Yesterday I was a TV star.
Well not really. However, I was at a taping for a Korean TV show called 'debate survival.' The premise of the show is that Korean High School students debate against each other, and the winners get to survive, and the losers have to wrestle wild Siberian tigers to the death. No actually, the losers only suffer the shame of losing on Korean TV. This is in effect the social equivalent of the wild tigers. The show was supposed to be a tournament format with the winners progressing through the knockout stages.
There was quite a set up for the entire affair. We were taken into make up before filming began. Unfortunately, the budget could not extend to some liposuction and eyelifts. Nevertheless, I walked out feeling like a socratic Christopher Biggins. There was an elaborate if not tasteful set, with a sort of faux Ancient Roman?Greek set up with big columns and pedestals. There was a big 'debate survival' sign in the middle of the set. The debates themselves were actually of pretty good actually, with the second one on 'internet censorship' particularly. Indeed, that is a pretty easy motion to botch up, but the kids did really quite well. The format featured 'cross examination', where the speakers get to directly question each other after the speeches. It got pretty confrontational and it reminded me of the ugly scenes when I debated at Northwestern University on the US tour. At one point in the first debate, I saw a scene which should make a certain Korean father a tad disconcerted. The first debate was on corporal punishment and the questioner was attempting to draw parallels between corporal punishment:
“So how would you feel if your father used violence against your mother?”
“Well you know it happens.”
“Sorry.”
“You know he hits my mother, sometimes he hits me, I mean it happens.”
The questioner, as indeed were we all, was a bit stunned by this admission of seeming domestic violence. I think he might have been kidding and I hope he was, because if he is not, it might spoil a proud family as they gather round the TV.
After the debate I had to give record a brief comment on one of the speakers. I had to analyse the PM and I combined some heartwarming encouragement with some Alan Hansen like criticism. “Well this schoolgirl just made a schoolboy error. She has brought up her teams mechanism or policy and then she has left that to her partner to analyse. You just cannot do that at this level. The opposition should have murdered her on that point, but instead he squandered his chance. You have got to finish your chances in those positions.” I was somewhat appalled by how big I looked on the TV monitors as I was filmed. I remembered of course that the camera adds about ten pounds, so on my reckoning, I must have had about twenty five cameras filming me at all times,
It was however a very enjoyable experience and featured the sort of debating standard that I thought I would frequently run into during my time here. Apparently, appearing on this TV show could make me 'famous' amongst Korean debating/teaching circles. Indeed, I am sure that I will be well known as the incomprehensible chubster very soon.