[KS] Re: Globalization and Cultural Identity; Globalization and everyday life in Seoul

[Hyung Il Pai]

Dear Jamie,
Though I agree with you that the topic is very interesting and worthwhile
pursuit, I also agree with Prof. Robinson that you might not be getting a
good sample by interviewing Ewha university students who represent the
upper economic and educated stratum of Korean women in Korea,
In addition, conducting on-line interviews in itself will only get the
more "globally" inclined since they already have internet connections
meaning they are wired with the rest of the world. And so there are major
flaws to this kind of data gathering technique.
My comments are not to discourage but just to make you aware of the
sampling biases inherent in your project.

I look forward to your reply. 
Yours sincerely, 
Hyung Il Pai, 
 East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies,
 HSSB Building, University of California,
Santa Barbara, CA 93106, U.S.A.
Tel: (805) 893-2245  Fax:  (805) 893-3011
EMail:  hyungpai at humanitas.ucsb.edu

On Sat, 4 Dec 1999, michael robinson wrote:

> Dear Jamie: 
> 
> I read your request regarding your project on our list.  It sounds like an
> interesting study.  I have two comments.  One, it seems a group of upper
> middle class Ewha women might not be a test for globalization at all,
> considering already long established consumption patterns, social postion,
> and expectations.  You will learn that they are globalized.  Secondly,
> have you prepared for your study with a consideration of the historical
> context of globalization over the last 80 years or so in Korea, and Seoul
> in particular.  Admittedly, your query is a short one, but it reads as if
> globalization is some new phenomenon.  It is, rather, a renaming of a
> process already extensively studied and commented upon in secondary
> literature in Korean and English.  Not to mention the very good work on
> modernity and its effects in Japan.  Good luck with the project. 
> 
> Mike Robinson 
> 
> 



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