American, but Non-American Cuisine: Pizza in the U.S.

Hey, Friends of DSKUSSS! Do you like to eat pizza? Then, you would be interested in this. Here is the informative and interesting writing on pizza. Please let us know your thinking on pizza through comments :)

American, but Non-American Cuisine: Pizza in the U.S.

Sunju Lee

Dpt. of Political Science and Diplomacy

Kyung-pook National University

             When I first tried a slice of pizza, I knew that it is originated from Italy. Few years later, I found myself betrayed by that pizza. By mid of 2000s, when thin crusted pizza baked in Italian style brick oven was introduced, it was revealed that the pizza which I had eaten was American style pizza. Thick dough, rolled edge and greasy toppings are typical characteristic for so-called the U.S. style. In fact, most of American pizza chains such as Pizza Hut, Dominos and Papa John’s have kept this culinary tradition. However, this is not the very first model or typical style of pizza in the U.S., but just one of a variation of American style.

             Introduced by an Italian-American neighborhood, “pizza” had gradually earned its fame from the late 19^th century. Gennaro Lombardi opened the first American pizzeria in New York in 1905. At that moment, Margarita Pizza named after Queen Margarita had been popular in Italy. So, Lombardi employed this famous recipe to his pizza place. Furthermore, the World War II and after-war situation boosted pizza to attract more people. This is because American survivors who had served in Italy during the war wanted that flavor. In addition, because of the feature that pizza can be shared by pieces, it was welcomed by many workers who wanted to enjoy their evening with their companions.

<Lombardi’s Pizza, flickr.com>

 

             Naturally, pizza has begun to change its shape and flavor depending on where it arrived from. For instance, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven is famous for Clam pie. Different from Lombardi’s pizza, New Haven style uses white sauce and features oblong shape and thinner crust. On the other hand, Pizzeria Uno in Chicago invented ‘Deep-dish’ or Chicago style pizza. According to the recipe from Chicago, dough should be placed in a pie pan and the toppings and cheese should be filled in layers.



< Clam Pie, New Haven, flickr.com>

 <Deep Dish, Chicago, en.wikipedia.com>

 

The Italian-oriented cuisine has developed in such various ways for a dozen decades. According to its shape, volume, toppings and even place where it is baked and served, pizza is called by tens of different ways. However, regardless of its style and recipe, this flat and round bread cannot dissatisfy our hunger and palate. Obviously, pizza is a good plate to share with our family and friends.

Nature vs. Nurture: Which Is More Important To Athletes?

Do you like Yuna Kim? One of DSKUSSS members tried to find out which factore is important for athletes using Yuna's case. Nature or Nurture? What do you think? Please let us know your thinking through the comments.

Nature vs. Nurture: Which Is More Important To Athletes?

Yunzee Kim

Graduated from Dongseo University

Broadcasting and Media Studies

Which factor do you think has more influence for athletes to achieve their goals- nature or nurture? I think this question has been a controversial point all over the world for a long time. To answer this question, people usually look up famous sports stars’ examples such as Tiger Woods, Taehwan Park, and Yuna Kim. In this writing, you will see the case of Yuna Kim who achieved her goal and is beloved by the world.

 

 

 

Yuna utilized her innate nature in achieving her goal. She started figure skating when she was 7 since her former coach, Jonghyun Rhu, said to her mother she has perfect physical conditions to be a figure skater. Compared to other female figure skaters who usually experience lots of fails for the success of doing the Triple Lutz jump, she master the Triple Lutz jump right after her former coach, Hyesuk Shin, asked her to try once. She has been wholly different from normal female figure skaters in learning skills fast and controlling her mind well for the competitions. These fact shows that her innate talent made her a superb athlete. This supports why the nature plays an important role for athletes.

However, Yuna’s nurture also helped her to succeed. Her former coach, Hyesuk Shin said “Yuna always pursues perfection in her performance. If she failed one jump, she practices the jump repeatedly until she gets it right, even if she has to do it over 65 times.” That means despite her exceptionally natural talent, she always practices very hard to show a perfect performance at competitions. In addition, considering the truth that her nickname is a practice bug, people soon realize her perfect performance has been done only due to her continuous practice.

