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tfunk
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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 Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:34 am Post subject: Who do the unemployed college graduates blame? |
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Teenagers invest so much time in studying for exams and now college graduates are finding it difficult to get jobs. This situation isn't unique to Korea, but in Korea it seems that a lot is sacrificed to getting good grades.
Who do recent college graduates blame? It seems like the whole of 'respectable' society encourages a strong study ethic: the schools, the Chaebol (and business), even Mom and Pop have been spinning the yarn - if you study hard you are due dividends.
Personally, I don't think it's a matter of blame. But if I was a disillusioned young graduate then I'd certainly feel like somewhere along the line I was led astray. I'd begin to question the merits of slavishly obeying the Confucian hierarchy when the established order has let me down.
Maybe there's an ideological revolution on the horizon. |
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Benicio
Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:59 am Post subject: |
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Kind of like the '60's when young people were starting to realize that what their parents had told them about keeping clean cut, working hard, staying away from drugs & rock 'n' roll wasn't exactly true.
That it's not just "ruining your life". There's a hell of a lot of fun and worthwhile livin' experience there, too!
They saw their parents as a continuation of the "be a good girl/boy, do well in school, work to make as much money as possible, go to church on Sunday, then die" cycle. They started seeing it as bland, bleak & meaningless.
It was time to see things a new way.
Of course, not everyone did. We still had the Pat Buchanans, the George W. Bushs, the Sarah Palins, but enough saw the light to change things quite a bit.
It's coming! |
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antoniothegreat
Joined: 28 Aug 2005
Location: Yangpyeong
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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why, they blame Bush of course.
everything is his fault. absolutely everything. |
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tfunk
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Benicio wrote: |
Kind of like the '60's when young people were starting to realize that what their parents had told them about keeping clean cut, working hard, staying away from drugs & rock 'n' roll wasn't exactly true.
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Korea seems different though. Conformity has been a matter of practical survival here for God knows how long and it's deeper entrenched in their conditioning and thinking. Conformity works on every level of society here - family, work, country.
In America there was an external enemy - government and business, however in Korea the enemy is in a sense 'internal' because family, business, work etc. create an integrated sense of a persons identity and aren't separate from how they view themselves. A rejection of the old ideology is also a rejection of the bonds and traditions that unite and define families.
Whereas the American dream is "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", the Korean dream would be more on the lines of "glorious family, glorious nation". In the 60's the revolution was in the spirit of American dream, however a similar revolution in Korea would be dishonoring family, nation etc.
What would a revolutionary be fighting for? Better conditions for their self...but the image a person has of their self here at a fundamental level is as an integrated member of society.
I don't think we have another 60's on our hands without a viable ideological alternative to the current system that doesn't disrupt family, national security, employment prospects etc. |
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Robot_Teacher
Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Location: Robotting Around the World
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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| antoniothegreat wrote: |
why, they blame Bush of course.
everything is his fault. absolutely everything. |
He he he. I like that one. I used to talk about Bush screwing up the economy 5 years ago to the point of there being only low paying jobs. Now, that's not the problem, the problem is there being no jobs with wages decreasing for what jobs there are. I'm talking from an American perspective for Americans at home. |
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samcheokguy
Joined: 02 Nov 2008
Location: Samcheok G-do
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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| I blame the amish. |
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nosmallplans
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: noksapyeong
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:44 pm Post subject: |
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| All the douche bags who had no business going to college. |
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Benicio
Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:27 am Post subject: |
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tfunk put it a bit more complex than I did.
It will be social change, but definitely in a Korean context.
We've been seeing it gradually over the years with the change
-in social behavior: it's now fairly acceptable to show affection in public.
-in fashion: 10 years ago women dressed as sexy as a mormon picnic. You never, ever saw a female wear a bikini here.
-sexual rules: it's definitely become more open and "casual".
-taboos: body piercing is happening and young Koreans are finding tattoos more interesting & attractive, rather than repulsive.
I guess next will be more young people rejecting the 'study your young life away' route.
Will these changes continue gradually or will they come in a flash with the current economic crisis?
Who knows?
They Asian economic crash of the late '90's certainly brought about some huge changes in Korean life like the end of single income families as the desirable unit and the skyrocketing of the divorce rate. |
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Benicio
Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| All the douche bags who had no business going to college. |
As for that, I definitely feel that it is past time for a thinning of the herd with the university population.
Every year, I see a significant number of students who lack both the intelligence and self-discipline to be truly successful in unversity- they are too dumb and immature to get the job done, yet they end up graduating anyway. Most of my students are alright, but I swear that there are some whom I'm worried that they might forget to breathe- scary stupid!
Korea really suffers from an educational inflation.
Most are overeducated and underskilled. |
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