When Two Cultures Collide

This may seem a bit random, but there is currently a great controversy going on in the Korean Pop world. It was recently announced that Jaebeom Park, the leader of popular boy band 2PM, has been permanently removed from the group for unspecified personal reasons. Jaebeom is an American-born Korean, who has spent the last five years of his life in Korea as a celebrity. Due to his American upbringing, he has faced some difficulty in adjusting to Korean culture and language. This difficulty has caused him serious problems: leading to his flying home to Seattle after a conversation—in which he called Korea “gay”— held with an American friend via MySpace in 2005, sparked anger in many Koreans. Such an offense is hardly noteworthy in American culture, and Jaebeom, who was just a frustrated teenager at the time, would not have thought to think that such a statement would later cause him so much trouble. It was rather used as a way to release the tension he felt mounting upon him as he struggled to learn a new language, eat new food, and understand new social norms.

When two cultures collide both amazing and terrible things can happen. While reading Things Fall Apart, I felt like I was supposed to see evil in everything that happened once the Europeans come. From a historical perspective I know that it is unlikely that things turn out well for any of the Igbo people. However, one of Chinua Achebe’s goals in this novel was to show that some failing in the Igbo aided in the destruction of their own society. Under the guise of religion the Europeans come to Africa to civilize the savage. What the “white man” encounters is a culture with a set of beliefs foreign to it’s own, yet no less complex. In Igbo culture violence is a part of everyday life, a way to punish everyday grievances, get retribution, and adhere to spiritual beliefs. On a smaller scale, in American culture, doing such a thing as calling someone gay or committing some “serious personal problem” (this problem must have been legal, or not too illegal, as no authorities were called in) would not be enough to make the entertainment company feel like they must terminate his contract. In fact, it is more likely that the whole situation would be used as a publicity ploy. When Jaebeom releases his anger, or just does what he feels, like in the mysterious situation that led to his termination, he is just doing what is natural in his culture. This is the same for the Igbo’s ruining of the church to appease the spirits; it is what is natural in their culture.

Unfortunately for the Igbo and Jaebeom, it seems they cannot win. The Igbo lose believers one-by-one and their very presence in the village seems to drain their violent nature, at least that is how Okonkwo perceives it. In Jaebeom’s case he is thrown to the wayside as rumors spread about what he could have possibly done to cause his contract to be cancelled. The other members of the group seem eager to continue on without their leader, just as Okonkwo’s opinion has come to matter much less than it did before his banishment and the arrival of the Christians. Jaebeom’s story has yet to unfold completely, however a favorable solution seems incredibly unlikely, perhaps even impossible, as doubts are now being raised about the characters’ of the remaining members who seem so willing to do without the one who led them to fame. Umuofia’s story, as told by history, is destined for further entrenchment with the Europeans, that they remain unable to escape until 1960.

These two cases of brotherhood’s that are unable to withstand the various trials and tribulations that come with existence seem to show that when two cultures collide, someone’s got to lose.