Considering these two aspects, Yuna’s goal could come true due to her both nature and nurture. Unlike the past when people thought one factor played a more important role than the other, many researchers have admitted that nature and nurture are influencing the results of sports. If Yuna had not had both of them, she could not have become a talented figure skater. Tiger Woods and Teahwan Park also have showed us that nature and nurture all are important factors. In other words, success in sports demands both nature and nurture. To be successful athletes, people should find their natural talents and develop them through practicing.

Who is in Charge of Patching up a Loophole in Our Security?

Did you wait for the new writing? We came with a very interesting essay on security issue in Korea. If you have a similar thought or a contrast opinion on this, you can let us know throught the comments. We are waiting for your active responses :)

Who is in Charge of Patching up a Loophole in Our Security?

Cha, Su-Min

Korea National University of Education

Dept of English Education

 

It was reported that a couple of pilotless planes, which were allegedly sent from North Korea, had pictured national strategic foothold including the Blue House and nuclear facilities. Found near Paju, P-Y-DO, and most recently in Samcheok, memory chips equipped in those planes contained core information which could bring about serious disadvantage once used by North Korea. To make matters worse, the Ministry of Defense of Korea announced on April 7 that cyber defense network was severely damaged and still remains vulnerable when approached via foreign servers. Using Google, for instance, people all over the world can have an access to the list of confidential organizations as well as personal data of each member. The message we can draw from this situation is quite obvious: our national security is at stake. However, the more urgent issue we need to handle is not the crisis itself but the prevalence of public insensitivity. So called complacency, the tendency not to be aware of the seriousness of the issue is becoming so widespread that I sometimes think Koreans forget the fact that Korea is still a divided country.

It is perfectly reasonable to say that recent security problems should be attributed to the Ministry of Defense, more specifically military units dedicated to guarding the sovereign airspace and the cyber space. Solely blaming military authorities, though, can never be called a responsible treatment of a situation but is rather similar to a cop-out. The Ministry of Defense is a branch under the government in which its operation is basically supposed to be derived from citizens. Therefore, it is not unfair to argue that loose observation of two areas and even more fields that are not reported to be attacked originated from our dullness. The issue of pilotless planes, if I may suggest a clear example, has occurred three times in a row. When the first plane was found, to my chagrin, some considered it a fabricated scenario by the government to distract citizens from upcoming election while others fostered regionalism. Instead of raising voice full of reproach toward defense-related authorities, people chose to elude the gist and seriousness of the case even when the government announced that the plane was presumed to have flown from North Korea.

We are well recognizant of the old saying “if you know your enemy and yourself, you can win every battle.” When put on the other way round, it means we will lose every battle if the enemy knows minute details of our inner circumstances. This is no longer an old-fashioned maxim far from the reality but the exact statement that describes the urgent situation before our eyes. The security is undoubtedly in for total breakdown due to relentless containment both in visible and invisible ways. Unless citizens urge military authorities to strengthen overall security system and contrive definite countersteps to confront additional security threats, Korea will suffer from attacks at every corner, deepening security crisis further in the end. Now that we realized our enemy has already excavated tons of confidential matters through subtle methods, we should be conscious of sovereignty over the country and be able to cast bitter criticism towards poor security performance in order to solidify national security. We are the owner of this country: would you be sitting on your hands while a thief tries to trespass on your house?

Melting Pot and Salad Bowl: What’s next?

Friends of DSKUSSS! We are bring back with an interesting story on American society. Have you heard of the terms of 'Melting Pot' and 'Salad Bowl'? If you have not, read this and understand what they are. If you have, please let us know what your opinion is through comments.

Melting Pot and Salad Bowl: What’s next?

