Ajumma-Selca by Incheong Lee 2008

(Click the photo above, there are more photos of Ajumma-Selca and information about this project (but in Korean))

I found Korean artist Incheong Lee’s Ajumma-Selca by chance this morning. There aren’t enough references or related articles about her ‘Ajumma-Selca’ but I realised that how her artwork and Digital Ppal-let-ter (and Smart Ajumma research) are similar with each other in some ways. Of course these two different project are about Ajummas but they’re not only talking about a profound discourse of Ajummas. Rather I (and maybe she as well) tried to express the daily life of ajummas pleasantly. (I know there was, is and will be a controversy over talking about ajummas, using the title of ajummas, and etc.)

Anyway, Lee’s Ajumma-Selca is about a tiring and tedious (or sometimes enjoyable as well) daily life of ajummas. She put the wooden-ajumma doll in the situated frame (e.g. kitchen) of photos to reflect her (or other ajummas) lives. Thus, the each photo is a sort of ‘ajumma-selca’ that shows ajumma-selves through a wooden ajumma doll.

Happy Buddha’s birthday!

I mentioned before, there are so many special days in May in Korea. Yes, you can tell what I’m talking about when you read my posts in May. They are all about special days!

Today is Buddha’s Birthday so my family went to the Bongeunsa Temple near my house. My family is catholic but we go to the temple on special day like today. I saw so many ajummas to wish and pray for their family.

I will write more ajumma-related blog post next week. Enjoy Buddha’s birthday!

전에도 말했다시피, 한국의 5월은 날씨도 너무 아름답지만 특별한 날들이 참 많다. 어린이날 어버이날 부처님오신날 스승의 날 등등! 오늘은 바로 부처님 오신날! 그래서 부모님과 함께 집근처 봉은사에 갔었다. 우리집은 가톨릭 신자지만 이런 날에는 절에 가서 구경도 하고 한다. 종교가 다르다고 남의 종교가 틀린건 아니니까, 그리고 모든 종교는 다 연결되어 있다고 생각도 든다. 결국 착하게 남을 도우며 성실하게 잘 살기위해 종교를 갖는것 아니겠는가? (종교적인 부분은 매우 예민하니까 이쯤에서 그만)

오늘도 봉은사에서 많은 아줌마들을 봤다. 기도를 드리고 돌탑을 쌓아두고 등을달고 초에 불을 붙이고…이는 모두 그들의 가족들의 안녕을 위한 것이리라 생각이 든다. 우리의 모든 어머니들 즉 우리의 모든 아줌마들이 그렇게 가족을 위해 또 오늘도 살아간다.

아줌마들 모두 화이팅! 그리고 다음주에는 아줌마에 대한 포스팅을 곧 올리겠다! 즐거운 연휴 보내시길!

Happy Parents’ day!

Happy Parents’ Day to all the mums and dads in the world! Yes we have Parents’ day on 8th May every year.

Thank you for your unconditional love to my mum and dad! Love you so much. You are the best parents for me.

어버이날 모두 감사합니다! 사랑합니다!

Another new project for Ajummas

I tried to make Ajumma dolls before I made a Digital Ppal-let-ter video. Now, I’m thinking to do something very exciting and fun project for Ajummas. I can’t say the clear idea for this new project yet but one thing I can say for now is that this project will be enjoyable for everyone (not too serious or academic project). Through this blog, I will keep posting articles about ajummas (from academic research to miscellaneous stories) and at the same time I will upload the new project for ajummas as well.

Ajumma, how much is it?

Today, I went out with my parents to have lunch together. We had Chinese food in Myeong-dong and headed to Dongdaemun area to visit Gwangjang Market. Gwangjang Market is famous with variety of street foods and other stuff such as Hanbok (Korean traditional dress). And this market is also well known to travellers who visit Korea.

We also love visiting Gwangjang Market just for browsing. When we visited to this market today, my mum wanted to buy a blanket for spring. Yes, they sell blankets in reasonable price but the quality is very good. Anyway, when my mum went into one shop to browse blankets, me and my dad were waiting for her outside because the shop was very tiny to fit ourselves into.

At that time, five foreigners were looking at pillows and blankets of that shop. They’ve asked price for those items to the shop owner.

