이 연구는 메소포타미아의 여신 인안나의 도상과 정체성의 변화에 관한 것이다. 수메르의 도시국가시대에서 인안나는 풍요와 대지의 여신이자 하늘의 여신으로 섬겨졌다. 이후 아카드 의 제국기에 인안나는 전쟁과 파괴의 여신인 이슈타르와 결합한다. 인안나가 이슈타르의 속 성을 지니게 되면서 인안나의 도상에도 큰 변화가 생긴다. 우루크의 주식인 보리 혹은 보리 단으로 상징화되는 등 대지의 여신으로 표현되던 인안나는 어깨에서 무기가 자라고, 사자를 제압하는 무시무시한 전쟁신의 모습으로 변화한다. 인안나가 이슈타르와 결합한 데에는 아카 드의 사르곤대왕과 그의 딸 에헨두안나의 역할이 크다. 수메르와의 종교적 제의를 표준화하 고 종교사상을 통합함으로서 수메르의 여신 인안나와 셈족의 여신 이슈타르의 속성은 완전히 융합되어 동화된다. 바빌로니아시대의 미술에서 인안나/이슈타르는 사랑과 성, 금성의 속성이 강조된다. 풍요 의 여신과 목축의 신 두무지와의 신성한 결혼은 아키투 축제에서 왕과 인안나 신전의 사제와 의 결혼으로 재현되기도 하였다. 신성한 결혼과 성행위는 풍요와 연관되는 개념이기 때문에 이슈타르 여신의 모습도 점차 여성성을 강조하거나 가슴과 엉덩이, 음부를 강조한 지모신의 면모를 보이게 된다. 한편 고 바빌로니아시대 점성술이 발전하면서 달과 금성, 태양의 신은 최상위 신으로 섬겨지면서 천체의 상징을 부각시키는 표현도 등장한다. 수메르의 여신인 인안나는 자신의 본질적인 속성을 그대로 유지한 채 끊임없이 변화하였 다. 그 정체성의 변화는 명멸하는 국가의 역사와 문화와 만나 인안나의 도상에 투영되었다. 인안나는 다른 어떤 여신보다 생명력이 강하다. 그 생명력의 근간을 형성하고 있는 것은 흡 수성과 포용성일 것이다. 인안나는 타지역의 문화와 신화를 흡수하며 확산되었고, 서아시아 여신의 모체라고 할 정도로 다른 지역 여신의 정체성 형성에 지대한 영향을 미쳤다.
This longitudinal study examined how an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teacher transformed her teacher identity over time. Hinging on the close relationship between teaching and identity construction, this study was grounded on the notion that teaching a language is becoming a person who teaches it (Benson, 2017). Data were collected through six face-to-face interviews and six electronic interviews with the teacher during a four-year period. Findings demonstrate that becoming an ESP teacher is a complex process of constructing and negotiating identities. The teacher started ESP teaching as a scared general English teacher, and then negotiated her identities as a struggling but hardworking collaborator and learner. Later, she positioned herself as a novice ESP teacher, and then finally constructed her identity as a competent, helpful ESP teacher. Significant factors affecting identity transformation include needs analysis, enhanced subject matter knowledge, capacity to develop teaching materials, and teacher agency. Based on these findings, this study suggests implications for ESP teacher education programs.
“If you‟re ever found yourself wondering what to do during an annoyingly long layover (hi, hello, all of us), „get Botox‟ will soon join your list of possibilities – at least if you‟re traveling in South Korea”(MacKenzie, 2017).