Min Ji Kim

American Culture and Political Science

Sogang University

             The term, “melting pot” is used frequently to refer to the common culture of America that runs through the heterogeneous society which is comprised of different groups of immigrants from the European continent from as early as late 15^th century. This theory emphasizes the act of assimilation as the immigrants are ‘melted’ into one solid society. Crevecoeur, a French-American writer from the 18^th century writes, “Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world” in Letters from an American Farmer, which is a book known for its role in defining the American identity. From this, it is quite apparent that assimilating into the American society was the norm in the past for groups of immigrants that set foot onto the newly found land.

             Melting Pot, however, reached its limits as the exponents of assimilation theory were showered with criticism regarding its oppressiveness towards minority cultures. The Melting Pot theory practically suggests all cultures to merge into one and lose its distinctive characteristic, just like any substance thrown into the melting pot would end up as steel. Then another theory of a “salad bowl” was suggested to replace the melting pot, which compared the American society to a bowl of salad. Just like a salad bowl with many different ingredients mixed in with a dressing, the American society still has a common culture running through while at the same time appreciating each and every culture that exists on the American soil. This viewpoint was widely welcomed by the multiculturalists who argued against the melting pot theory and the assimilation policies.

             The cultural theories regarding the American society have developed throughout the history, from the melting pot to the salad bowl, and it seems like the issue on multiculturalism and diversity have concluded with an American salad bowl and coexistence of all cultures. Yet, still in America, debates on the very same issue still rage on. Just recently the problem of Affirmative Action started another discussion regarding the same topic and remarks by the owner of Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, only added on to it.

             I believe that there can be no ultimate answer or solution to this issue which is highly debatable and controversial, but there are some very basic things we should not forget that underline all notions. As the popular American poet Walt Whitman writes in his book of poems, Leaves of Grass, we should all at first learn how to “celebrate myself, and sing myself”: learning to respect each and every individual as well as knowing that we all are strands of “grass” that will together form a beautiful lawn.

‘Color Line’ in NBA

Sports is coming back! One of DSKUSSS members introduces how African-American basketball players came to NBA league. If you have any thoughts and opinions, please let us know through comments :)

‘Color Line’ in NBA

 

Ryu Hye-ran

Kyung-pook National University

Dept. of English Education

There must be no one who is not surprised by the videos showing splendid techniques of NBA players at the end of the sports news, even for those who are not interested in basketball games. NBA, National Basketball Association, is the most popular league as a single one in the world. There are lots of super stars in NBA regardless of race and it is still loved by millions of people all around the world. However, in the progress of NBA’s growing, there were moments when it was unnatural to see African-Americans play on the basketball court. 

             NBA was named BAA(Basketball Association of America) in the beginning, which was a really poor league. Also, it was not the case that BAA was the sole league, but NBL(National Basketball League) existed in advance. NBL at that time included teams that became reputable in NBA later such as Rochester Royals and Minneapolis Lakers. Though NBL was much poorer at the performance than BAA in the beginning, BAA retained bigger market, meaning big cities and the owners of the BAA club had gymnasiums. Also BAA brought Minneapolis Lakers which guaranteed the biggest success because of the splendid performance.

             In those days, NBA was still under the difficulties financially though they wanted to give chances to African-Americans. Also, Harlem Globetrotters, which is the team to perform basketball acrobatic tricks, played an important role in the success of NBA as double-header. Thus, it was not easy to turn their backs on the owner of Globetrotters by choosing African-American players. However, as the number of teams in BAA increases, the gap between skills of Minneapolis Lakers and others expanded. Especially New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, which are popular teams in NBA now, remained in the lower ranks. They finally started to look for new players and hired African-American players, Nathaniel Clifton and Chuck Cooper respectively. That was 1950 when the ‘color line’ in NBA started to break down.

             However, still there were limits in race of basketball court at the moments despite the high performance of African-Americans. It was normal for them to play only the task that some people regard as unpleasant like defending and go through limits on participation. Also, discrimination continued outside the court as well. Chuck Cooper, the first African-American player nominated in the draft, was rejected to stay at the hotel when he had an away match in North Carolina.

