What do you get when you allow one girl to date five different guys? Some may think of a fantasy, but others may think of the Korean-American Students’ Association’s (KASA) Korea Night 2008.
The theme for the event was based on the MTV dating show “Next,” in which one person is invited to date five different people. When that girl is on her dates with each contender and decides she wants to find someone better, she can yell out “Next!”
This may seem harsh, but the contender is awarded $1 for every minute the date lasts, so he is definitely not leaving empty-handed. If the person is feeling a connection with the contender, she offers a second date to explore love, and the contender can accept the date or take the money.
Freshman Elizabeth Kim played Stacy Kim, a young Korean girl seeking a guy with an extensive list of characteristics – one of them being an appreciation for Korean culture equal to hers. With this premise, each date incorporated some important and unique aspects of Korean culture.
Stacy could not have asked for a better range of guys to choose from. The first date was with Mark Cho, also known as Macho, played by senior Andrew Son. Quite frankly, it was surprising to have him interested in a dating show, since it seemed like he was already in a committed relationship with his muscles. During this date, Stacy took Mark to see the Korean PoongMul group perform traditional Korean music on drums. After that, there was a traditional fan dance performance. However, Mark was too shallow and occupied by his arms to appreciate them, and Stacy had to say “Next!”
The second date was with Bong Soo Lee, played by junior Dan Cho. Bong Soo was the stereotypical FOB Asian, making a peace sign with both hands as he stepped off the bus.
While on the date, Stacy brought Bong Soo to a karaoke session where senior Hannah Kim performed a beautiful rendition of the Korean song “Byul.” Stacy asked Bong Soo to perform his own karaoke song and, even though he tried to do justice to 50 Cent’s “In Da Club,” by the time Bong Soo was singing “Go, Go, Go,” Stacy told him to go with a “Next!”
Now almost every girl likes a bad boy, and Stacy’s bad boy was about to arrive as Sam Park, also known as Killa Sam, played by sophomore Jason Lee. It seemed as if Killa Sam was suffering from a major identity crisis and, although Sam thought nunchucks were gangster, Stacy knew, as most people with common sense do, that that was not the case, and he and his nunchucks were sent away.
Even though the first three guys were not great, Stacy did not give up hope and she continued with date number four. Date number four, Stuart Kim, played by sophomore Eric Pao, was very nerdy; in his spare time on the bus while waiting to go on his particular date, he calculated his probability of winning the date, even though it was not very high.
Stacy and Stuart’s date took place at a club. There, dancers performed the infamous “Tell Me” dance, a dance to “2 AM” and a break dance number. It was a nice way to showcase modern Korean dance moves. However, Stuart did not calculate the zero probability of being able to dance, and his off-beat moves were sent back to the bus with a “Next!”
Finally, Stacy had one more shot at love with Brian, the sweetheart, played by junior Steve Kim. On their date, Stacy took Brian to a caf for an open mic night. There, a group performed two Korean rock songs, both energetic and engaging. After the performances, Stacy said she thought it was romantic that a guy would give both of his eyes to his blind love so that she might see. However, Brian had a more realistic definition of romance: he would give her one of his eyes and each would wear matching eye patches.
To truly impress Stacy, Brian serenaded her with “Missing You” and, at the end, gave her an eye patch matching his. Stacy was completely in love and offered Brian the second date. Now, Brian was an avid believer in destiny but, in this situation, he was destined to take the money.
Even though love was not found, Korea Night was a great event to expose the campus to Korean culture. The audience was exposed to the traditional and modern aspects of the culture in a fun and engaging way, and KASA will definitely have something to live up to for 2009!
Massie is a member of the class of 2011.
