Thank you for visiting my blog.
Everything below is about two years old (as of Jan. 2013)
This blog is part (a large part) of the story of my life as I conduct field research. I don't want to forget what I did first, and I need somewhere to scribble down random observations and facts. However the whole story isn't here, partially because I'm still thinking through research related ideas and not ready to share some of them, partially because the content might not reflect positively on someone and I'd like to preserve their anonymity in this public account. Despite that, I'd still like your comments and responses to what I'm writing. Even if you know nothing about Korean performance, your observations might help me towards new and interesting understandings that end up in my dissertation.
A little background about me: I moved to Korea in 1996 and lived in Korea until 2003, when I left for a year in China. I chose China at that time because I was unable to deny the huge connection I had with my boyfriend. So I went to China hoping to figure out where this unexpected relationship was going, and well, we were married in 2005, so I guess that answers that one.
In 2004 I returned to Korea where I studied for an MA in Korean Studies at Yonsei University. Yonsei has three fields to Korean Studies, mine was Culture, Society and Religion and my research (and thesis) focused on protection of Korean performance and particularly on mask dance dramas. In 2006 I moved back to China, and most of a year later we moved to the States, in fall of 2007 I started a Ph.D. at UCLA.
I speak, read, and write Korean at a high level, depending on your definition of fluent, I am fluent, or advanced, but I wish I was better at reading and speaking in academic Korean (which is quite different from regular Korean). I have had a very rigorous Korean Studies training, with classes and practical on-the-ground experience covering a large number of subjects. It is my dream to raise interest in Korean culture amongst people both around the world and IN KOREA (where too few people show interest in anything but the latest and hippest highly Western-influenced cultural products). I enjoy teaching about Korea, and any questions about the topics I cover put to me on this blog will be answered.