Introduction
Cosmetic surgery has become a new attraction for Chinese tourists to visit Korea. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea, 27,646 of 127,648 Chinese medical tourists who visited Korea in 2016 did so to obtain cosmetic surgery (Nam, 2017). This paper presents how external desire influenced the socio-historical development of the cosmetic surgery tourism in South Korea, focusing on Chinese crossborder consumption. In analyzing this relatively new phenomenon, we identified two intertwined desires. Specifically, while popularity of cosmetic surgery in South Korea is driven by the desire of individual Chinese consumers to obtain symbolic capital by achieving so-called K-beauty, this directly supports the collective desire of the Korean nation to construct a new Korean-ness. This trend has led to the promotion of Medical Korea, aiming to erase the former image of uncool industrial emerging country. In examining these complex practices, we employed the conception of “nation-ness” (Taylor, 1997) to elucidate the renewal of Korean national identity in the medical tourism industry and the global marketplace (Anderson, 1991; Appadurai, 1996; Lee, 2017). This paper commences with a brief outline of the socio-historical development of cosmetic surgery in Asian societies. We then discuss the connection of beauty and social capital among the Chinese consumer society and how Korean‟s cosmetic surgery industry has become the icon site for the achieving the ideal beauty. The paper closes with an illustration of the inter-relationship between the emerging consumer desire for beauty and the reconstruction of Korean-ness.
Cosmetic surgery in contemporary asian consumer society
Drawing on Giddens‟s (1991) notion of reflexivity, Belk (1988) and other consumer researchers have revealed that consumers consider their body as their possession and a reflection of their self. Consequently, some see it as a resource for constructing their desired identity through cosmetic surgeries (Askegaard, Gertsen, & Langer, 2002; Schouten, 1991; Thompson & Hirschman, 1995). While this phenomenon has mostly been examined in the context of contemporary Western consumer society, it is increasingly becoming more widespread. Such practices have resulted in human body no longer being viewed as a biological entity, but rather as “the finest consumption object” that can be further refined if needed (Baudrillard, 2005, p. 129). Altering one‟s body has traditionally been considered a taboo in many Asian cultures. In ancient Chinese society, there was a general perception that our bodies, down to a single hair and a flake of skin, are given to us by our parents. Therefore, any modification to the way our body looks and functions would be considered disrespectful to one‟s parents (Hua, 2013). However, in the world of cable TV and mass-circulation of Hollywood movies, in which social media has become an indispensable part of everyday life for most individuals, it is not surprising that Western beauty ideals have emerged as a dominant reference for the rest of the world. As the Westernized values and lifestyles become more easily accessible through media, they challenge these former social norms. Consequently, Asian women are increasingly seeking body modifications, such as plastic surgery, in an attempt to attain the elusive ideal beauty. In her research on body alternations, Orbach (2011) reported that 50 percent of teenage girls in South Korea planned to alter their faces or bodies through plastic surgery. According to the available evidence, in 2011, South Korea was rated first in the world in terms of the per capita ratio of aesthetic plastic surgeries (Shin, 2011). The success of South Korea‟s plastic surgery industry then made the country one of the best site for body alternations in the global beauty marketplace.
