WHEN WINE IN YOUR HOUSE IS RIPE

By: YugGim

When wine at your house is ripe,

Please ask me to visit you.
When flowers at my cottage bloom,
I will invite you to come.
And then let’s talk of the things,
Forgetting worries, over a hundred years.

THE TALE OF THE WOODCUTTER AND THE TIGER

Korean folklore recalls the tale of a woodcutter who encounters a tiger

in the woods. Fearing that he would soon be the tiger’s dinner, he exclaimed:
“You must be my long lost brother! Our mother cried for you when you left
home. She had dinner ready for you every night, waiting for your return.
Sadly, out mother has just passed away. How happy she would have been had
she known you are alive and well!” The woodcutter took out his handkerchief
and pretended to wipe at his eyes. The tiger turned away, as tears fell down
his cheeks, leaving the woodcutter unharmed.

Every year thereafter, on Chesa, the memorial day of the woodcutter’s

mother’s death, an offering appeared on her grave - sometimes a peasant, or
even his mother’s favorite mountain berries. The woodcutter did not know
where these offerings came from.

One year, the woodcutter noticed that the customary offering had not
been placed on his mother’s grave, and he wondered what had happened. Out
from the bush, three baby tigers appeared, carrying offerings. They
approached the woodcutter and cried: “You must be our uncle! Mother tiger
is gone now, and we know how important it is for her to honor grandmother
by bringing an offering to her Chesa table beside her grave. We are here to
bring offerings for our grandmother in loving memory of our mother.” The
woodcutter noticed that his face had turned suddenly warm and realized that
it was his own tears streaming down his cheeks.
 PROPAGANDA
Propaganda is the spread of information or ideas with the purpose of
influencing feelings or actions. Propaganda is always biased and can be
negative or positive, but usually has a negative connotation.

COMMON EXAMPLES OF PROPAGANDA

Building a mental image - A politician will present an image of what the world
would be like with immigration or crime so that the voters will think of that
image and believe that voting for him will reduce that threat.
Overstating participation - The concept of "Get on the Bandwagon" is
appealing to a huge number of people by finding common threads, like
religion, race, or vocation. The theme here is "everyone else is doing it, and so
should you."
Building false images - Presidents try to appear to be "common folks" but they
really aren't. Examples are Bill Clinton eating at McDonald's or Ronald Reagan
chopping wood.
Generating fear - Fear is generated to change people's behavior. An ad will
show a bloody accident then remind people to wear their seatbelts.
Promising happiness - Selling happiness is a concept used in ads, such as a
well-liked actor will explain why you need to buy a product in order to solve a
problem.
Creating a false dilemma - An example of false dilemma is where two choices
are offered as if they are the only two options. For example, a president saying
in order to reduce the deficit, we have to either tax the wealthy more or ask
seniors to pay more for Medicare.
Using slogans - If a slogan is repeated enough times, eventually the public will
come to believe it.
Appealing to tradition - Good feelings are generated by the thoughts of certain
goods and actions, and are frequently included in advertisements such as:
"Baseball, apple pie, and Chevrolet."
Misquoting - By taking a quote out of context a false impression can be given
to the reader or listener. For the film Live Free or Die Hard, Jack Mathews was
quoted as saying, "Hysterically...entertaining.". The real quote is, "The action
in this fast-paced, hysterically overproduced and surprisingly entertaining
film is as realistic as a Road Runner cartoon."
Name calling - An example of name calling in propaganda would be: "My
opponent is an alcoholic"
Assertion - This is presenting a fact without any proof, as in "This is the best
cavity-fighting toothpaste out there."
Propaganda and Wars
Propaganda is part of war, both in the past and in current times. Here are
examples:

In 2013, Iran showed pictures of their new stealth fighter flying over Mount
Damavand in Northern Iran. It was soon discovered that it was photoshopped.
During the McCarthy Era, mass media tried to convince everyone that
Communists were taking over the United States.
Alexander the Great intimidated an army by leaving armor and helmets that
were very large when they retreated. This made them look like giants.
In Vietnam, Americans took Vietnamese fishermen to an island and showed
them a resistance group. When they returned, the fishermen told everyone
and the Vietnamese spent a lot of time and effort trying to eliminate this fake
group.
The United States dropped leaflets over Iraq telling people that Saddam
Hussein was responsible for their suffering.
Generalities in Propaganda
Glittering generalities are words that appeal to people on an emotional level
and are commonly used in propaganda.