Korean Job Discussion Forums

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

Gov't to urge Singapore to remove picture of Korean beggar from textbook

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2008/10/24/0302000000AEN20081024005300315.HTML

Not the sparkling image Korea was hoping to show the world?

Ultimo Hombre · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Location: BEER STORE

BOO HOO...

bobranger · Joined: 10 Jun 2008 Location: masan

Do you have a link to the pic?

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

Nope. Yonhap just posted the story.

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

pic here: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2008/10/singaporean-elementary-school-text.html

It's perfectly fine.

sojusucks · Joined: 31 May 2008

So, Korea is asking Singapore to censor their textbooks when Korea wouldn't hesitate to do something similar to another race without hesitation. Interesting.

princess · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: soul of Asia

Well, then, Korea needs to remove from its textbooks that funny little thing about foreigners not being able to eat spicy food, and that only Koreans can eat Korean food. Laughing

BrianInSuwon · Joined: 10 Jan 2006 Location: Korea

There doesn't appear to be any mention of Korea. Maybe the sign beside them is written in Korea. I like the caption beside the photo, "Even with limited land, our government is able to provide housing for the people."

smwood · Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Location: Over Here.

Anyone here teaching Elementary Grade 6 will likely be familiar with the wonderful little animation/claymation of a beauty pageant featuring women form different cultures. The African woman is wearing an animal skin and (if I recall correctly) holding a spear... and this is part of the government curriculum.

Sort of... dual standards.

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

If you follow the link I posted you'll find that Grade 6 skit. I don't think I can post pics, but it's here: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2007/12/negro-problem.html
No spear, but she has leopard print and black face.

I brought this up at the teachers' workshop today and they were upset by it. They were upset for two reasons:
1) the article is about residences, they said, and having no residence isn't a residence.
2) it would give Singaporean students a bad impression of Korea because they'd think all Koreans live like that.

I wholeheartedly disagree with both points. Moreover, you don't have to look hard at all to find foreign cultures distorted in Korean books . . .or on Korean shows, or in Korean newspapers, or anywhere else. The coteachers weren't hearing any of it, though, and insisted that the picture should be taken out.

cheeseface · Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Ssyangnyeon Shi

You can't even tell the picture was tyaken in Korea can you?

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

It's not labelled as Korea and the only way you can tell is by the Korean writing.

The more I think about this the more and more ridiculous it gets. I mean, seriously, have you ever flipped through a Korean textbook? Have you ever seen what the union puts together? Have you ever wondered where students get such negative feelings about the Phillipines and China? And Japan, and the US, and Vietnam, and all of Africa, and India, and Pakistan, and Mongolia, and Cambodia? I need to stop thinking about this.

whatever · Joined: 11 Jun 2006 Location: Korea: More fun than jail.

Got my fingers crossed that the Singaporeans respond by actually labeling it Korea! And tell 'em to shove it up their kimchi hole...

Double-standard advancing, trifling, nitwit Koreans...at it again... Rolling Eyes

Yesterday · Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:06 am Post subject:

Welcome to Sparkling Korea - http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2968418163_dc19cd03d4.jpg?v=0

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

I think the picture is insulting. Not to Korea, to Singaporeans.

Right next to the picture: "Even with limited housing, our government is able to provide sufficient housing for the people."

It's nationalist propaganda trash created by a messed up city-state, and Korea's just a random target chosen to promote a naive statement supporting a troubled society.

If you think Korea is a messed up place (for having homeless people? it's not even that bad compared to the US and Canada), you should see what it's like in Disneyland with a Death Penalty.