Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kuros]

What's his policy on education reform? Any?

[Captain Corea]

[NAVFC]

Someone should take a tougher stance toward the North. With the Hitleresque human rights situation there, it's not something that should be tolerated. Concentration camps, forced labor camps, death camps and a population that are brain washed like zombies.....a sad state.

[ernie]

in the short term, i can see the economy getting a bit of a boost, mainly due to the optimism of having such a pro-business wanker in there... in the long term (i'm thinking 2 or 3 years, after his trial is over), i can see big problems... somehow, the pro-business guys always end up screwing up the economy the most! i can't believe they voted this fraudster in! christians will buy anything with a cross on it...

[blade]

Well if this guy is as corrupt as people say he is then maybe he won't be to adverse to taking a bride from the hogwan industry and reverse the recent visa changes

[Neil]

[On the other hand]

[Shimokitazawa]

Korean education is in shambles.

LMB won't do anything but look after those who already belong to the upper echelon.

Expect more xenophobia, nationalism and intolerance of foreigners in Korea.

Like I mentioned, previously, I anticipate a similar shift in the public attitudes towards foreigners like those experienced in Thailand.

[sundubuman]

Rubbish. President Roh played to the xenophobic/nationalist impulses a lot more than I expect Lee to do.

[Kuros]

[Matt_22]

[cazador83]

[Paddycakes]

[Yurim]

Note: This response is not thoroughly researched, this is not policy and does not take every technical issue and perspective into account because then I�d have to study for multiple degrees. I�m just writing it as accessibly as I can in response to this forum.

First off, HEY WHITE PEOPLE:

I don't know where you got the idea that Korea is intolerant towards foreigners, because if you look at the rampant plastic surgery, fandom, and the preferential treatment given to Caucasian people or people who look Caucasian even if it was a random GI telling all his friends "Koreans are smelly people who eat dogs." Years ago, I was denied teaching positions just because I was Asian-looking and it wasn't the hagwon's fault, it was the fact that many parents preferred teachers who had "the American look." It kind of makes you wonder why there is this implicit preference in society despite all the anti-US sentiment in the ruckus over the IMF and FTA (Caveat: Please refer to SIZE DOES MATTER). Interestingly enough, from personal experience, being in a homogenous-appearing society starving for English dialogue makes one gravitate towards people who look obviously foreign (though staying here longer makes you realize there are Koreans who use English better than many "authentically western" people from the US).

Bottom line to A) WHITE PEOPLE: So excuse me, but excuse YOU.

Also, please, for the love of shiny temples, leave Thailand alone. I can say this because I've been there and it's an exquisitely beautiful place with the kind and tolerant people... And if you stray too far into the dirt road regions outside Bangkok in a Porsche, you'll probably suffer more discomfort from the region's distinctive papaya that looks like sliced apple but tastes like wasabi-times-10 than by any of the people who might sell you tourist knicknacks for a dollar over their normal price.

B) RAGS TO RICHES (AKA EXPENSIVE RAGS):

Service industry wages average at around 3,000-5,000W (equivalent of $3 to $5) an hour, and there is no tip system. I�m not sure if I�m more ashamed of myself or the dingy building when I see students in line at 8am for a library ticket (and a ticket secures you a spot in an arm�s length cubicular space that looks like it�s going to learn ya into bein a cubicle putterer). Many prominent Korean figures have been the product of struggles that, in many ways, express how Korea developed as a nation. Kim Dae Jung's father was a farmer. Roh Moo Hyun was a high school graduate who passed the bar exam by self-study. The chairmen of Samsung, Hyundai included. Businessmen and convenience store people alike take their work in a dapper chipper stride after 2 hours of sleep each evening. Perseverance, hard work and tenacity are the pride and roots of Korea and that's partly why "pro-business guys" might be what Korea needs for its development. What do you think?

Expensive rags,* because if you gauge the relative quality of life and the internal issues for people in the high chaebol positions... For instance, the scandal with a thief who stole the bones from a CEO's father's grave for ransom. I mean, seriously, you work your tail off to get into a position and then people are either riding on your coat-tails or harassing your ancestors (in a Confucian-based society)? This leads me to:

C) SIZE DOES MATTER:

At least it's a numeric fact that the majority of the economy is held by the large chaebol groups and its subsidiaries. The same can't necessarily be said about politics, where winning by 50% of votes (with a scary amount of unanimity, 80%+, in certain regions) may actually mean only 30% of the whole Korean population. I don't understand why there are so many candidates; it doesn't seem to be of the non-dominant parties' interests to have 10+ candidates break up the voter distribution. Maybe it has something to do with the difference between the processes of chess and goh. I don't know.

