No.1102’s Travel in Korea Town

I did street scene research in the Korea Town and collected the sound in that place. Based on this research, I wrote a creative fiction story about the sound I heard. The main character is a extraterrestrial robot who is assigned to collect sounds on Earth.

“No.1102”

“Yes, commander.”

“This time you are going to Korea town in New York of the blue star.”

“Got it.”

I’m a sound collecting machine from a new born celestial body. The guy I was talking to is my boss. He is actually the king of the whole star. Everyone admires him because he is wise and capable enough to lead us to construct our new home. Last week, my boss went to a blue watery star, which is probably called “The Earth” by the residents there. My boss especially like a country called America and he decides to build another America in our planet. Therefore, he assigned different missions to his subordinates, for example me, to collect different elements like sound, smell, scene, culture in America. This time, I’m going to the Korea Town of this country to collecting all kinds of sounds. 

I went to the main street of the Korea Town. The first sound I heard is the sound of the engine of a fast moving machine. I can see this kind of machine everywhere on this street. I think they are called cars which are used as transportation on this planet. I turned myself into a minimum size and entered one of theses cars. Suddenly, I heard another kind of sound which sounds like a piece of music. It was quite energetic and rhythmic. I enjoyed listening to it so much that I couldn’t help myself dancing on the back seat. Then, I turned on my recording system and collected this sound. I was pretty sure my boss would love it as well.

After a while, the owner of the car stopped the engine. He got off the car and entered a restaurant. I was curious about what he was going to hear next so I just hided in his pocket. I had to say he entered a really noisy place. I’d never met so much noise at the same before. It basically included human’s chatting in different languages, laughing, chewing sound, the collision of forks and knives, background music… Although I hated some kinds of noise, I still recorded them one by one as my boss commanded me to collect all the sounds I heard. I had to say I hated so much noise with different pitches and amplitudes come together at the same time. I left the restaurant as soon as possible when I was done with my recording.

As I walked along the street, I noticed humans have different footstep sound. Most female creatures made loud noise when they were walking because of their high heels. People who have fast footsteps often made loud and rapid noise, while people who walk slowly almost have silent footsteps. 

A strange and loud noise started to approach while I was walking. I found myself was walking to a place with many concrete and steel tubes. The machines there were making terrible noise. I was almost scared by these huge monsters. I tried very hard to prevent myself from escaping. 

“Come on No.1102, finish the last sound recording and then you can go back home.” I talked to myself. 

Finally, I completed my mission and quickly escaped from the horrible construction place. On my way back home, I couldn’t wait to tell my boss how awful the noise on earth was. I couldn’t understand why does he interested in this planet so much.

Street Scene Research

Historically, Manhattan’s Koreatown has been part of the Garment District. In the 1980s, a Korean bookstore and a handful of restaurants were founded in the area. Their success drew other Korea-owned businesses, sustained by increased immigration from Korea and tourist traffic from nearby Midtown Manhattan landmarks like the Empire State Building, Macy’s Herald Square, Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, the Garment District, and the Flower District. Today, Korea town is primarily a Korean business district, but the resident Korean population in the area has grown as well.

 

 

 

 

links to my group members:

Jamie

Mimi

Gavin

Breakfast in Bed – Kenneth Tam

I found the video called Breakfast in Bed is the most interesting piece of Kenneth Tam. He recruited seven random (non-actors) participants and filmed their activities in a limited inner space. At the beginning, when I saw them acting in a childish way like dancing hand-in-hand, ringing bells, smearing paints on others’ body, etc, I felt this video was wired and embarrassing because they were half naked when they were filmed. Then the scene turns to the interview which I thought was the most intriguing part. Tam asked these men to try to commend each other. It becomes funny to see them trying hard to think of good words about someone they don’t know very well.

The video inspired me by gathering a group of people with different backgrounds. All the people are from different countries with different occupations. So I think I can combine this idea in my video. For example, choosing people with different ages to film.

Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color

When I entered this exhibition, I was amazed by how much pink inside the room. I was the person who seldom wear pink. However, the presented pink gave me a different feeling. This was a feeling of comfort, relax and power. I was attracted by this special color. Pink has been popular in different times. I saw many styles of garments from different times that use pink as a main color. Some garments combined pink with other colors such as green and yellow, while some garments use pink totally. Besides, the exhibition placed men’s, women’s, and children’s pink clothing from both Western and non-Western cultures — including India, Africa, Mexico, and Japan — in a historical context. I think this offers a kind of various perspectives from designers in different times.

My favorite garment is called Céline, dress, spring 2017, France, gift of Céline which is shown in the picture. I like the type of pink used on this dress. It is not the strongest pink neither the lightest pink.  The thickness of the pink is used at the right level so I adore it a lot. Also, the cloth is connected from the top to the bottom which is an interesting design.

Viewing these fashion garments gives me a stronger affection on pink. It also changes my attitudes toward pink. In the past, I always think pink is too childish for me and I was feeling a bit ashamed to wear pink outside. Now, I start to plan to buy some pink clothes.

Trading Places

It has been around two months since I came to New York. I was raised up in Guangzhou and stayed there for eighteen years. Guangzhou is a really charming city and I had lots of good memories there. I still remember the experience of watching night view with my girlfriend in the central square of Guangzhou. We sit on the bench beside the fountain and enjoy the amazing street light. Then, we sang karaoke at midnight at the square. We were surrounded by hundreds of people. They clapped and danced, following the rhythm of the song. Then, we went home and watched my favorite movie called Perfect Strangers, which is an Italian film. The movie tells a story about a bunch of friends, and how their friendship is so fragile over deep secrets. I’ve always been interested in watching this kind of story telling movies.It was quite an emotional and memorable night for us.

In the end, my girlfriend gave me a teddy bear. She said: If you miss me or get homesick, just hug it. She also told me that she had this bear since she was twelve years old. When she feels sad or panic, she will hug the bear. 

“The bear looks like you, ”

Several month after that, I was living in another country which is thousands miles away from Guangzhou. 

The bear reminds me of who I really am whenever I am surrounded by insecurities in this new place, and it tells me to be brave and proceed forward when I get trapped by uncertain feelings. It is my amulet, my good luck charm that supports me through the big transformation of my life, from being the home-staying duckling to the mature swan.