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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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wylde
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
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 Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 9:26 am Post subject: |
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bulsajo..
i must say.. i d/led your avatar from edonkey in 2002 and watched it 1001 times... then i see you claim it.. i still sit here and just watch and watch.. it is soooo funny to watch that stupid bird waddle and fall face first into the drink, i never saw his friend pushing him in before. did you fix that or was that how ya found it? it is a p*sser, keep it!
i used to sit and watch just becauses' 1 with the korean chick in the green shirt making that sourpuss face but he went and changed it for some weird looking thing that has blue boogies coming out of his nose..
and kangnam - the kimchi burger must be the best example |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 9:39 am Post subject: |
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Koreans are the undisputed world champs of 'we' and 'they'- too bad they don't give out Nobel prizes for that...
(Wylde, my avatar was sent to me this way by a friend) |
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wylde
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 9:42 am Post subject: |
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| i love it! |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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"The rest of you are not entertaining me as well as you should be."
Thank you, Bulsajo. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For years I've tried to think of a snappy come-back for those times when someone is complaining about being bored. I never succeeded in finding the right way to express it. You did it.
You win the Quotable Quote of the Week Contest in my book. |
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Psy
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Location: Hongdae
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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hmm, I don't quite understand the OP's post. I see no correlation between classifying "we" and "they" and Korean television programs that supposedly suck. So, I fail to see the point or rather, any point at all in the post. I thought that even ramblings had one or two points. I guess not.
Any program with Lee Hyo Ree is fine by me. It is actually damn popular in the U.S. and Canada. And that program is not K-pop songs, but rather traditional Korean children's songs. (most of them at least) But, your wife could have told you that. 
Just realized this was a old thread. lol |
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Corporal
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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I thought his point was pretty simple. Why do we divide them into "we" and "they"? Because they come from such a completely different place (due to their history, Confucius, whatever) that they find it excruciatingly funny when a pan falls on someone's head, whereas we look at them sideways and think "You guys really need to develop a sophisticated sense of humor".
Works for me. Koreans really DO need to do some evolving in a lot of areas, and that, Homer, was not an imperialist, racist, or overgeneralized statement. |
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dogbert
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: Killbox 90210
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Corporal wrote: |
| I thought his point was pretty simple. Why do we divide them into "we" and "they"? Because they come from such a completely different place (due to their history, Confucius, whatever) that they find it excruciatingly funny when a pan falls on someone's head, whereas we look at them sideways and think "You guys really need to develop a sophisticated sense of humor". |
One thing I've always wondered is whether your husband gets your sarcasm and it. If not, that's quite a waste. You're hilarious. |
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HardyandTiny
Joined: 03 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 4:55 am Post subject: Re: On 'We' and 'They' |
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Did anyone vote this as one of the best posts of 2003?
| Drunken-Al wrote: |
I unconsciously divide non-Koreans and Koreans into two categories; 'we' and 'they.' It's notable that I have done this in other countries as well but that the 'we' had always been reserved solely for my countrymen. Are Koreans so uniquely different that I would set them apart from all other nationalities? Ahem. I'm afraid the answer is a clearly pronounced and confidently spoken yes.
Why? What is it that makes Koreans so very different? Kimchi? Belief in fan death? Poor fashion sense? I don't think so.
While I find things like having bubble machines at weddings, Dunkin' Donuts with no coffee available, and eating dried squid at the movies amusing, I think that what puts Koreans into the 'they' category runs deeper than custom, culture, or even race and the language barrier. I mean, there's a long list of silliness in other countries, too. For example, why do Canadians where those hilarious maple leaf badges on their clothes and luggage? It's embarrassing, yes, but for some reason they still get grouped into the 'we' category.
Since getting married to a lovely Korean lady a little over a year ago (God bless her patience!) I've been able to do some exploring into that vast demilitarized abyss that separates 'we' from 'they.'
In that land of give-and-take, which I have come to know as married life, I often have the great misfortune of having to sit and endure Korean television. My Korean language skill is approaching an intermediate level (whatever that means!) and I am able to follow along fairly well but...um...words fail me. I am unable to find words to adequately describe the deep loathing and hate that I have for Korean television. My wife loves it. How can this be? How could the woman I love enjoy something that I abhor with all my passion? The answer is simple; she's Korean.
These horrific episodes of Korean television have explained much to me, however. You know that horrible comedy where the pans fall from the ceiling onto the heads of contestants who've sung the wrong words to a k-pop song? Oh...my...God. It's blood curdling. That show makes me want to throw the TV through the window. In other comedies there is always some guy dressed badly as a woman. This usually gets knee slapping laughter from my wife. In stunt shows people are made to look silly if they cannot perform some physical act in a certain time. With the dramas there is always some old, angry man or woman who is made to look foolish by how they conduct themselves when they are angry and the Korean audiences watch on with hilarity. Why do I hate it so much?
Well, it may be that Korean comedians seem to try to make others laugh through making themselves look foolish. Dressing up in stupid clothes etc.. Western comedians, on the other hand, seem to try to make others laugh through making someone else look foolish and, in turn, making themselves look good. Of course, Jim Carry is an exception here. I've heard more Arnold Schwarzeneggar impressions in the past 2 weeks than I had in 15 years.
This in mind, the differences in everyday life in Korea and life back home become a little more apparent, no? That whole 'Look at me! Look at me!' attention-starved attitude that is such a turn-off in many other societies seems to be very much practised, accepted, and loved here.
I'm leaping here, bear with me, but could the 5 millennia or so of being attacked, conquered, unknown, uncared about, and existing somewhere just below mediocrity have inspired the Korean passion for such things as karaoke halls? So starved for attention and recognition that to slip into imagined fame in the noh-rae-baung is as natural as wearing high-heeled shoes while hiking up a mountain? Or subway station men's rooms being so full of korean men coming in to check themselves out in the mirror that it's almost a mission just to get near enough to a sink to wash my hands?
Could it be that the idea of doing something silly, even as a nation, is a subconscious effort to shake self perceptions of inferiority and mediocrity? I mean, remember the fool who killed himself in Cancun last week? Most Koreans I've talked to see that idiot did in a positive light. Me? I think he accomplished nothing more than to portray an entire nation of Koreans as rioting, suicidal, maniacs and to bring misery to his family. Is that better than being unnoticed? Personally, I don't think so.
Korean people are not different than other nationalities. Well, at least physically  . Most of us find happiness in comfort and the Koreans are no exception, whether it be in the materialistic sense or the emotional. It seems, though, that 'we' have a different comfort zone than 'they' do.
Well, I'm beginning to ramble. That means it's time to quit. I apologize if I've ruffled any feathers, it was not my intent. I would be interested, however, if any of you have thought about this idea and/or have any other ideas as to just what it is that sets 'them' so very far apart from the rest of the planet's population.
Thanks for reading and keep on drinking! Drunken Al. |
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Corporal
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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| dogbert wrote: |
| One thing I've always wondered is whether your husband gets your sarcasm |
Unfortunately, much of it is missed. But, of course, the ways in which two humans can communicate are myriad, and sarcasm is just one of them... |
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dogbert
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: Killbox 90210
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| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Corporal wrote: |
| dogbert wrote: |
| One thing I've always wondered is whether your husband gets your sarcasm |
Unfortunately, much of it is missed. But, of course, the ways in which two humans can communicate are myriad, and sarcasm is just one of them... |
Very true. |
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