Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Binch Lover]

Something interesting and pretty nice happened at my elementary school today. One of the older teachers who is retiring in a few days talked to the school through the broadcasting system at the start of the day.

He brought in his notebook from when he was in 1st grade to show the students. He was born in 1946, so I guess this would have been right after the end of the war. Anyway, he made a point of saying that the US gave the kids their notebooks at that time, so it's thanks to them that he was able to get an education and become a teacher. He finished by reminding the kids to be thankful for the US for what they did to help South Korea.

I thought this was a pretty good thing to do. I'm not really a pro-American person, but the level of ignorance that is at the root of the anti-Americanism here is shocking. For example, the survey that was done recently that showed a majority of military service conscripts think the US is their number one enemy. At least there are people out there doing something to make the students think about the history of their country.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Unfortunately that generation's rapidly dying off. It's funny how often the far-right is the least xenophobic. I've never seen a country where the left-wing is as racist as in Korea.

[Xuanzang]

That's quite noble.

[Fishead soup]

The KTU Korean Teachers Union is a big source of Zenophobia and Anti-Americanism. They actually feed their students lies to fit their political agenda. For example in an English speech I heard that Mad Cow originated in the US. That's bollocks in came from the UK.

[antoniothegreat]

excuse my ignorance, but why do the teachers want to make the US look so bad? What do they gain from it?

[Fishead soup]

[Fishead soup]

[Smee]

This is how I see part of it:

The union was born amid, and railed against, the authoritarian regimes of the 80s. It set itself up as a defender of truth and freedom. Since it was/is believed that the US was propping up the regimes of the 80s (and earlier), the heavyhandedness of the US became a target.

The union has pockets of popularity all over---I believe the most unionized school is in Seoul---but is especially strong in Jeollanam-do, the site of a government-led massacres in 1948 and 1980, both of which are popularly believed to have been OK'd by the US (if not outright greenlighted by it). Another case of the US trampling on the freedomes of Koreans, or that's how people see it.

It's a little mixed up with the beef stuff. THe union hates Lee Myung-bak for his policies regarding education, so that was reason in and of itself to take to the streets. The rallying point for the kids was the Krazie Kow issue. Kids don't care about politics or education, but with graphic TV shows and bloody cartoons you can get them interested in the fear of death. When the union positions itself as anti-US it is simultaneously establishing itself as pro-Korean, pro-freedom.

This rubs off on the students, who buy not only into this but the "we're a small, weak country" angle, and who view the world as a zero sum game. When the US is weakened, other countries get stronger. One of the posters made for my school festival had students cheering the economic/political slip-ups of the US. (I'll get around to posting that entry later this month).

So, while on the one hand it's hard for me as a foreigner to be a dick and say I'm anti-freedom, or that I don't want Koreans going after what's best for Korea. But it's tricky because they can be so. damn. aggressive. in their anti-US positions. Yes, I know there are plenty of reasons why foreigners and Americans alike can hate the US . . . it just rubs me the wrong way when I see history put in quotation marks here, and people attending an anti-US rally while enjoying the benefits of what the spread of US culture has meant.

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Kind on on this point, I watched a Korean movie last night called Sunny (Not sure what the Korean title of it is.) It was about a K band that went to Vietnam to entertain troops. Whilst it had the potential to tell a really good story, it got lost about half way through with some really grotesque America bashing. The Korean troops were all whiter than white and all the Americans in the movie were vile excecutioners, drinking whiskey and smacking hookers arses in most scenes. Anyone who knows anything about Korean involvement in Nam knows they were as brutal as anyone else and they sure as well didn't go there with altruistic intentions.

I'm not even American and I was kind of offended with the distortion of history in it.

[wylies99]

[buymybook]