             Of course, in these days, the racial problem still goes on. Even the news that the owner of LA Clippers made a racist comment is not far from today. However, it is clear that the ‘color line’ on the basketball court could not ignore competent African-American players in the end. Now it is familiar to see them play on the court thanks to their efforts. Though there were moments when even they were rejected as black people, now the racist comment by one person throws the whole USA into turmoil. If there had not been African-Americans’ efforts to overcome discrimination related to race by proving their competence, Michael Jordan might have been the name nobody remembers.

White Collar

Do you like American TV Drama shows? If you like them, you are on the right track! One of DSKUSSS members recommends a fantastic drama show! This writing about why you need to watch 'White Collar.' If you have any idaes on this, please let us know through comments.

White Collar

Han, Hee-ju

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Dept. of International Development Studies

          Neal Caffrey, a con artist, forger and thief, is captured after a three-year game of cat and mouse with the FBI. With only months left serving a four-year sentence, he escapes to look for his girlfriend. Peter Burke, a FBI agent, finds and returns him to prison. Neal proposes a deal with the FBI, as part of a work-release program. Peter agrees, and thus begins this unconventional arrangement where Neal helps Burke apprehend White Collar criminals.



 

I think the most impressive part of White Collar is the relationships of people.
 

             Peter and Neal are in the relation of top and bottom, but they share a joke easily. I have never seen Neal trying to flatter Peter and they look like equal positions outside of the work. I could see low power distance of America through this drama. They met as a FBI agent and a criminal in the beginning and then they have been through a lot of conflicts, however, while working together, they build trust and friendship. As more episodes proceed, they become more than just business partner. Neal and Peter show off fantastic teamwork and they solve almost all cases.

            Another interesting relationship is Peter and his wife, Elizabeth Burke. Although FBI cannot tell anybody about work, Peter shares concern related to his work with Elizabeth. Elizabeth listens to him seriously and sometimes provides crucial tips. Although they do not have a kid, it seems not to matter to them. They support each other and kiss often, which is hard to see from Korean mid-aged marriage couple. It looks so lovely and perfect.

        I also like an unpredictable story line of White Collar. Sometimes I let out my exclamation of surprise when I met completely unexpected ending. But I would not tell in detail about the episode to avoid being a spoiler. Why don't you jump into the addictive story right now?

Ancient People Today; How They Live Throughout History

Hello, the fans of DSKUSSS! We want to share with you about the cultural factors in American continent, which includes North and South. Enjoy this reading, and lets think which reaction you are taking to understand other cultures, especially the minor's.

 

Ancient People Today; How They Live Throughout History

 

Pusan National University
Department of Global Studies
Hyunji Yoo

 

There was a great moment of human civilization during the ancient period, but; all of a sudden, the long ancient history disappeared. Rooted from the American continent throughout the Mayan, Incan and Aztec empires, each of these empires enjoyed their glorious periods. Unfortunately, we can only find the documents or traces of those histories through museums without knowing the whole truth about them. Not only this, but people also do not tend to think that these indigenous people are still alive in the areas of Latin America and North America today. However, their cultures have not disappeared, and actually still exist. Not only do they live in this century, but they are also arguing about their human rights within the countries they live in and continue to protest for their destroyed cultures of the past conquests.

Most indigenous people are marginalized in their communities without the governmental recognition for them. They are discriminated just because of their indigenous origins which lead to their own acknowledgement to protect their rights. For example, in Guatemala, the Mayan human rights activists Rigoberta Menchu, first started the movements against the Guatemalan government. Her involvement also led to the movements of groups of people who gathered to make a voice for the indigenous people, such as the right to vote. Going further to just criticize the current governments, they are trying to enhance their own rights against the many discriminations they face and the destruction of their cultures.

People today tend to remember the past as the past, not knowing the situation under the status quo. Even the existence of the Mayan people may sound unrealistic to some because the only way to find the traces for us is to look at the history textbooks and the museums due to the pressure of the government to avoid the existence of the indigenous people. However, the long history of struggling for the human dignity is not far from the place we live. Having the world to know the number of indigenous people, still living like slaves to the white people, will be a steppingstone to participate in this human rights movement to enhance the indigenous people’s quality of life.