~~ Wow gimme a break.... Anyway seeing a parody of Bi as I think hes a good overall person, made me laugh specially because Steve was actually speaking Korean... hahaha truly hilarious sight to behold....Thnx Java!

I think it good.

Why on earth would you call korean's dumb? Steve Colbert, Korean people are not dumb in any way. For you to say that that would mean that you where raised by parents that are racist for you to be the same as them. I do not like people like you that diss people that are different from you and dont have your western upringing.

The video in question..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXFa1yc6zH0

Thank you java for uploading this, it clears up things now. I know this to far from the topic but can i ask if you a site where i could find the ost of full house? Sorry to asked but its just this year i watch the korean series because im really bz working here in Uk. Please could you help me find the ost of full house i really love the songs and the series. Hope to recieve a reply from you ,thank you very much god bless and more power.

#80 shizuku "a site where i could find the ost of full house? "

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=06QMS6AS

ese ninio es mui beio me enamore la 1era ves q lo vi
jejeje bexox

I wonder how people misunderstand what Colbert was doing when he did the Rain piece. I mean it was pretty obvious that he wasn't making fun of Rain...Making oneself look silly just to mock someone? That's ridiculous. Nobody with good sense on their head would do that.

Saw the thing and it was funny. I'm a Rain fan and I don't see any malicious intent. People should chill and don't take things at face value.

What you people all fail to see is the major cultural difference. In Korea political/pop satires aren't very common. It's so easy to insult someone even without intending to, so even the most "out there" media/shows/etc keep it to a minimum.

It's very understandable that Koreans would get offended, it's just not something that's seen as a compliment. Colbert meant well, but he just forgot that it's not the same audience.

I couldn't find a link to see the actual Colbert/Rain parody... The one from the post is broken? Can anybody give it to me? Thanks!

bvhngj

Very well said.

Hi javabeans! I saw that episode many months ago... I thought it was hilarious. Most of all, I thought then that it was pretty good publicity for Rain. I mean, they wouldn't devote a whole segment on him if he were a nobody.

i totally agree with you....

I think sarcasm, and Western satire are very much different from Asian versions of humor and criticism, so I think they often take such things exactly as how they are presented, not knowing the difference. The Korean reaction to Colbert is probably in large part due to this unique cultural difference. However, it is probably also due in part to latent anti-American feelings which the USA has created in that country, and which it does nothing to rectify. So Koreans are eager to explode in order to let off steam, make their feelings known, and shout back at the USA (as any of us would do in similar frustrated circumstances). Though the issue is seemingly over Rain, it really is also about 50 years of underlying USA-Korea relations, made hot since the Bush administration's international mess.

RAIN is hot and Colbert is funny. Colbert was mocking RAIN BUT he was not dissing RAIN. Colbert didnt intend to make fun of RAIN because he stated that RAIN was #1 most influencial and he wanted to show his jeolousy making RAIN look good.
I wonder what RAIN thought about Colberts response. Was he offended or did he think that boosted his popularity??

i love bi so much n i dont want to hear something bad about her. He is a talented boy that i ever seen. lOVE YOU rAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rain is the best

Quote " Tim Says:
November 29th, 2007 at 1:00 am
The Korean reaction to Colbert is probably in large part due to this unique cultural difference. However, it is probably also due in part to latent anti-American feelings which the USA has created in that country, and which it does nothing to rectify. So Koreans are eager to explode in order to let off steam, make their feelings known, and shout back at the USA (as any of us would do in similar frustrated circumstances). Though the issue is seemingly over Rain, it really is also about 50 years of underlying USA-Korea relations, made hot since the Bush administration’s international mess"

I agree and I couldnt have said it better myself.

As someone interested in all things Korean ( I am from Singapore), i find the differences between the previous president and Lee Byung-mak too stark.
The former was viewed as somewhat xenophobic but LMB has openly courted the US to bring the economy out of the doldrums. He visited Camp David 6 wks (pls feel free to check my accuracy) after taking office and is eager to prove he wants to make the US his ally. His style is somewhat " ruthless" , relentless and very business-like, which I am sure the traditionalists will disapprove of but the ambitious will embrace.
What I am trying to ask is - Is Korea divided on whether to be pally with the US or be self reliant ? I think striking the right balance is important, though easier said than done = )

hi. i want to thank you for putting light on both sides of this issue. i hope rain will make it big in this industry. it would be great to see him in more movies abroad, he's a great guy. and i think you are a great person too.

i dont think that the korean fans understand Great American Humor.....thats it

i had watch ur videos. u made great changes to young ones who love songs, dances etc. well done and wishing success in days to come

i would just like to say, who the fuck cares about korea? its a shithole no one gives a fuck about.

Yes! Someone understands!
Everyone has been feeling bad for Rain and being mad at Colbert.
Rain is on the Colbert BUMP! YEAH!

Colbert actually on his show express how he think Rain is adorable!
(I think it's cute!)
I'm just so happy Rain is getting publicity. ^-^.

hey my name is uzmee how old are you

Korean pride is an exaggeration born of institutionalized insecurity ingrained in the national culture. Neither the Chinese nor Japanese demonstrate the same uber-defensiveness for anything related to their nation or culture. My Korean friends are constantly experiencing life through a "Korean" lens. Anything ( food, music, politics,etc...) that contains any hint of a Korean influence is defended angrily against any criticism, founded or not. This sort of absolute, aggressive defensiveness allows for no acknowledgement of the circumstances of the discussion or appropriateness of the reaction.

I live in LA and am surrounded by Koreans, so I know firsthand how ridiculous Korean pride can get. Korean culture is as interesting to me as any other culture and I respect it as much as any other culture. Frankly, all the Koreans need to calm themselves down. Get a clue about things and stop constantly making themselves out to be the aggrieved innocents. Oh, yeah...How about Korean dudes learn how to talk about other cultures without being outright desparaging. "Chinks", "Niggas", "Wetbacks", etc... If Korea were a person, any therapist would tell them to stop putting others down in an attempt to make themself feel better. Learn Korea.

I actually saw this on YOUTUBE at first!

I Love the Colbert Report and I am also

Korean American... but I feel that it was lucky for Rain to be mention

on the Colbert Report...

I thought the vid was hilarious!!!

thank you for this infomation!

I LOVE U RAIN

Colbert is SO funny! How can you hate him?

Korean media shouldn't assume so quickly.

Olla dramabeans!! I'm startin u like more n more!!

U write excellent reviews of dramas, and now, after reading this article, I can see that u're pretty smart too ^_^

Lovely piece of work.. I hope more people read this n become "it-getters"

TC!