“Ajumma! How much is it?”

I smiled when I heard that word, Ajumma! Then, the ajumma came out of the shop and told them (almost yelled) the price in Korean. They couldn’t understand and the ajumma tried to explain the price with her fingers. So I just translated the price from Korean to English. Both the ajumma and those travellers became happy because the ajumma could sell the blanket and they could buy the blanket.

The point what I want to tell you is how the word Ajumma is getting familiar with people even though they are foreigners! Ajumma is our culture and this word presents the familirity and warmness of middle-aged Korean women I think and I saw. I went to one of the conference in Korean last week and I got attacked from some of audiences about using the word Ajumma. They mentioned that using the word of ajumma could be lead disdaining the Korean middle-aged women. (I will write more about this issue for next blog post, there are so many things that I really want to write about).

Anyway, ajummas are our culture I no longer thinking the word ajummas are the one that disdains the middle-aged women in Korea.

Digital Ppal-let-ter is now on YouTube as well!

Now you can watch this Digital Ppal-let-ter video on YouTube as well.

I just uploaded.Please enjoy watching Digital Ppal-let-ter!

디지털 빨래터 비디오를 이제 유툽에서도 볼 수 있습니다!

많이 봐주시고 더 많이 즐겨주세요!

Inspiration for Digital Ppal-let-ter Project

Digital Ppal-let-ter is a new digital space which illustrates the interactively remediated space and time of both the wash place before the 1960s and Kakao Talk’s group chat room in the 21st century. Digital Ppal-let-ter will encourage audiences to consider the existence of middle-aged and married women’s communal space that has formed and has been developed by those women from the non-digital (pre-smartphone) era before the 1960s to the digital (smartphone) era in 2015.

Digital Ppal-let-ter will take both analogue and digital technology to present a new digital space where ajummas communicate with each other. It is an imaginary space located in a time of coexistence between the face-to-face communication era and the mobile digital communication era. In other words, Digital Ppal-let-ter is located in an in-between space and time of actuality and digitality. For this reason, the creative project of Digital Ppal-let-ter is a converged metaphorical space of communication that transcends time and space among middle-aged and married women in Korea.

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I tried to do an installation art but I’ve changed to produce a video instead.

Digital Ppal-let-ter is an imaginary space that does not exist in the real world. However, it asks audiences to think about how communication amongst middle-aged and married women in Korea has always existed even though various communication tools and the locations of communal spaces have changed over time. Digital Ppal-let-ter aims to emphasise that specific features of communication have developed subliminally through continuous interactive communicating among middle-aged and married women in Korea.

Middle-aged and married women used to be considered a peripheral group by the digital technology industry in Korea whereas younger female groups were given attention. However, it is time to look intensively at how these middle-aged and married women, ajummas, communicate with each other in the pre-digital communication era before the 1960s to the digital communication era of today. In general, ajummas used to be considered a group of ordinary middle-aged and married women but they are not ordinary when people look at them with affection. The group ajummas now attract respectful attention from the digital technology industry and Korean society. The creative project Digital Ppal-let-ter presents how the ordinary but not ordinary ajummas build their own communal spaces and have their own ways of communicating which have developed in line with technological developments in communication

Digital Ppal-let-ter is based on Korean sentiment but the convergence of digital and analogue technology in the project is universally relatable. To create this complicated but poetic and new experimental media art project that includes interdisciplinary academic research and mixed media art forms.

Digital Ppal-let-ter (VIDEO)

Digital Ppal-let-ter is a new digital space where the wash place before the 1960s and a Kakao Talk group chat room in 2015 coexist together. As an imaginary space that has been planned and created based on interdisciplinary research and creative concept of thinking, I have carefully considered how to present the concept of Digital Ppal-let-ter to audiences. Initially I planned for Digital Ppal-let-ter to be exhibited in a gallery or other space in the form of an installation. However, the plan changed to using video due to the difficulty of installing a reproduction of a wash place and the Kakao Talk group chat room. Through the video, the audience can experience the wash place prior to the 1960s with village women and a Kakao Talk group chat room in 2015 with Smart Ajummas at the same time.

