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Special



Translator shows off talent on TV show

Since last year major television network KBS has been attempting to show the country from the viewpoint of foreigners living in Korea. The show titled "Global Talk Show Minyoduleui Suda (Girls` Talk)" has become one of the biggest hit TV shows here, with viewer ratings hovering in the 10 percent range. Despite its popularity, some TV critics say the show still relies heavily on the appearance of the foreign guests with their provocative costumes that reveal plenty of skin and their frequent "I love Korea" comments. The criticisms, however, seem less valid when it comes to Taru Salminen from Finland, one of guests on the 16-member show on Mondays. It was her unique character and broad knowledge of Korean society, not just her blue eyes and blond hair, that caught the attention of TV viewers.
The Korea Herald met Salminen, widely known as "Taru," on Monday and asked for her thoughts on life in Korea, its people and, of course, her love of soju.


"I don`t know how much I can drink the most. It is not all about enjoying drinking soju, but about the people I drink with. Yeah ... I should admit that I learned most of my Korean while drinking with Korean friends," she said.
Salminen, now working as a freelance translator, joined the show in January.
"Through the show, I was able to learn more about society than through socializing with friends in drinking parties. But what troubles me is that people have started to recognize me on the street, taking pictures and asking for autographs. I feel rather uncomfortable but only because I have to put my make up on when I usually don`t," she said, while wrapping sliced simmered pork with kimchi.
It was a Korean pen pal during her high school years who helped open her eyes to a small country located in between Japan and China.
"Actually I decided to learn the Korean language because there were few students learning the language. I thought, honestly, it will give me bigger chance if I learn the culture and language of the country because it was a time when people in Finland hardly knew about Korea," said Salminen.
Born in 1977 in Koria, south easten Finland Salminen majored in East Asian studies at the University of Helsinki and business at Helsinki Polytechnic. She has visited Korea many times since 1998 and studied Korean language and literature at Seoul National University as an exchange student in 2000.



The 30-year-old Finn said it is warm-hearted Koreans and their dynamic culture that brought and kept her here, adding that she enjoys seeing the country slowly changing in many ways.
"I see the country is at an on-going stage toward multiculturalism. For example, back in 1998 when I first visited Korea, I met a lot of Korean people who called me an American (only because I am white). But now, people ask me first where I come from, and don`t just judge by appearance."
What makes her special is her insightful ideas about Korean society and her ability to write them down in fluent Korean. Salminen has recently contributed a column about the lives of average Korean men to Chosun Ilbo, a daily newspaper in Seoul.
In the column, she wrote that Korean men are dedicated people but she feels pity for them.
"Korean men are stressed out at work and forced to drink at hoesik (company dinner), but they keep doing so in order to keep up with others," wrote Salminen her column published last month.
But she said she finds a sweet side to Korean men that doesn`t exist so much in men back home.
"I think Korean men pay more attention to girls and really do try to take care of them, such as taking the girls home after dating and sending text messages to make sure they arrived home. Finnish men don`t do such thing. I am not saying that all men are not like that but I can definitely feel the difference (between Korean men and Finnish men)."
Korea would be her favorite place to live but Salminen said she worries about the future.
"I want to live here since I feel more like I`m at home now. But there might be problems if I get married and have a child here. People get only three months for maternity leave and that is not enough for both women and their babies," said Salminen, citing the welfare system of Finland which guarantees at least one year of maternity leave.
But she seemed determined when talking about her dream, being a business woman who builds bridges between Korea and Finland.
"I would like to start my own business here as people have begun to recognize my face. But I think I have to earn a lot of money since I am not going to get a pension afterward," she said, laughing.

By Cho Chung-un

(christory@heraldm.com)

OMG I WATCH THIS SHOW! its on release time on tkc channel 511 like on saturday mornings. Its all these women from around the world that totally kiss BUTT of korean men. The Korean men love it. They rarely rarely talk about negatives but do talk about cultural differences. The women are from all over too. Russia, America, One is even Hapa and was on the super junior show.

Its a funny show though.