The american dream is alive and well!

It’s just not in America anymore.


I had an interesting discussion in one of my conversation classes (8th graders) tonight. This is the group that usually just wants to study for whatever test they’ve got coming up in the next two periods (and they’re usually very quiet when they’re doing that, so I go with it and help them out), but tonight they were willing to talk. I’d prepared a topic comparing and contrasting houses and apartments, and laid it on them.

They really went with it. Well, the girls did. The boys just hung out in the back of the classroom goofing off with their cellphones. (I usually don’t allow that, but it was refreshing to see them doing something other than cramming for an exam, so I let it slide.)

We talked about the plusses and minuses of each type of domicile, and they all loved houses. They had nothing but bad things to say about apartments – except that having neighbors was nice. Unless, of course, said neighbors were noisy, then then hated them.

What really got me was the way the described their ideal house. They wanted a nice sized beautiful house. Nothing wrong with that. And a garden. Sure, that’s nice too. And a white picket fence.

HUH?!?

How the hell did the idea of the white picket fence become implanted in the brains of 14 year-old Korean girls? Hell, most people in the US don’t even care about one anymore.

They were serious though. I asked them why they wanted a picket fence and they said it was very beautiful.How has this happened?I’m blaming television. As well as TV has served its corporate masters in the US, it’s done even better here. The only problem is, there’s no real “Korean Dream” to aspire to. Not that I’ve heard of, at any rate. It’s all about consumerism, living the high life and being rich. Doing what, they have no idea. No clue on how to get there either, But by god, they want it!

If you think brand awareness is big in the US, you’ve got no idea what it’s like here. Wear Nikes and you’re a fucking rock star. Got Levi’s on too? Damn, you must be rolling in cash! Half the English some of my kids know is nothing but a list of brand names. Adidas, Reebok, Fila, Puma, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, Nike…. the list goes on and on and on. The Korean brands all suck too. Huge-assed logos plastered all over everything at weird angles and bad English that makes not a damn bit of sense.

Old Navy is missing out on a fucking gold mine.

Koreans love tacky shit! I have a hard time shopping at Old Navy because I don’t want to be a walking billboard for them. (The pants and shorts are great though, since they haven’t figured out how to over-logo them yet.) If Old Navy tried and failed in Korea it’d be because the logos weren’t big enough.Same deal with the Gap or A&F or any other overpriced American mall chain. Slap a dumb logo on something (the more nonsensical the better) and mark the price up 100% or more. I’m not kidding about the markup either. A pair of Levi’s goes for over $100 here. Sadly, there are no Wranglers or Lee to take up the slack. And Korean jeans? If I can find them in my size, they’ve either got the logo thing going on, or have been pre-faded to be almost white on the front and the back.

The 80’s live!

But I’ve already lived through them once, and won’t be reliving any acid-washed memories. (Nor stonewashed or bleached.)

Come to think of it, that may be the key. They’re progressing along the same path that the US did, and have just caught up to where we were in the 80’s. It’s all about the greed and the cash and how are you gonna get yours?

For the most part they’ve got no idea. They just know they want it. Some of them think English is the key to success. Sure, it’s useful, but in and of itself it’s not going to make you rich. They haven’t quite figured that part out just yet.

Maybe I should teach that lesson in our next class….