2007년 1월 7일 'Toenjangnyo(된장녀)' criticism

[Jenie(이예지)]

High-Priced Starbucks Coffees Trigger Debate on Lavish Spending

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter

   Waking in the morning, she washes her hair with the shampoo used by top models in a TV commercial. Due to greater concern over her makeup application she skips breakfast. For diet reasons, she orders a black coffee without sugar at the Starbucks in front of her school. Looking out the window, she feels as if she has become a New Yorker.

    Luring a male senior student, she makes him pay for her lunch at a family restaurant. She doesn't forget to photograph the cuisine that she is served to upload on her Weblog, or Internet diary, to demonstrate how luxurious and trendy her life is.

    This is part of an account of a usual day of a ``toenjang-nyo,'' an Internet-born neologism for a female university student who wallows in luxurious products and thinks it is ``trendy'' and ``fashionable'' to have Starbucks coffee everyday.

   Although the toenjang-nyo believes in feminism, she tries to take advantage of men to upgrade her financial status. Almost overnight the word, which won't be found in any dictionary, has become one of the most searched keywords of major Internet portal sites and has sparked debate over the dual position of women as well as their excessive consumerism.

    ``Toenjang'' is the soy bean paste that is one of the essential elements of Korean cuisine, and ``nyo'' is the female suffix. However, the true origin of the term, it seems, comes from the similarly sounding exclamation ``jyenjang'' which is roughly translated as ``damn!,'' hence expressing derision over such women.

     According to Internet debate communities, the term was created amid debate over Starbucks coffee in Korea that is relatively more expensive than other countries, hence pointing out that it is the vanity and consumerism of young women that contribute to the hike. Toenjang-nyo's daily spending at Starbucks exceeds that of some regular students' food expenditures in a week, they say.

     Cartoons deriding toenjang-nyo have also been drawing popularity. In most cases, cartoons depict the embarrassment men face meeting toenjang-nyo. One of the most popular cartoons is about toenjang-nyo on a blind date. She changes her negative attitude immediately when she discovers the man's key to a luxurious foreign car.

      Most of the comments and reactions regarding toenjang-nyo comprise criticism and rage. At the same time, there are people who say that the male version of toenjang-nyo exists equally. Men with varied complexes wholly make up the representation, ignorant of the principles of capitalism, according to some Internet users.

     Sung Young-shin, a psychologist at Korea University in Seoul, expressed her concern that the toenjang-nyo controversy will lead to misunderstanding and antagonism between opposite sexes and further stereotypes about women. ``By concluding some women's lifestyles as universal traits of women, the `toenjang-nyo' phenomenon could merely perpetuate misconceptions about women and hinder young students from having a mature understanding about the opposite sex,'' she said.

      Kim Jong-un, a leisure management professor at Seoul's Myongji University, said that such phenomenon stems from the realities of youth unemployment and related stresses. ``It is usual for frustrated young people to make an imaginary enemy and vent anger at them. Toenjang-nyo is such an example,'' Kim said.

michelle@koreatimes.co.kr  08-06-2006 18:32 

 Question ★

1. Do you know Toenjang-nyo?

2. What do you think is Toenjang-nyo? (Toenjang-nyo's definition)

3. What do you think is the reason it became controversial issue?

4. Have you become Toenjang-nyo or nam? (do you think)

5. Have you seen the case like this issue around you?

[Jenie(이예지)]

이렇게 하면 되나요?ㅡㅇㅡ. 기사가 쫌 긴가요? ; 기사 없이 하신 분들도 있던데..; 기사보다는 머;; Question에 집중해주셔도 될꺼 같아요 ㅎ // 참석입니다; -_-ㅎ (당연한거겠죠??;)

[해스키]

재밌겠다-ㅋ 참석이요

[Aaron]

6일은 토욜아닌가요?? 일욜 스키땜에 당겼나? 아님 오타인가?

[세실]

왠 6일? 아론. 스키 잘 갔다 오세요. 전 스터디 참석.

[Aaron]

7일로 제목 고치셨네...^^

[너구리 만세!]

저도 참석! ㅎㅎ

[Chloe(최주영)]

저도 스터디 꼭 참석할것임

[광82]

좋은 토픽 감사 합니다....

[광82]

즐거운 스터디 하세요~~

[서주]

뒷풀이때 쪼인수고하셨어요^^

[엘레나]

스터디 참석하겠습니다 ^^

[KeigH]

내일 아침까지 수학 끝낼수 있으면 갈게요~ ㅎㅎ

[칠월이]

저는 딸린 혹이 아파서리 또 불참입니당. 아 스터디 가고파랑.

[KeigH]

근데 누가 프린트 해가죠?? .. 결국 내가 해가야 하는구나... 오늘 숙제도 다 했고.. 힘들었당.

[KeigH]

죄송 저 수누나 대신 스키장 가서 못가요..