So reportedly, he denied investigation into his past and reneged on certain issues such as healthcare (although considering the widespread, almost free government-funded options available to citizens, where do the complaints stem from?). If he�s going to improve the economy and if his policies benefit Korea, why should some past investment issues be such a big problem? There have been much greater tragedies in Korea�s history, and they�ll most likely not happen during Lee�s time.

Consider Park Chung-hee: Top 100 Asians by Time Magazine, industrialized Korea, sort of dictator figure, and, (for example in Wikipedia), within all the accomplishments, there�s only one sentence to encompass the massive suffering of many students, brutality, deaths: �Under his regime, political opponents were subject to arbitrary detention and torture.� ARGH! Students? Why did Gwangju happen?! BUT WAIT, THere's more! Does the nation's development justify these abuses?

AntiLMB (I am not affiliated with them, and their largest flaw is the fact that they deter possible affiliations by their "AntiLMB" name) contends that there should be transparency in politics. Makes sense, but considering Korea's history of near-dictator regimes and the seemingly strong links between politics, economy (+chaebol), this might be a little too progressive an idea to be practical or feasible. They have a gigantic pink mascot with a phallus-like thing protruding out of its chest, which if one looks at it:

[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/7357822@N06/2168223771/[/img]

Gutsy move, but given that they�re lobbying at the Chungyechon stream that LMB himself developed, it seems as stupid as a Jewish individual wearing a Sumo suit going to a Neo-Nazi convention and saying "Hey, the Holocaust shouldn't have happened." If they really really were desperate for people to hear their message, they could say the pink suit is a music show character, buy a bunch of little wands for the show and put him up on stage where he announces the problems (whatever the truth is, assuming there is a truth) in a funny musical way and even then, most people may not understand its meaning anyway and they would be, on a small scale, enacting LMB's rise to power. The Chungyechon stream is not the place for that, but it attracts the most traffic and is located conveniently in front of the newspaper stations.

Maybe Anti-LMB would be better off as Anti-ANTE protesting the energy consumption happening in a city like Seoul that's too small to handle the ridiculous amounts of traffic that continuously wastes gas as prices go over $100 a barrel. However, if there was no Anti-LMB, who's going to try to inform the public about possible problems? Maybe they should just change their organization's name. Any Anti-something moniker is a bad idea.


**To take the "rags" literally, I won't even mention how I've found instances of less quality and practicality in expensive dept store clothing than the home brands.. Some people have some nauseatingly kitsch aesthetic taste and the high society ideal here feels like the dude on the cover of Becoming a Better You and I admit I�ve read portions of the book and while it�s as deep as Who Moved My Cheese (Your judgments and biases regarding the elements of this previous statement will determine if you think I�m a jerk or praising, although if you look at it completely impartially, there might be some implicit issues here). Like religion, I can�t disagree with what they say because it makes sense and it�s eye-candy to see beautiful people in perfect outfits. I feel badly for their blisters in their high heels and stockings in winter. On the other hand, they probably say I�m the devil due to my unaffiliated humanist views and the devil's words are persuasive do don�t listen to her and they feel badly that I�m going to burn in hell while my want-to-be-contrarian side bristles at the fact that I enjoy following almost a bit inordinately. I feel as if I don't fit anywhere. This is one Korean American experience.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Good post, Yurim. Interesting.

The first paragraph raises the issue of intolerance. It's a mixed bag here. We whiteys get preferential treatment one minute and discriminated against the next. Often the discrimination isn't meant to be discriminatory, but happens through lack of foresight. The clearest example is our ARC number. It doesn't work for online ID like the Korean citizen ID number. I don't think it's the result of mean-spiritedness. On the other hand, there are places that don't want us to come in.

You really should cut some slack for the whiners. Many of them are fresh out of the universiy and are still trying to adjust to not having Mom around to do the laundry, cleaning and cooking anymore. That's a rude awakening for many.