Korean Job Discussion Forums

[exit86]

Just curious,
is there a special day on which the Korean government and the Korean people thank USFK service members for their serice to/in Korea?

Since USFK is here on the direct request/insistence of the S. Korean
government (a widely unknown fact, though it often surfaces--like the time when Rumsfeld went on national t.v. and stated "We will not keep US forces where they are not wanted" referring directly to S. Korea and all the anti-Americanism at the time of the "Two Girls" incident; and, after which, Roh was quite prompt in getting on the horn with D.C. to beg
for the US forces to stay), I'm wondering if any type of gratitude
is shown annually--a plaque ceremony or a 30 second commercial or
anything.

Anyone know?

I do think these men and women should get a bit more of a simple thank you than the "Yankee Go Home!" chanted at anti-US rallies.
How wonderful a thing it is to serve in a country that publicly says they hate you, then privately asks for your help and to serve a people who hate you because they have no idea about the real situation of their own
"at-war" country.

[caniff]

I think Koreans taken as a whole are sometimes undecided as to how they feel about this. There is realism, then there is emotion. It seems there are conflicting viewpoints.

Pride seems to play a large role in how many Koreans perceive the American presence on their soil. I can understand that emotion, as I wouldn't feel particularly good about having foreign military forces stationed in my country for decades. That said, many apparently do feel the presence is beneficial to their country (at least for now).

[travelingfool]

They do need to show some appreciation. Us EFL teachers are here by choice. Those soldiers you see walking around aren't. They are asked to put their lives on the line at a moment's notice all for a people who openly rally against them. Screw the Koreans. Ungrateful bastards. Weasels. I have actually written to the ambassador and my congressman about this issue, not that it would do any good. We could put to much better use the money we spend defending these ingrates. That goes for a quite a few other countries as well.

[teachteach]

They are there by choice because they wanted to be in the military.
They probably make more money than EFL teachers anyway.

[RACETRAITOR]

Most of the US soldiers here, and keeping in mind that the majority of my friends are US servicemen, are too young to have fought in the Korean War.

[Straphanger]

[rkc76sf]

I'm a servicemember and most Koreans are polite to me, actually I've never had any Korean say anything bad to me, just some hard stares which I ignore (mostly). I've taught English here before for a year in 06-07 and was a soldier before then in 99-00 and 03-04 and am now a soldier again I make about twice as much money as a soldier but have to work harder. Fortunately I don't have to deal with some of those fool Korean-English teachers anymore and all of my co-workers speak English!

[exit86]

rkc: Out of curiosity, how might you describe the overall morale of
USFK service members? Is there much concern for the anti-American
flare-ups? You said something about "hard stares"; what exactly is going on there? From your experience with Koreans, do you feel they had a clear picture of why the US forces are here in Korea, as well as the role of the US/UN forces in the Korean War?

[sojourner1]

It was a long time ago when America showed up to save and preserve the South Koreans freedoms form the NORKS communist regime. Had the Americans not taken a special interest in dividing Korea in half to protect the South, then Korea would probably be just one communist closed Korea living in extreme poverty. The Korean war was the 1st armed conflict in the cold war. I don't think the 2 Korea's are very thankful for America and Soviet staging a conflict in Korea using the Koreans as pawns and the peninsula as a game board.


The Soviets and Americans were primarily involved with orchestrating the division of Korea where they agreed the DMZ would be at the 38th parallel; the South Koreans did not decide to go to war and split apart. This may give reason why Korea isn't thankful to the Americans nor Chinese and the Soviets. This conflict was actually staged between the Americans and Soviets with China supporting communist forces in the north. It's a miracle that US and China never officially declared that they're enemies.

I'm sure Koreans were thankful years ago when America brought in much needed supplies and infrastructure development, but that's pretty much forgotten about today. South Korea doesn't consciously realize that while America essentially caused the war, America also facilitated for South Korea to develop a technology based economy that's dependent on import of raw materials to export manufactured goods. This model has devloped and worked quite well to lift the Koreans boats today. They sure are little nation between a rock and a hard place and I don't guess they're very thankful nor all that happy.

[exit86]

America caused the war????? What???????????
Kim Il Sung went to Stalin 4 times asking for permission to invade
the South before Stalin finally gave his "Ok" on the fifth asking.
At that time, the US had pulled out a majority of its troops already.
In response to the attack, US soldiers in Japan had to be called in.
How can you say the US caused it? Or the Soviets (despite having provided the North with arms/tanks/etc)? or even China?

Lets place blame where it is due here.

That having been said, I would agree with your idea of not having wanted
the war/division--since most Koreans believe that what you've said above is the gospel truth, that is was the US who caused/started the whole thing.

Without this scapegoat, the Koreans might have to take a very serious look at their idea of "one-blood."

[Morton]

[koldijk]

Is this a joke?

When are those ingrates in Iraq going to show their appreciation to USFK service members?

Why not make a GLOBAL USFK gratitude day? That's even better...

Did you know that Luxembourg contributed "1 infantry company"

reference: http://www.kvacanada.com/unforces_korea.htm

There should be a gratitude day for them too! And, I'm guessing, those troops from Luxembourg were involved in more combat, in Korea, in the early 50s than you...

[caniff]

If you're a South Korean you should be happy you're not eating tree bark and weeds for dinner like your homies up north.

While I don't think America is in SK purely out of the goodness of it's own heart, the locals should still thank their lucky stars because it could've been a hell of lot worse.

[Paddycakes]

[bangbayed]