Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mithridates]

Since I'm a lifer here, one of my goals is to get Koreans to like cats. The vast majority of them certainly have an odd phobia when it comes to felines. I'm brainstorming for ideas to convince them that they actually like cats.

The first one is obvious - how can you have a tiger as your national symbol and hate cats at the same time? That one I drill into everybody's head when the subject comes up.

Also, cats are like countries. When two countries hate each other they only see the negative side. When humans don't like cats, cats don't like humans, and if nobody takes care of cats nobody sees a cute one. There's a leap of faith required there. Trust me, cats are cute, and anybody who wants to raise one will be pleasantly surprised.

Um...I just had a thought; I hope this doesn't turn into a cat vs. dog thread. I like dogs too and so do Koreans, so we don't need to touch on their attitudes toward dogs. Well, maybe a little. They seem to only like little yappy dogs but that's just the lack of space here I'm sure.

[captain kirk]

I like your style. Saying you're a lifer here and trying to make people think in different ways, for exercise; why not? Before getting on to cats I thought today about making up a list of thought-provoking questions and using these in class so they can respond and think in different directions simultaneously. To keep it fresh and fun for all.
Yes, how can the national animal be a big cat while everyone hates cats?!
I've seen some BIG and FEARSOME looking toms lately. The taxi pulls up to my place and a big tom has scratched open a garbage bag and is crouched feasting on what turned out to be chicken bones, 'cruch cruch'. It's a BIG, dirty tom with a mean look on its face as we pull up in the taxi. Of course I'm not afraid of a tom cat. But the toms here rip open garbage bags, live in the cold during the winter, and I think they must 'know' everybody is afraid of and disgusted by them. So what have they got to lose? It's a tough life for hardened toms.
I've noticed how many garbage bags set onto the street are torn open with the garbage scattered about (cigarette butts, wrappers, etc.) as the cats find what they want. Of course they don't put the garbage back into the torn bag and set it up again against the wall. Koreans are meticulously neat and tidy. It must irk them to have to clean up garbage after dirty, hideous looking, ugly tom cats!
They look about as pet-like as porcupines (by the way, did you know porcupines purr like cats?).

[mithridates]

I had no idea porcupines purred too...is it when they're happy?

On a related note, most Koreans I talk to don't know that cats purr either. To them, cats make one sound - yeeeoooow

[captain kirk]

Yes, when they're happy. It was an entry in an anthology called 'The Spirit of Canada'. An Indian family adopted a porcupine baby.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[dominic]

koreans hate cats because years ago they killed cats and buried them under their houses to protect them from evil demons. Good luck getting koreans to like cats, it'll never happen with most korean people

[mithridates]

I doubt it'll be that hard...superstitions, like knowledge, take one generation to die.

If the world were to go kaboom tomorrow for example, the survivors would still remember what it was like to live with computers, airplanes and so on and could likely reinvent them. However, if they were prevented from doing so until the next generation was born, a generation that never experienced these things directly, the knowledge would effectively die out. Same with superstitions and the like...

Every time somebody tells me they don't like cats I just glaze my eyes over and spin yarns about my cats back home that I miss and how they would purr me to sleep every night next to me on the bed. The best way to change the way a person thinks is by not agreeing nor disagreeing, just changing the subject a little.

A:I don't like cats. Their eyes are scary.
B:Yeah, their eyes are cool. I remember this one time when Cleo and I...

[Alias]

I love cats as well. I miss my kitty in Canada dearly.
What I like to do is show them pictures of my cat from back home. I also have a couple of kitten calenders hanging up. Most of them now see cats as being cute and not demonic.

[tokki]

I HATE CATS.

Cats are:

1. Disloyal.
2. Dishonest.
3. Untrustworthy.
4. Cats have no emotional ties to people. They will take the food you give them but a cat will never pull you out of a burning car.
5. How many shows do you know about the faithful cat who saves peole? Where is the cat equivallent of the Littles Hobo? HUH?

Cats suck, and in all seriousness they should be hated.

Cats are also the enemies of dogs, which are man's best friend, and as such, any enemy of my friend is my enemy.

Kill all cats.

[sistersarah]

dominic - what are you talking about? my korean boyfriend just said that he's never heard of koreans killing cats and burying them. i know that they're superstitious about cats, but are you sure about what you said?

about koreans liking cats, it's just because they're not used to them as pets. my boyfriend did not like cats, but then he met my cat and now he's a cat-lover!

[tsgarp]

My Korean ex-girlfriend was always taking in stray kittens. She always got some friend or relative to take them off her hands after she got them checked out by a vet. So, no, not all Koreans hate or are afraid of cats.
Tokki, I had a cat in the States that was a certifiable killing machine. This thing kept our yard free of all squirrels, birds, mice, and DOGS. The cat would bait a big lab or shepherd and sit on a fence just out of the dogs' reach. Then it would time the dogs' leaps and scratch the f**k out of their faces. I swear it did this for fun. Any small dogs would just get mauled out right. That cat was a certifiable badass.

[jjurabong]

I teach a writing class, and when I get to persuasive writing - I always use the topic that cats are better pets than dogs for Seoullites. I mention things like cleanliness, space constraints and the independent nature of cats and how that suits busy people..(Nothing against dogs personally - I come from a family that has 6). When I get to the "main reason against and refutation" part, the students always volunteer that cats are not "loyal". So I make the refutation about how if a cat is raised in a home with love, and feels safe, that it forms the same type of attachment that a dog would make.
I also talk about my own cat, who has a Korean name (I named him after a vegetable that he slightly resembles ), and they think that's kind of cute.

[Alias]

If a cat is loved then it will be loyal. Cats can be very loving animals. Cats that have been mistreated by humans and live on the street are obviously going to be very timid.

Question. Has anyone here ever taken a pet home with them from Korea? I'm curious about how difficult a process that would be.

[Mr. Pink]

What if they don't like cats because of allergies?

I've had students who tried to have a pet cat, but had to ditch them because of allergies.

I'd say cats are a better pet than those little rat like dogs.


Thing I hate most about cats is keeping them inside all the time...I will never change another box of kitty crap as long as I live. The cat my brother and I shared is an outdoor cat for pooping etc. But indoor for sleeping.

I have to agree, a nice purring cat is a great stress relaxer. Makes you calm and feeling good.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]