Still awake and bathed with tears at 2 am, with puffy eyes and runny nose.

With
all the sobs and suppressed giggles just to make sure no one would be awakened by all
of your emotions at such an hour and by this time it's your 3rd Korean drama series and
you just couldn't stop yourself by having another last episode. Later the next day you
would eat ramyeon in typical Philippine weather at 37 degrees Celsius. And might as
well speak some Korean slang to make an impression. The next thing you would know
is that you would want to wear Korean apparel and get mesmerized by how modest
hanbok would look on you. And how people embraced Korean culture through
entertainment such as dramas and music has reached millions of people around the
world paving its influence at its peak. But are we appreciating their culture? Or it's just
that they're a bunch of seven handsome men, dancing on some catchy tunes to be
interested with and we want to join in the clout?
Cultural appreciation is far more than all the cheering at concert tours, tasting their
delicacies, downloading their songs, or even just visiting their country and be engulfed
by their rich culture that is flashed in front of you. Cultural appreciation isn’t just merely
knowing its existence and by enjoying bits of its perks. One’s culture is the mirror of
their outranging and colorful way of living, the mirror of a country’s social habits, cuisine,
religion, encompassing language, norms, values, traditions, and practices. Culture is
more than its aesthetics to the eyes. It’s the soul of a country that had gone through
tough times to preserve and manage the diversity they possess and nourish it through
the decades. That is why cultural appreciation is not just merely your consideration to
embrace a practice or norm from someone else’s culture just for personal interest.
Olivia Havens emphasized in her article about cultural appreciation in 2019, that a
genuine appreciation towards a culture involves the seeking to understand and learning
about their origins. Cultural appreciation is an extension of the effort to broaden one's
perspective to their culture and not just mere amazement from a passing trendy drama.
Sometimes our way of extending our amazement and shallow interest to other cultures
is mistaken as appreciation while its true form is just appropriation.
Cultural appropriation on the other hand could mean wearing traditional clothing to
a costume party for its grandiose and flashy details and aesthetics and not considering
its story, of what truly means to be wearing it and its customs. Appropriation is what
most of us are showing in this modern time. We merely partake of showing amazement
to one's culture because it is inclined with our needs and interests. But to know really
what it takes to truly appreciate a culture is by examining, learning as if you put your
feet unto their shoes, to be embraced by that warm past that culture brings. Cultural
appreciation is very much timely and relevant to this day. As someone who lives in this
fast-paced century where fitting in is rampant, we must also consider breathing and dive
in deep into the cultures that we truly love. The practice of cultural appreciation that
starts within ourselves will exude to our society to bring more awareness not just
appreciating other cultures but to also appreciate ours. As society would learn how to
love its own culture it will surely radiate to the world that would influence a great mass to
follow the steps of not just acknowledging diversity but truly appreciating them that
includes respect and understanding. Cultural appreciation will let our society embrace
itself for the world to embrace it. And it's amazing how cohesive indifferences are to the
world. That what makes appropriation have its room in fully achieving cultural
appreciation. Ms. Mary Edora in New York’s fashion week in 2019 exclaimed that
“Cultural appropriation, when done in a good way, makes us appreciate things we might
typically ignore”. And that is how you find beauty in appropriation.
This is where I, a citizen of this modern society where the world is made closer
can truly reflect on the habits and actions that we seem to overlook. How I would take
some time to enjoy entertainments from other countries presenting their tradition might
sound just as an appropriation but it is rather a way of fully achieving and fueling my
interest to learn the diversity the world offers. Let us stop the stigma of taking
appropriation on the negative note and realize how this is a catalyst for a genuine
appreciation of culture.