Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Smee]

Here's another case of using the "you don't understand Korean culture" line to save face.

The Gwangju News (an English language magazine in Gwangju) did a two-page spread on interesting love motel facades. Each picture had a caption, and the piece was prefaced with:

[VanIslander]

[PeteJB]

Well clearly the writer doesn't know about Korean culture, because if he/she did they would have already known better than to write this article considering the kind of reaction it gets (which is pretty much 100% clear to those of us with enough cultural experience) - That being said, the media here is a pos and thinks it can control everything when it cant and never will.

[eamo]

Koreans can be so pithy about their national image.......like any tourist to any part of Korea could even miss the dozens of Love Hotels and not guess what they're for.

[wylies99]

Love motels? That's actually a relatively tame topic that involves consenting adults. What would the Korean newspapers have said if the author had written about prostitution in Korea? Hmmmm?

[bogey666]

[cdninkorea]

I was in Gwangju about a month ago and was amazed at all the love motels- much more than there are in Seoul by the look of it. Another thing I noticed was a lack of DVD rooms; perhaps this helps account for the extra motels?

[Adventurer]

[wuzza]

[bogey666]

[bogey666]

the Western surprise.. or faux moral outrage.. or whatever you want to call it at the existence of love motels is preposterously funny.

what these IDIOTIC MORONS do not realize is that love motels are ubiquitous the world over. Latin American cities have even a higher per capita amount of them than Korea.

what these IDIOTIC MORONS also do not realize is WHY they exist.
they exist because people want to fornicate.... (yes despite what your mother and your preacher told you.. sorry.. it's true )

The rest of the world doesn't have the kind of housing options available in the US. Many people stay with their parents until marriage... or can't afford a place of their own.... families tend to live together.. there is a decided lack of PRIVACY.

hence.. the reason for the existence of love motels..

is this sudden realization a reason for writing a stupid stupid article (like wow... look at those love hotels.. )

[Sushi]

At least the magazine got a response from the Korean Media, and the general public. It's good to stir up the hornets nest now and again, even if it didn't mean to.

The magazine does this every so often, and lo and behold people will actually go and read it afterwards. Maybe it should make a habit of an every so often faux pas.

[Smee]

I think some people enjoy pointing to the number of motels or massage parlors or special singing rooms, and contrasting it to the "conservative" Korea we've heard so much about. They think it's clever.

But in this case I think the author was pretty much just writing to draw attention to the interesting facades. Korean architecture is pretty boring, and so a giant windmill or a Greek God will stand out. Maybe the author didn't need to mention what they're used for, but then again why would she NOT mention what they're used for? It's insulting to readers' intelligence to suggest they're for tourists, and it's apparently insulting to Koreans to write that they're used for affairs or by young couples.

[bogey666]

points taken.

Korean "architecture" is indeed quite drab and Stalinist. Makes me wonder what North Korean "architecture" would look like.

and there's certainly rich territory in pointing out the differences between conservative "traditional Korean culture" and reality.

However, things not being as they appear is a theme not limited to Korea

and I generally find that whenever someone lets loose a high dose of Korea bashing, prostitution and related things are typically high and center in the related rant.

Which makes me wonder how truly stupid such people are and where they come from.

in the US I know places in the big city where the crack hos line up 10 deep, even during daytime sometimes.

when I visited Toronto the amount of escort and massage related advertising in the newspapers was stunning.

and I suppose they've never seen the ads on Craigslist.

So bashing Korea(ans) for having easily accessible outlets for things people have been engaging in since the birth of civilization (just imagine the first cavewoman who wanted a little more woolly mammoth meat than she had on her own) and not making an issue out of it (while keeping it "illegal" for idiotic facade purposes.. I'm just not sure what point constantly involving these places in the rants serves.

but perhaps I've veered off topic. If the point of the article was to merely point out exceptions to the drab architecture, so be it.

[wuzza]