The project will also encourage audiences to reconsider the communal spaces, the ways of communication and the communities of middle-aged married women, ajummas, in Korea from the past to the present. Furthermore, it can be expected that this opportunity will increase interest in ajummas and their ways of communication among audiences and the general public. Hence, both the creative project, Digital Ppal-let-ter, and the research project, Smart Ajumma, will awaken thoughts and value about the existence of ajummas and their unique way of communicating that has gone unnoticed.

Digital Ppal-let-ter (Wash place) from Jung Moon on Vimeo.

How to create Digital Ppal-let-ter Project (1)

For my PhD thesis, I had to write a dissertation (thesis) and make a create project. This creative project is generally called as a project-led research but my PhD project is different. I rather call my creative project as ‘research-led project’. Digital Ppal-let-ter project (Creative project) is mostly based on academic research then I put my imagination to create this Digital Ppal-let-ter project. Without advanced academic research about ajummas and their use of smartphones in everyday practices, Digital Ppal-let-ter couldn’t be created at all. Screen Shot 2016-03-14 at 12.37.34 PM.png

To create this project, I tried to use many different ways of ‘making’ an art work. I’m not an artist and my background is fully media studies. I had various experiences of working in the media industry and I worked as a script writer, producer, video editor, etc. I know how to use tools for making a film but I don’t want to make an actual film for this project. I rather try to experiment using non-professional filmmaking tools for this project. I always admire people who propose a new method so I tried to find a new method for this project. Through this blog, I will explain how I made this video with my own ways of using tools and softwares.

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Firstly, I used still photos for Digital Ppal-let-ter project. The photos for the Digital Ppal-let-ter project were all taken on a iPhone 5 over a period of 2 years from 2014 to 2015. The majority of photos were taken in Seoul, South Korea. The subjects of the photos are mostly middle-aged women, ajummas, in Seoul. The photos were taken randomly in Seoul during the field research in 2014 and 2015. The reason why an iPhone was used as a camera for this project is because it has many advantages such as portability, convenience and instantaneous viewing. Using an iPhone camera for making this creative project has reminded me of the diverse theories about digital communication technology, especially the use of mobile communication devices (e.g. smartphones).

An iPhone allowed me to take photos whenever I found suitable subjects.I became a ‘phoneur’ (2006, Luke) as I took photos while observing people and the city in Seoul and it became a natural part of daily life during my stay in Seoul for the field research in 2014 and 2015.

The subjects of the photos that were used in the video were not asked for permission, however their faces were covered by a hand-drawn sticker of a smiley face to protect each subject’s privacy.
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Most photos of ajummas that were used in the video are not taken from the front and some of them are blurry. Consequently, the subjects in the photos that were used in the video are not recognisable. In addition, the video in the Digital Ppal-let-ter project is not made for commercial use, rather it is produced entirely for a creative project which is a part of the PhD research project. For this reason, the privacy issues of photos that were used in the video should not be a problem at all.

Are you an ajumma?

Well, since I’ve started this research project people keep asking me a same question so many times. They asked me, “are you an ajumma?”

I put the URL of this blog (smart-ajumma.com) on my Twitter profile, Facebook and Instagram. People who follow me on these various SNS, they kept asking me a question that “Are you an ajumma??? I didn’t know that!!!”. Then I had to repeat the same answer that defend against this question. I replied or explained, “No! I’m not an ajumma, I’m just doing my research about ajummas and their use of smartphones in everyday practices…blah blah blah.”

I know being an ajumma is not a problem at all, but whenever people ask me a question like that, I always answer with a serious face to protect myself. (protect I mean!)

There’s one thing. I’ve already mentioned in one of blog entries that I uploaded previously, people are curious about the reason why I’m doing research about ajummas even though I’m not an ajumma yet! People think it is very strange when non-ajumma researcher researches about ajummas. Also they expect that research about ajummas is not an attract thing at all. For these many reasons, people keep asking the same question to me for many times and I had to explain to them whenever they asked questions.

I’m still enjoying my research about ajummas and I will be doing this research continuously. Ajummas are attractive people in Korea and there are voluminous research topics to study about ajummas. Through this blog, I will keep doing my research about ajummas and their use of new media.

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Fighting ajummas!!

