[KS] Re: response to open letter

[Yuh Ji-Yeon]

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I imagine readers with direct and/or indirect knowledge of contemporary
>gay lifestyles quickly recognized Mr. Body's intended meaning in using
>the terms "boys" and "available".

why so quick to assume that young rae oum misunderstood the usage of
these 
words? altho "boys" is used to refer to men, it can also be used to
refer 
to boys. in addition, homosexuality does include a long historical 
tradition of men preferring boys. (this is adamantly not to say that 
pedophilia is a primary aspect of homosexuality!)

her points have merit and deserve discussion, not dismissal as 
misunderstanding of intent.

young rae oum was making a link between the concept of korean men/boys
as 
"available" and the concept of asian women as "available." she was also 
making a point about the power relationship between a white man in korea 
soliciting a sexual partner and a korean man being so solicited, and
this 
point is relevant even if the korean man is indeed of age. importantly,
her 
comments indicate that exoticization, even if under unequal
circumstances, 
can be a two-way street - perhaps korean men/boys are intriqued by the 
exotic tinge that western men may have for non-westerners. in other
words, 
it isn't only heterosexual men who have asian fetishes, and it isn't
only 
women who may hold fantasies or be intrigued by the west and western
men. 
she was offended by the way in which korean men/boys were objectified
and 
presented as available for sexual solicitation, and linked that 
objectification with a long history of westerners objectifying Asia.

her broader point, as i understand it, is this: why are the observations
of 
one person put forth as "data points"? this implies authority, and this
in 
turn sets up koreans and korea as objects of study by authorities, who
upon 
examination in this case turn out to be non-korean men. this entire 
relationship of researcher to object of study, of authority versus the 
native has been interrogated and found wanting, and new
conceptualizations 
for conducting scholarship have been forwarded by numerous scholars.
much 
of this soul searching has necessitated discussion of imperialism and
the 
way in which scholarship is implicated in the imperialist project. all
this 
soul-searching has helped to sensitize many researchers to their own 
fallible and yet privileged positions and how this influences their 
scholarship. although these developments are at least 15 years old or 
older, perhaps they have not yet reached the field of korean studies?
and 
perhaps this is related to the lack of discussion (lack of awareness?)
of 
western imperialism vis a vis korea?

best,
ji-yeon



Department of History,	Northwestern University, Harris Hall 202
1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 U.S.A.
office: 1-847-467-6538  dept: 1-847-491-3406  fax: 1-847-467-1393
email: j-yuh at northwestern.edu