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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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 Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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They can find Korea on a map at my workplace. Look right in the centre.
When I made a joke about the size of Takeshima, they got super upset. |
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tomato
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: I get so little foreign language experience, I must be in Koreatown, Los Angeles.
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:29 am Post subject: |
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Hollywoodaction
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:18 am Post subject: |
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| I'd like to see the OP try to place the names, capital cities, and currencies of all the countries a blank map. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:49 am Post subject: |
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| Hollywoodaction wrote: |
| I'd like to see the OP try to place the names, capital cities, and currencies of all the countries a blank map. |
He's talking about Koreans not being able to find their own nation on a map. That's beyond disgusting. |
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crash bang
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Location: gwangju
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:11 am Post subject: |
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no, he's not. he's talking about students from other countries not being able to find korea on a map:
The students in my Writing class . . . . 5 from Vietnam, 2 from Thailand, 1 from Malaysia, 2 from Saudi Arabia, 1 from Colombia and 1 from Korea |
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tomato
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: I get so little foreign language experience, I must be in Koreatown, Los Angeles.
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:23 am Post subject: |
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Assuming that you can't, that doesn't mean the students aren't blameworthy.
It could only mean that he's blameworthy, too.
Let us not fall into the argumentum ad hominem tu quoque trap.
I'm bald, but I can designate other bald people just as well as anyone else. |
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Mi Yum mi
Joined: 28 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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| When Korean kids point at a map they expect Korea to be this huge powerful country. I guess they point to Russia or Canada. |
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doggyji
Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Location: Toronto - Hamilton - Vineland - St. Catherines
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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| tomato wrote: |
I can explain why your Korean students complain about writing assignments:
Excuse the pun, but creative writing is totally foreign to Korean students.
I doubt if you would have this problem if the homework consisted of multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank.
Here in Korea, we get blank stares every time the student book calls for any creative writing.
I've tried saying, "Write it in Korean, then, and we will worry about having it translated later."
I still got blank stares, because they never even did any creative work in Korean. |
I remember when I was in elementary school, I did all kinds of writing at school including making stories and such. I think we almost ceased to do that when we entered middle school. They began to focus more on academic writing, which was still not a significant part of the high school curriculum back then. I'm not sure how it might have changed in the past several years.
| tomato wrote: |
Sometimes I marvel that there are books and magazines written in Korean.
I frankly wonder who writes those books and magazines. |
In case you frankly think that remark is not really far-fetched, is it possible that your example of unmotivated students can't generally represent the Korean academia? There are always naturally-talented people. With the right education, they will see the best light. But even without such external stimulation, they self-motivate and just learn how to do it well enough. In this creative writing department, Korean students might not be very strong in the sense of "grassrootedness". However, if you are focusing on the small group of specialized writers who actually do the job because they have been interested or have a passion in writing, that should be a different story.
| King Baeksu wrote: |
Hmm, maybe you should get out more. I've met some pretty brainy Korean women here -- translators, artists, journalists, academics, writers, doctors, teachers, film directors, curators, editors, shamans, gisaengs, you name it. And a lot of them are far more interesting than some of the boring and bitter Western female ESL teacher-types I've had the displeasure of meeting here.
It ain't your opinion, it's just your ignorance. You can't have an actual opinion if you don't know what you're talking about! |
This is a quote from another thread. I may add something too obvious. Just being always opinionated and asserting something doesn't prove someone's intelligence. Anyone can produce load of BS non-stop with full confidence and can even make them sound feasible on the surface if they are a little good. As far as I know, King Baeksu is a very fluent Korean speaker. It should be expected that your experience depends on what circles you are in and if you are fluent in Korean, that may help you a lot burst your bubbles and expose yourself to more networking chances with interesting people. Some people here tend to think Koreans are exceptionally unaware or ignorant in general (excuse the very old generation though). Those who constantly question the general intellectual abilities of Koreans with their own little anecdotes make me chuckle. In that way, I can find enough examples of Canadians (as I have lived in Canada for several years) who weren't aware of this and that. Haven't you read lots of stuff like this: "Did you know 37% of Americans/Canadians/etc actually believe (insert something absurd)?" And also, of course, I've come across many intelligent Canadians. Come to think of it. My Korean upbringing may tend to make me a bit biased to believe Koreans are pretty savvy about many things, geographically-aware, etc. But then again, I realize that's just because I've spent most of my life interacting with a number of Koreans and in that long period I have been impressed by an enough number of well-informed brainy Koreans regardless of the actual ratio of such people to the ignorant. Check your own bias and perspective.
| VanIslander wrote: |
Korean students in Korea can't find Korea on a world map.
Seriously.
I put a world map on the wall and for months a student at one time or another, when they eventually locate it (with plenty of hints), would bemoan how small Korea is.
Look at the map books they learn from in school: they're FULL of maps of every place in the world, but not a single map of the whole world, amazing as that seems, no context reference for the students, as they first look at a huge full page map of Korea (NOT South Korea either) and then next page a map of China with no connection inbetween and they get a sense they are about the same size.
Back home one can laugh at the inflated ego of some people but here it is a full blown nationalistic imperative. |
When I read stuff like this, I'm pretty tempted to call it nonsense as a former student who went through all part of normal Korean education but let me refrain for the good. I have yet to find a single Korean map book with no single map of the whole world. Are you sure about that? What's the name of the textbook? Publisher? Also, what grades are the students? If you are talking about, say, 3rd year high school students, of course, I can't buy a single thing you said. It might as well help to remind that many of you are in the position of being a teacher observing bunch of Korean kids who are in the learning process.
| Van Islander wrote: |
| but here it is a full blown nationalistic imperative. |
I don't get how you suddenly got to this line. Could you care to elaborate?
| mindmetoo wrote: |
| Hollywoodaction wrote: |
| I'd like to see the OP try to place the names, capital cities, and currencies of all the countries a blank map. |
He's talking about Koreans not being able to find their own nation on a map. That's beyond disgusting. |
You misread the OP...or is this some sort of a sequel to your child abuse thread? |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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| crash bang wrote: |
no, he's not. he's talking about students from other countries not being able to find korea on a map:
The students in my Writing class . . . . 5 from Vietnam, 2 from Thailand, 1 from Malaysia, 2 from Saudi Arabia, 1 from Colombia and 1 from Korea |
You're right. I read that wrong. However, one would think Asians would be somewhat familiar with the nations around them and be able to find them on a map. |
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charlieDD
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Hollywoodaction wrote: |
| I'd like to see the OP try to place the names, capital cities, and currencies of all the countries a blank map. |
Hee heee . . . Well, in this case, Hollywood, you're dealing with an OP who just so happens to be just about able to do so !
CharlieDD |
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