Digital Ppal-let-ter Project

Jung Moon

PhD Candidate

Centre For Ideas, University of Melbourne

Why?

Through various and deeper ways of study such as an academic research (e.g. literature research) and qualitative/quantitative research (survey and deep focus group interview), I could realise and identify who ajummas are and their behaviour of mobile communication through using smartphones in their daily lives. Digital Ppal-let-ter project is a part of Smart Ajumma research project that expresses my research findings and interpretations metaphorically through a video humorously but the stories are still based on academic research in order to avoid losing the purpose of this research project.

Ppal-let-ter (wash place)?

I was amazed through enjoying this research project for last few years. Ajummas in Korea, they actually have their own communal spaces and keep doing communication with each other by their own ways. We didn’t know about their communal spaces and their ways of communication because we just stared at them rather than looking inside deeply.

After I found that there are communal spaces for ajummas’ own through doing field research, I could keep continuing this creative research project. And I thought about Ppal-let-ter (wash place)!

Of course, there are many countries had wash places but a wash place in Korea can be considered as a characteristic place than other countries’. As I mentioned so many times, a wash place in Korea is more likely a women’s communal space before 1960s. There are sill wash places in Korea but those places haven’t been used as a wash place for a long time. They rather became tourist spots today because we have washing machines at home to do our laundry instead of going to wash places regularly.

Whereas, going to the wash place regularly was a matter of course for village women (or ajummas) not only doing their laundry, but also meeting other village women (or ajummas). In other words, the wash place was a place for ‘socialising’ and ‘communicating’ for middle-aged and married women in Korea during 1960s.

They don’t have an appointment with each other, but they could meet someone whenever they visit the wash place. So it was possible to have conversations with each other about various topics from complaining patrilocality to boasting their children. The wash place functioned as more than ‘wash place’, rather it played a role as a women’s communal space. Thus, I got inspired by this important but being forgotten wash place to start doing my creative project so called as ‘Digital Ppal-let-ter’.

Women’s place?

Even though there are various types of women’s communal spaces such as hair shops and jjim-jil bang (sauna), the reason why I chose a wash place as a key space to do my creative project is because I thought a wash place is one of women’s communal spaces and it has sentiments of Koreans and Korean culture.

In the late 18th century, ‘the wash place’ by Hong Do Kim shows how a wash place in Korea could be a women’s place even though there were no law and regulations that prohibited men from coming to a wash place.

Digital Ppal-let-ter?

Through survey and focus group research, Kakao Talk’s group chat room was the most preferred way of mobile communication among ajummas. Some of interviewees responded that they purchased smartphones only for using Kakao Talk’s with their friends and family. Like this, Kakao Talk’s group chat rooms were now newly used as communal spaces or the ways of communication today.

Of course, Kakao Talk is one of mobile chatting applications that anyone can use freely. However, I discovered that Kakao Talk’s group chat room in 2016 and the wash place in the before 1960s have much analogy with each other in many ways. (I already wrote about the 6 similarities between wash place and Kakao Talk’s group chat room in my blog)

These two dissimilar places that came from totally different time are very much similar with each other. This makes me so exciting.

Digital Ppal-let-ter = A communal place for Ajummas?

These two places are dissimilar, it is so true. However I realised that they are very much similar with each other at the same time. We’re now using smartphones and the use of smartphones allow us to do many things that we never imagined in pre-smartphone era.

I think ajummas in Kakao Talk’s group chat room and their communication in mobile space are not an entirely new things that could be possible due to the development of new technologies. Maybe, they’ve been communicating with each other in their own communal spaces by their own ways of communication.

In other words, the wash place in the before 1960s was not disappeared at all, rather I consider the wash place continues to exist with us in the shape of Kakao Talk’s group chat room.

We’re now using different communicative tools and methods. And we’re communicate in dissimilar communal spaces compared with pre-smartphone era. Even though many things had been changed, we shouldn’t forget one thing that middle-aged and married women in Korea have been communicating continuously regardless communicative tools, methods, time and spaces.

Digital ppal-let-ter in the future?

Digital Ppal-let-ter is not a new thing at all. It is a women’s communal place today.