Chinese desire for new face: beauty as capital
Although it directly counters old Confucian doctrine of not tampering with one‟s body for filial piety, cosmetics surgery is very popular in China. In her book Buying Beauty, Hua (2013) noted that the increasingly brutal competition for jobs has prompted Chinese women to regard beauty as capital. It is thus not uncommon for Chinese parents to finance their daughters‟ cosmetic surgery, as they have come to perceive a pretty face as a worthwhile long-term investment, as it may increase the future career and/or marriage prospects of their daughters. For this reason, Chinese women are undergoing cosmetic surgery at a much younger age than do their Western counterparts. “Being good-looking is capital” has become the epitome of Chinese young girls. They consider attractive appearance that a cosmetic surgery may proffer as a form of capital, which they believe can give them a competitive advantage in the increasingly fierce job market (Hua, 2013). This attitude is prevalent among women, as gender and appearance discrimination is widespread in Chinese job market even in occupations where outward appearance usually has no relevance, such as civil service and government institutions (Hua, 2013). Owing to the increasingly widespread access to popular and social media and TV as a result of China reopening its doors, Chinese beauty standards have changed, whereby the perception of ideal image is heavily influenced by Western movies, pop culture, and the fashion and beauty industry (Hua, 2013). As Luo‟s (2012) research demonstrated, however, these newly adopted Western beauty ideals are coming into conflict with those that have traditionally been held by the Chinese. Yet, as Li et al. (2007) have shown, not all recent changes to the perceptions of and attitudes toward external appearance can be attributed to the Western influence. In their cross-cultural study on skin-whitening practices in four Asian markets, the authors reported that the desire for “white skin” in many Asian cultures (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indian) has a long history. Saraswati (2010) concurred with this finding, stating that, in the non-Western context, the desire for “whiteness” cannot be equated to the desire for “Caucasian whiteness,” implying that the concept of whiteness may be context-dependent. This tension seems to be relieved by the adoption of Korean beauty ideal, which blends the Western and Korean physical traits and has resulted in Hallyu or the Korean Wave. Since the late 1990s, the term “Hallyu” has been used to describe the influx of South Korean popular culture in Asia. Korean TV dramas, movies, and popular music (K-pop) have in recent decades become staples in Asian markets formerly dominated by Japan and Hong Kong (Seabrook, 2012). Since the Korean Wave hit China, the visual appearance, fashion trends, hairstyle choices, and make-up styles of Korean stars have become highly popular. Consequently, many Chinese people regard Korea as the cosmetic surgery hub of Asia, as Korean beauty is admired by Chinese people who thus aspire to attain it by undergoing various surgical and non-surgical procedures. This growing trend was spurred by the success of the TV drama, Jewel in the Palace, which resulted in the popularity of the lead actress Lee Young Ae among Chinese women, who would ask plastic surgeons to make them look like her (Hua, 2013). The popularity of Korean pop culture and the widespread adoption of the Korean beauty ideals can be interpreted as counter-standard against the Western beauty. Yet, as Hua (2013) and others argue, the rise of Korean influence in the Asian markets can also be viewed as an indication of the submission to the Western beauty imperialism. This tension exists, as their Mongolian heredity with more prominent noses and lighter skins than other Asians gives Koreans certain “Western” features (Fairclough, 2005).
The new face and desire for the new national identity
Not long ago, Korea had the reputation as an emerging industrial nation that manufactures low-cost cars and appliances (Fairclough, 2005; Seabrook, 2012). South Korea has a long history and reputation as an industrial hub in East Asia. Some of the top global brands, such as Samsung, Hyundai, and LG, began as the key manufacturing partners of Western brands in the early and mid-twentieth century. Korea is also often associated with the Korean War, as described in US motion pictures, such as MASH (Preminger & Altman,1970). However, in the late 1990s, this image began to change with the increasing popularity of aforementioned Hallyu entertainment contents (Fairclough, 2005). In fact, the latest “Korean Wave” has ushered a brand-new transnational representation of Korea into the global marketplace. Following a highly successful cultural Hallyu, Korea has recently launched medical Hallyu, promoting cosmetic surgery (Eun, 2013). In the 2000s, Korean cosmetic surgery emerged as a successful byproduct of the Korean Wave. This growing trend has since become a source of great national pride in South Korea (Holliday, Bell, Cheung, Jones, & Probyn, 2015). While Korean entertainment products were generating enormous revenues, cosmetic surgery was recognized as a profitable addition to the already lucrative export industry, as foreign tourists were willing to