Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cj1976]

[mayorgc]

I think Dokdo/East sea becomes a westerner's business when English language ads are taken out in the WSJ or on NYC billboards.

[reactionary]

I don't think I'm belittling the subject. Dokdo/Takeshima, whatever. I don't care and I change the subject as soon as i can. however, I really feel Koreans (or anyone else for that matter) have no right in determining the ENGLISH LANGUAGE name for a body of water that they have NO SOVEREIGNTY over, even if Dokdo belongs to them.

In Korean they can call it whatever they want. Glorious Han Swimming Pool - I don't care.

At the end of the day, does it affect me on a day to day level? Well, to some extent, YES, because these topics do come up in casual conversation with Koreans who I barely even know and i'm forced to listen to their drilled-in mantras and bite my tongue if I don't want them to regress into a sniveling child in front of me. It gets to the point where I just say "I don't care about this topic and I have no opinion."

[Senior]

It obviously isn't an issue in my school. Dokdo came up in class and I asked very sincerely "Do you think Dokdo belongs to Japan or Korea?" of course the resounding chorus was "Korreeeaaaaaaaaaaa!". One kid chimed up in the back "No way! Japan!". I thought he was gunna get lynched but it got gales of laughter, so it's not much of an issue, at least in that particular class.

[cj1976]

I didn't mean you were belittling the subject. I meant just people in general who don't realize just how important this thing is. It might seem absurd to me, but I also bite my tongue. It's just common courtesy.
One day, these guys who take out the ads in the NY Times will accept that nobody who isn't Korean cares.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[djsmnc]

[cj1976]

Ok, maybe I was being a little facetious, but generally they are in an uphill struggle. I'm not sure about other countries, but in the UK most maps will say Sea of Japan. Persuading all those people that they are wrong will be a monumental task to say the least.

[miljeong]

My two cents:

Korea is a young, underdeveloped and blind country, that has become soft and ignorant during it's respectively short period of fondling and cradling by the over zealous American Union with intent to use it as a shield and bargaining chip, and through such treatment has illegitimately come to think of itself has being worthy of an international opinion, and much like a spoiled child who manages to break free from his discipliners, has slowly become power hungry and ego maniacal, all while much like North Korea, seeing the lack of opposition as international acceptance, rather than the reality of being a pure lack of interest in anything the country has to say. Coupling that with the oversensitive, tree hugging, and yes masochistic western consensus to either help or destroy everything that we don't understand, a false sense of security and support has been presented and a limited time frame of popularity and interest has been opened up to the whole of Korea.

On it's side, Korea does have a real chance to grow up and do something with itself to truly separate it from any image of North Korea, even though South Korea mistakenly thinks that has already happened, but in reality South Korea will only learn a lesson that Americans have yet to learn-- when you step in to protect someone from bullies, they will either always use you in the future or they will become bullies themselves and forget all about having ever needed your help.

Life has a way of fixing its own problems as everything comes back to dust. Koreans and their 'Dokdo' problems are just an irrational, over zealous plot to get public attention for what they believe has been years of mistreatment, even though the majority of the oppressors and oppressed (especially the ones sounding the alarms) were not even alive at the time of oppression. Sound like any other group anyone knows? *cough*African-Americans*cough* Soon they will realize that on an international stage, grudges and self promotion will severe business relationships that even the highest American educated English speaking Korean social elite won't be able to mend.


My one cent:

I told my geography class students that if they think it's Japan's sea, they're stupid because it's neither Korea's nor Japans. IT'S GODZIRRA'S!

No, seriously though, I told my students that 'names' and 'governments' will come and go, and gave them a brief history lesson of the rise and fall and eventual disintegration and separation of all the countries in Europe and how it's okay to think those people are stupid for still trying to fight over a dumb line on a map. I told them that those names for oceans and seas are not necessarily for ownership, but just for reference for human beings to know what to call something. I then asked them, "Do you think anyone else in the world is putting up full spread ads in foreign countries to bring awareness for a campaign to change the name of the Indian Ocean because it also touches other countries?" (I basically won their understanding right then, but I continued to rant anyway) I also told them that if they are believers in God, it's God's world anyway, not ours, so who gives a flying f*** what we call one plot of land or water versus the next. We'll all be dead in 100 years anyway so just enjoy the beauty of that spot and work around the problems of the people who got there first! Once I explained it that way, even the hardest ass girl in the class said "Yea it doesn't matter. It's God's world anyway", and another kid chimed in "Sea of SATAN- YEAH".

I love my school.

[djsmnc]

[cj1976]

This is what I mean. As trivial and faintly ridiculous as the whole issue may appear to us, we really have no place telling them they're right or wrong. Sometimes it's prudent to keep shtum, even if you are bursting to spew forth your own opinions. For one, they will never ever back down from their POV, and coming from a foreigner it just seems offensive.

[mayorgc]

[Fox]

[cj1976]

[kabrams]

This reminds me of my friends who would get pissed off when I called myself an "American" while speaking English.