The communicative method (from face-to-face to mobile communication), communicative tools (from direct dialogue to smartphones) and communal spaces (Ppal-let-ter (wash place) to Digital Ppal-let-ter (Kakao Talk’s group chat room) are changed, I expect that communication among ajummas will be evaluating continuously with their own ways.

Thus, a discovery of Digital Ppal-let-ter is very important and it must continue to research how this Digital Ppal-let-ter will developing or changing in the future. We shouldn’t be overlooked ajummas in new media and communication research. They’re one of unique female group in Korea and we’re ready-to-be ajummas in the future as well.

디지털 빨래터 프로젝트

Digital Ppal-let-ter 프로젝트

Jung Moon

PhD Candidate

Centre For Ideas, University of Melbourne

왜?

다양하고 깊은 학문적 연구 (문헌연구)와 질적 양적 연구 (서베이와 포커스그룹 인터뷰)를 통해 아줌마와 스마트폰을 통한 그들만의 모바일 커뮤니케이션 행태에 대한 새로운 해석을 하게 되었습니다. 그러한 해석을 비디오라는 미디어를 통해서 유머러스하게 하지만 학문적인 연구의 본질을 잃지 않는 내용으로 표현했습니다.

빨래터?

연구를 통해 흥미로운 사실을 알아낼 수 있었습니다. 아줌마는 아줌마들만의 소통 공간이 있었고, 그 소통 공간 안에서 그들만의 방식으로 소통해 오고 있었습니다. 다만 그것이 잘 보이지 않았을 뿐. 그리고 보여지지 않았던 이유는 우리가 관심을 두지 않았었기 때문입니다.

그러한 그들만의 공간에서의 소통이 이루어지는 점을 매우 흥미롭게 보면서 또 다른 생각을 이어 나갈 수 있었습니다. 바로 빨래터.

물론 빨래터는 어느 나라에나 존재합니다. 하지만 우리나라의 빨래터는 성격이 조금 달랐습니다. 현재는 실용성, 기능성 그리고 심미성을 고루 갖춘 다양한 가정용 세탁기 덕분에 빨래터에 가는 일이 없지만, 불과 1960년대만 하더라도 정기적으로 빨래터에 가서 묵은 빨래를 해야 하는 일은 당연한 일이었습니다. 이러한 빨래터는 단순히 빨래하는 공간을 뛰어넘는 동네 여인들의 ‘사교의 공간’ 혹은 ‘소통의 공간’이기도 했습니다.

정해놓은 약속 시각에 만나서 수다를 떠는 일은 없었지만, 빨래터에 가면 으레 누군가를 만나게 되었고, 자연스럽게 빨래도 하고 잡다한 수다부터 필요한 생활 정보까지 공유하는 공간의 역할을 했었습니다. 고된 시집살이 이야기부터 자랑하고 싶은 내 자식의 이야기까지, 빨래하며 아줌마들은 다른 아줌마들과 소통도 하고 묵은 스트레스도 날릴 수 있었습니다. 이러한 빨래터를 모티브로 제 Creative Project는 시작되었습니다.

여성의 공간?

사실 아줌마들의 사교의 공간은 빨래터뿐만이 아닙니다. 미용실, 목욕탕 등의 다양한 공간이 존재합니다. 하지만, 빨래터라는 공간을 주된 공간으로 정한 이유는, 빨래터는 여성의 공간, 그리고 한국의 정서가 담겨있는 여성의 공간이기 때문입니다.

18세기 말, 조선 시대 김홍도의 그림, ‘빨래터’는, 동네 아낙들이 빨래터에서 빨래와 목욕을 하는 모습을 훔쳐보는 양반에 대한 풍자를 한 그림입니다. 잘 살펴보면, 빨래터에는 동네 아낙들 (즉 여성)이 자리하고 있고, 양반 (남성)은 빨래터 밖에서 몰래 훔쳐보고 있습니다. 사실, 빨래터에 ‘남성 출입금지’라는 어떠한 법 규정이나 제재가 있었던 것은 아닙니다. 하지만, ‘빨래터’는 여성들이 가는 곳(물론 그 당시의 ‘집안일은 여성의 몫’이라는 잘못된 사상에서 비롯된 것일 수도 있지만)이라고 암암리에 정해져 있었습니다.

