Korean Job Discussion Forums

Bingo · Joined: 22 Jun 2006

Everyone (except perhaps newbies) knows that these protests have very, very little to do with American meat. It's anti-Americanism pure and simple. Does anyone believe that if the meat was coming from Brazil (with the same safety 'concerns') that tens of thousands would be demonstrating on the street? If you do believe that you don't know Korea.

I do, however, find it fitting that middle school students are playing such a large role in these demonstrations. Korea after all is a nation with all the maturity of a twelve year old. It desperately needs to grow up.

cdninkorea · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul

I've had more than one Korean tell me they aren't necessarily upset about the beef or at America at all, but at the fact that the Lee Myeong Bak didn't consult anyone about the deal.
I don't know how widespread this is as the source of the anger.

jkelly80 · Joined: 13 Jun 2007 Location: you boys like mexico?

For the same reason we wouldn't get angry if the mayor of Bucharest called Americans 'pig dogs'. Nobody would give a sh*t.

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

What is the point of getting upset. You won't change the mindset of an entire nation. This will blow over and we can look forward to the next Anti-US crisis that comes about.

Its always something. Its like a pressure cooker. The pressure builds up for a few years and then the steam comes out. Rinse and repeat.

If it wasn't the beef, then it would've been the FTA. If not the FTA, then it would've been the US troops here. If its not the troops then it'll be about how Western culture is degradating Korean tradiditons. If its not that then it'll be about.........

Lekker · Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Location: Seoul

I think the only Americans who might be bothered by it the most would be the cattle ranchers in Texas who support Bush, especially when Bush puts pressure on Korea to reopen the beef trade. Where else are they going to dispose of the low quality beef and make a profit at the same time? How about a country full of people who love to eat beef but don't want to pay extortionate prices?

I haven't met any Americans here who are too bothered by it. Just recently CNN in the States put a story out about it, but nobody really cares about it back home to begin with.

bovinerebel · Joined: 27 Feb 2008

Anyone who thinks this isn't anti americanism is in denial. With the slightest of provocation this weekend alone I got many different groups of Koreans to explain to me how much they hate Americans.

I'll say one thing; in the case of Koreans I do think the hate is based on envy. They're really caught up in this "trying to be number 1" thing and based on that very shallow value assesment America represents everything they could hope to be, but aren't because well...they're a tiny insignificant , isolated nation of stone age thinkers who've never contributed anything significant to humanity.

That's coming from someone who really for the most part likes Koreans. They just need to make peace with their insignificance and they learn to relax a little. They're like those an@l retentive, hyper competitive, passive aggressive people that everyone pities because they suspect their parents were a little hard on them as children. They are crying out for a hug. Relax Korea....everything will be alright.

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

itaewonguy · Joined: 25 Mar 2003

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Koreans are like a kimchi pot!
they boil quick! and then cool quick!
now they are boiling and going crazy!! extreme idiots on the loose!
next week it will be all calm again and they will go about their business as nothing happened!
95% of them dont even know why they are protesting! their blood is just boiling and they dont know how to control it..

do they really give a chit about the beef??? next week they will be back eating LA GALBI again!

why fight the riot police??? its just plain crazy...

Lekker · Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Location: Seoul

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

bovinerebel · Joined: 27 Feb 2008

Coffeeprincess · Joined: 19 Sep 2007

PeterDragon · Joined: 15 Feb 2007

This is one of the rare cases where I'm a full on Korean apologist. I know a lot of Korean who are upset about American beef and even got to protests, and I can assure you, they don't hate me, most Americans, or most American products. In fact a lot of these people are avid Costco shoppers, and ask me if I know how to get American foodstuffs on the black market. A number of the Koreans I know who are upset about this have lived in the states or want to.

Not anti-American by my reckoning.

Here's what I think is happening, but I could be wrong: Korean are worried that America will choose to dump its worst beef--- beef that for various reasons doesn't meet America's own domestic quality standards--- either by how old it is, the condition of the cattle, whatever. They think this because they say America has deliberately sold subpar and unsafe food to "poor, weak countries" in the past, which is in fact true. They latch onto Mad Cow, because the disease it has been known to cause is perhaps the most graphic and scary of any ailment one can get form bad meat. And because for a time, America had a pretty bad reputation for infected cows. In fact there are still a number of countries where you're not allowed to donate blood if you've lived in the U.S. or a few other countries on the Mad Cow list.

And of course, there also is a lot of anger at Lee Myung Bak rather than America for flagrantly going against the popular opinion of the people who voted him in. And one can hardly blame them for being angry about that.

Let the disagreements and accusations of apologism continue. I'm used to it, and my opinion of this situation definitely isn't in keeping with that of most non-Koreans.

KYC · Joined: 11 May 2006

There's no point in getting upset. It's a waste of emotions. I simply don't care about the anti Americanism in Korea. I'm American and proud to be one. That's it. I don't need to flaunt it or get all pissy when someone is anti American. That's their perspective; I have my own.

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

MBC is going all-out to make LMB look bad, and they're doing a pretty good job of it.

The big story last night (other than the meat) is that LMB is privatizing the water plants, which will make the price of water triple in price. They used examples of this happening in the philippines and people protesting there to show what is going to happen if they allow LMB to do it.

My wife was all upset about it. I told her I wish she didn't watch MBC anymore, because it only makes her angry. Story after story is nothing but how LMB is changing this and that without anyones input -- hinting that his friends are going to make money and everyone else is going to pay for it.

What's new in gov't, anyway?