Week 8

Sean Guntvedt
A03

When one thinks of globalization, what usually comes to mind is the phenomenon of other countries become “Westernized,” such as the McDonalds corporation expanding to parts of Asia or luxury brands, such as Coach, becoming more popular in other parts of the world. However, people often forget that the effects of globalization is a two way street and, in fact, Western countries are also becoming influenced by other cultures around the world. Such is the case with the cross-culture exchange that occurs among the Korean Americans of Los Angeles and the overseas Korean exchange students. When these two populations collide with each other, one can clearly observe the two-way flow of globalization. Korean Americans develop a penchant for Korean Pop songs, while Korean exchange students acquire a taste for the youth party culture in Southern California. Even here on the UC Davis campus, one can observe the countercurrent stream of globalization between Asian and American cultures. Many Asian Americans dress with fashion that is popular in Asian countries and, additionally, many Asian exchange students find themselves consuming other commodities only found here in the states, such as a diverse selection of food. Since the effects of globalization have become so pervasive in this day and age, it is certainly interesting to see how cultures across the world will eventually become more homogenous and how life will change accordingly.

Question: What other cultures can you see the two-way flow of globalization at the UC Davis campus? How has your life been affected by globalization?