A bee flies among blooming water lilies at a wetland in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on July 3.YONHAP
Happy Friday! Here are the stories you need to know in Korea.
In today's news, Seoul has responded to a U.S. House report that claimed Korea had discriminated against American businesses. New apps that allow users to buy fake products and order fake food grow in popularity. We look at why boy bands have been missing out on Grammys.
How has Korea responded to the United States' claims? Korea's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac delivered a statement during a briefing at the Blue House in central Seoul in response to a U.S. House Judiciary Committee report that claimed Korea had carried out "discriminatory attacks" against U.S. companies. "We do not discriminate in business activities based on nationality, nor do we target specific entities for investigation,” Wi said.
How did the Blue House address the claims related to the Coupang investigation? "All investigations into Coupang are being conducted in a non-discriminatory manner and in accordance with due process under domestic law," said Wi, who added that the claims of discrimination are "far from the truth." He noted that "if a similar data breach had occurred in the United States — where the personal information of two-thirds of the population was leaked to China without anyone knowing where it ended up — it would undoubtedly be considered a critically serious issue there."
What did the Blue House say about Korea-U.S. bilateral ties? Wi said that the Blue House would continue to communicate with the U.S. side and "encourage understanding." He said that Seoul will “make efforts to isolate and separate this issue so that it does not impact other aspects of the Korea-U.S. relationship."
What are these platforms? A number of platforms have emerged online, designed to trigger a dopamine response from users in a new way. The platforms offer goods, like food and other products, for purchase but don't actually cost the users money. People just get the mere dopamine rush from making a purchase without actually incurring the financial damage.
How do they work? One website allows users to log into a fake food delivery app. They can scroll through options, make orders and even wait for a fake delivery driver to deliver the "food" to their home. Another site displays fake products for sale that can be "purchased" by users.
Why do people use them? According to experts, using platforms like these elicits a dopamine response, even though the experience is fake. However, unlike real purchases, people don't have to part with their own cash when "buying" things on these apps. "After making a purchase, people often regret it because they've spent too much money. These websites may offer a way to satisfy some of those consumer urges while reducing that sense of regret," said Kwak Keum-joo, a professor emeritus from Seoul National University.
Why haven't boy bands been winning Grammys? From One Direction to BTS, boy bands have had commercial success around the world, but when it comes to Grammys, they have been less successful. Music experts say that their association with teenage and prepubescent girls have affected how they are seen by music critics. Music critic Brodie Lancaster wrote in Pitchfork that "pop artists earn respect only when they stop appealing to a teen demographic.”
How does this affect BTS? Kim Jung-won, an ethnomusicologist from Yonsei University speculates that groups that have been formed through what is known as the "idol training" system may have been in some way "barred from Grammy recognition." Another pop culture critic, Kim Hern-sik, says that the Grammys tends to weigh "collaborations between individual pop stars more," pointing to a cultural difference in how artistry is perceived.
Could this change in the future? While the Grammys has said that it is indeed "boy band-friendly,” no K-pop boy band has yet to win one. This may change in the future with the addition of an Asian pop category that is set to be added next year.