빨래터라는 공간에서 여성들은 마음껏 목욕도 하고, 빨래도 하고, 수다도 떨면서 살아왔습니다. 법은 없지만, 남성은 들어올 수 없는 곳, 빨래뿐만이 아니라 다양한 다기능을 해주는 소통의 공간인 빨래터, 빨래터는 여성의 공간이었습니다.

디지털 빨래터?

서베이와 포커스그룹을 통해 알게 된 아줌마들의 넘버원 모바일소통 방법은 카카오톡의 단체 톡 방 이었습니다. 면담자 중 몇 명은 카톡을 하기 위해 스마트폰으로 바꾸기까지 했다고 대답할 정도였습니다. 그만큼, 카카오톡의 단체 톡 방은 아줌마들의 새로운 소통의 장소 그리고 소통방법으로 사용 되고 있습니다.

물론 카카오톡은 모두가 사용할 수 있는 모바일채팅 애플리케이션중의 하나입니다. 하지만, 저는 카카오톡의 단체 톡 방, 특히 아줌마들이 사용하고 있는 이 카카오톡의 단체 톡 방을 빨래터와 겹쳐서 보게 되었습니다. 즉 두 개의 전혀 다른 시대로부터 온 장소가 겹치는 것입니다.

달리 말해서, 아줌마들의 카카오톡 단체 톡 방이 1960년대의 빨래터와 매우 닮아있다는 것입니다. 즉, 현시대 아줌마들의 카카오톡 단체 톡 방을 1960년대의 빨래터의 새로운 버전, 즉 디지털 빨래터로 보았습니다.

디지털 빨래터=아줌마들의 소통 공간?

디지털 빨래터를 만들게 되면서 새로운 사실을 또 깨닫게 되었습니다.

2015년의 아줌마들이 소통하는, 스마트폰을 이용한 카카오톡의 단체 톡 방은 사실 전혀 새로운 것이 아니라는 것입니다. 물론, 새로운 기술의 발전과 출현으로 인해 21세기는 우리가 상상만 했던 일들을 실제로 해내 가며 살아가게 해주었습니다. 스마트폰의 사용이 매우 좋은 예입니다.

하지만, 아줌마들의 활발한 카카오톡의 단체 톡 방 에서의 소통, 그리고 그들의 소통공간은 단순히 스마트폰과 그에 따른 다양한 애플리케이션의 개발로 인해 생긴 것이 아닌, 어쩌면 아주 옛날부터 계속해서 이어져 오고 있는 것일지도 모른다는 생각을 했습니다.

다시 말해서, 1960년대의 빨래터가 사라진 것이 아닌, 2015년의 카카오톡 단체 톡 방의 형태로 계속 이어져 오고있는 것이 아닐까 하는 생각을 했습니다.

소통의 방법과 소통의 도구 그리고 소통하는 장소가 달라졌지만, 우리가 간과해서는 안 될 하나의 매우 중요한 핵심인 ‘중년 여성들의 소통’은 우리도 모르는 새에 계속 꾸준히 이어져 오고 있었던 것입니다. 빨래터의 형태로 그리고 시간이 지난 지금은 스마트폰의 사용을 통한 카카오톡의 단체 톡 방의 형태로.

디지털 빨래터의 진화?

디지털 빨래터는 어느 날 갑자기 생긴 새로운 소통공간이 아닌, 계속해서 진화되어온, 1960년대의 빨래터가 발전된 형태의 아줌마들의 소통공간입니다.

소통방식 (face-to-face에서 mobile communication), 소통 도구 (direct dialogue 에서 smartphones) 그리고 소통장소 (빨래터에서 디지털 빨래터: 카카오톡 단체 톡 방)가 바뀌었지만, 아줌마들의 소통은 그들만의 방식과 모습으로 계속 진화될 것입니다.

따라서 디지털 빨래터의 발견은 매우 중요하고, 앞으로 디지털 빨래터가 어떻게 발전할지에 대한 지속적인 연구도 중요합니다. 동시에, 아줌마들의 소통공간인 디지털 빨래터가 계속 진화되어 질 수 있도록 꾸준한 연구를 통해 도움을 주는 것도 반드시 필요한 일일 것입니다.