Thanks to Korea Beat (he has a great site that I read daily) I got to find out about another type of bread. One which takes a national obsession in Korea and runs with it. 똥빵 or literally dung (shit) bread. Shit bread? What the ... kimchi?
I don't know what the obsession with shit is in Korea but it can be pretty disgusting at times. Whether it is kids drawing dung pictures on everything, dung shaped knick knacks, dung characters, or now dung bread it is pretty bizarre.
When you add in 똥침 which translates to shit needle or shit insertion the level of bizarreness goes off the scale. Basically a Korean, usually a child but I once had an adult try it on me, will try ramming a finger up your ass. They try to get it IN your hole. Usually the kids will sniff their finger if they achieve insertion, and sometimes others will sniff it too.
This "game" disgusts me on so many levels. A few kids have tried it with me once, never again after that. And none have struck "pay dirt". When it happens the Korean teachers usually shrug it off or laugh. Until I get pissy and make them do something about it. (At my current school I have never had to make them do anything. They are great and stomp it out. Even calling parents. It rarely if ever happens at this school.) Even when confronted about it most parents just laught it off.
I am not sure if it started in Korea or Japan. In Japan it is known as カンチョ or kancho which translates to as enema. (Considering how much Koreans seem to hate Japan it is seems strange that they would both enjoy this.) There is a website written by an American working in Japan. It is a great read and kancho figures prominently in it.
There is even a ddong chim/kancho video game called Boong-Ga Boong-Ga that was created by a South Korean company. The object of the game is to score point by spanking and ddong chimming a human ass that is in the games cabinet. A plastic finger is part of the machine/game for sticking up the ass. Read the wikipedia article. :)
Fart, puke, and shit humour can be popular back home. However, as with most things, it involves time and place. Sitting around with close friends stories often lapse into puke or shit ones. But not in public. And they definitely have nothing to do with sticking a finger up someones ass. I understand that kids like strange things (ok maybe understand is the wrong word) but this obsession with shit, which also affects adults at times, makes the mind wobble.
I have one student in particular who answers 'Dong!' for everything. 'My name is Dong. I like to eat Dong. Yesterday I Dong." It's really annoying and childish. I'm glad other people have noticed the obsession as well! No mater how many times we tell our students to stop doing the 'shit needle' to us, the continue unabashed. I don't remember ANYTHING like this as a kid. Nothing even close.
ReplyDeleteSame here Emily. `I was obsessed with comic books but not shit. It was something I tried to avoid.
ReplyDeleteThe sniffing of the fingers after ddong chimming someone makes my stomach lurch. Especially when they "share" the smell with other kids.
If I had done something like that my mother would have brought out the wooden spoon, not laughed at it. My teachers would have sent me to the principal who call my mother and again the wooden spoon would come out. It is just so dirty.
I've read about that stuff online but I've never had the displeasure of seeing it for sale.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, sniffing your shitty fingers is not a mark of a civilised culture. That's what fucking monkeys do.
KRD
ReplyDeleteI was in a CNA once looking for a birthday present for a friend. I was surprised? disgusted? to see shit shaped containers and knick knacks. A Korean woman actually bought one. Woman not girl. She was probably in her mid twenties.