Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Typhoon]

Well, here is some more proof of the anti-American text books in the Korean school system. I have been writing about this for a while here and am met with doubters who want more proof. Well here is some more. I have seen this books before and wrote about them, but here is a newspaper article dealing with it for all the doubters out there.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809120026.html

[billybrobby]

[Gollywog]

Interesting editorial. Thanks for that post, Typhoon.

But Koreans still can't get it right, even at their best.

[tfunk]

[endo]

But it should never be presented in a way to sooth the feeling of the readers.

It should be as honest as possible, even if you don't want to hear it initially.


This honesty and realness is how people grow and mature.

[ED209]

Just don't mention the Chinese.

[Gollywog]

Here's how to write about history:



If it's true, print it.

[wylies99]

[jkelly80]

Print the legend.

[tfunk]

...

History is a lesson in socializing on a national level. You learn where you stand and why you stand there. An integral part of knowing where you stand in a society is to be able to put yourself into the eyes of those around you, with their prejudices, biases etc. So why shouldn't history be prejudiced, if it is a method through which we harmonize in our society?

[wylies99]

I wonder why Korean parents let the brainwashing of the left go on for so long. Shouldn't the reality of potential communist invaders and the required military servce be some clue as to what is really going on? Clearly the enemies are the political leaders in NK, Beijing, and Moscow. Otherwise there'd be peace on the Korean peninsula with freedom to to vote and worship as you choose.

[wylies99]

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

Uhhh... for obvious reasons, I'm not big on North Korea-- but really, talking to some of the people who were here in the 80's, you realize that the North was independent much sooner than the south was, and the Americans did support a series of military dictatorships that probably did a lot of harm... even if a lot of good came out of it. ROK wasn't even a democracy until the 90s... and the Americans had been here for over forty years. So the Americans really can't claim that they are responsible for Korea's prosperity... if they could really just magically make Korea rich, then why didn't it happen earlier???

I'm not going to resort to the whole 'it's their country and you have to follow suit' argument, but when you think about it, even if we as Westerners think that America is here for ROK's own good, and even if America is a huge military country and a solid ally for any country with troubles, America does tend to force itself onto other countries. It means more stability globally, as well as maintaining America's 'top of the world' status, but really... claiming that America's presence here is a wholly altruistic act is pretty absurd. If anything, they're here because of American paranoia.

I am all for less American military presence in South Korea... personally, I think it would go a long way towards easing some of the tensions between the North and the South, as well as between the North and America. It sort of serves the same function as Dokdo-- that whole feeling of 'we're not whole' or 'something is still wrong'. I think that a lot of Koreans in both the North and the South believe, and with good reason, that most of the tension that exists between North and South is because of America... the North sees itself as the true independent Korea and sees the South as American slaves. Given the minimal amount of USSR influence in North Korea, it's hard to imagine South Koreans saying the same about the North... it's a brutal, oppressive dictatorship that is probably over fifty years behind most of the rest of the world, but at the same time it's a wholly Korean dictatorship.

Honestly-- how would you feel if your country had another country's military bases within its capital city? Like say a Japanese military base in Ottawa, or a Chinese base in Washington? How about an Iranian base in New York? And all of it spreading Iranian culture into America. I'm using these examples because they are cultures very different from our own, not because they are our enemies or whatever. And what if you had to watch as your sister turned to prostitution because you were poor and under despotic rule, and the Iranian G.I.s gladly took advantage of that, laughing as they did it, because it's all in good fun??? And then add onto that that they could help you at any time, but don't out of fear that it would mean instability and a lapse in an ideology that directly opposes their own.

A Korean history textbook without any 'anti-American' statements is going to be a hard sell... the Americans stood by and did very little except back the wrong people during some really hard times because they were afraid of communism taking over the world, and now they want to act like the Koreans owe them their freedom. They were definitely better than the Japanese, but calling them Korea's saviors is beyond absurd. Korea saved itself, and the Americans stood by and watched, getting ready in case the change would mean another political enemy... in which case they would have gladly stepped on ROK's prosperity ASAP. Luckily, it didn't happen, and everything turned out fairly well.

What they really need to teach these kids is that there's a HUGE difference between the American military and the average American citizen... and that most people in America don't realize exactly what happened here after the war. They also need to stop telling these kids things like Kim Il-sung supported the Japanese, and that Westerners are genetically inferior to Koreans... that's the kind of shit that makes people get nasty.

[wylies99]

Yes, I understand that the USA and ROK of the past have been ruled by leaders who made mistakes.
Remember, the communists GUARANTEED a slave state while the USA, of the past, was indifferent to some abuses of power by the dictator. That was a choise of 1961-1987.


The question NOW is what option offers a better future- closer ties to the USA or closer ties to a communist NK. The USA offers a free choice while the communists threaten to impose a nightmarish future for everyone. The Koreans who choose NK should move there, NOW.

Didn't think they would. Hypocrites.

[endo]