travel to the country in order to undergo operations that would make them look like Korean Hallyu stars. In recognition of this change in attitudes towards physical appearance and beauty ideals, “Korean cosmetic surgery” (Hanshi zhengxing) and “Korean-style beauty” (Hanshi meirong) became key words in the cosmetic surgery advertisements in China (Davies & Han, 2011). Cosmetic surgery clinics in the trendiest Gangnam and Apgujeong districts of Seoul often provide medical tourism packages targeting foreign tourists coming from China and other Southeast Asian countries (Eun, 2013). As Hallyu boasts a creative integration of the Western and Korean elements in its entertainment contents (Shim, 2006), Korean cosmetic surgeons are attempting to achieve the same. According to a doctor that took part in Shim‟s (2009) study, Korean surgeons have the best skills to operate on Asian patients, as they have smaller physique and denser subcutaneous tissues compared to their Western counterparts. Although Korean surgeons used to travel to the U.S. to obtain training for the popular procedures, such as eyelid surgery, they subsequently modified the American techniques, realizing that they were inappropriate for the “Korean Body.” For instance, removing too much fat from the eyelids created an unnatural Western eyes that were not suitable for Korean facial structure. Such specialism, which is now internationally recognized, makes aspirant youths from neighboring China and Korean diaspora more than willing to travel to Korea to undergo elective cosmetic procedures that would improve their visual appearance (Holliday, Bell, Cheung, Jones, & Probyn, 2015). The Korean government‟s active support for the export of cultural products has also helped the proliferation of cosmetic surgery tourism. In 2009, the Korean National Assembly passed an amendment to the medical law, enabling hospitals to advertise their services and promote medical tourism (Eun, 2013). Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), a subsidiary organization of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, runs an online medical tourism platform website, visitmedicalkorea.com, to provide foreign tourists with information about Korean medical tourism. It also supports the overseas marketing of companies and hospitals as a means of attracting more tourists to the country (Korea Tourism Organization, n.d.). While the KTO website is not solely dedicated to cosmetic surgery tourism, Visit Medical Korea‟s website boasts the massive number of cosmetic surgery operations performed every year in Korea. The country is now the third largest cosmetic surgery market after the U.S. and Brazil, as the recognition of the high skill level of Korean surgeons and their use of modern technology motivates many individuals to visit Korea for their beauty enhancement (Korea Tourism Organization and Korea Health Industry Development Institute, n.d.). The fact that Korea has achieved economic progress through rapid modernization but did not give up many of its traditions is another allure to many Asian tourists (Fairclough, 2005). This is emphasized in the promotional video published by KTO through the juxtaposition of the beauty of traditional porcelain making inherited from Joseon dynasty with cutting edge medical technology and skills of Korean medical industry (Korea Tourism Organization, 2016).
Conclusion: renewing “Korean-ness” in the global marketplace
Desire to be beautiful and prolong one‟s youth is not unique to modern times. Yet, medical advances now make even extending one‟s height by breaking and separating the thigh bone to prompt growth possible. While this sounds scary and can be highly dangerous, it is a very popular operation in Shanghai. Cosmetic surgery is no doubt a popular service high on many Chinese consumers‟ list. Although it may be cynical to say that our desire for beautiful body is perpetuated and exploited by the style industries, it is true that the beauty, cosmetic, fashion, media, and celebrity industries are playing an important role in shaping our beauty standards and promoting the ideal body size/shape in the contemporary marketplace (Orbach, 2011). In this study, we connected Chinese consumers‟ desire for new facial features with the emerging plastic surgery tourism in South Korea as an exemplar of the reconstruction of national identity. The term “nation-ness” is comprehensive and links disparate phenomena, such as nation, nationalism, and nationality by including “everything from the bureaucratic fact of citizenship to the nationalist‟s mythical construction of nation as an eternal entity” (Taylor, 1997, p. 277). In this study, we argued that cosmetic surgery has become a new Korean national identity, which is not solely reflected in the rise of Korean beauty and style in the Pan-Asian (Cayla & Eckhardt, 2008) or even global marketplace. The new identity has also inherited the techno-industrial past, as the preciseness and high quality of Korean “industry” are valuable traits to transfer to this new medical field. In this paper, we demonstrated that the creation and promotion of ideal beauty and body is part of a broader political strategy, in which governments, corporations, and key cultural stakeholders are actively, and sometimes collectively, shaping and monitoring individuals‟ bodily practices.