Korean Job Discussion Forums

[KRTV]

[Julius]

[rainism]

[atwood]

Some good points have been made. I'd say it's a combination of the factors mentioned above.

The old have too often taken advantage of the respect they are supposed to be accorded under the Confucian hierarchy whenever and wherever they can (Thanks for the higher subway fares, gramps! and for even more seating designated to the old and infirm!) so you can understand the frustration with that.

But on the other hand, a lot of that wouldn't be necessary if people showed some common courtesy, which, however, according to the apologists on the spatial awareness thread, we can't expect in Korea because that's not part of the "culture."

Moreover, most parents aren't doing much of anything when it comes to raising their children, so the younger generations are spoiled. Parents have already started complaining about the schools being closed on Saturdays because they don't want to have to spend time taking care of their children. I love my children, just don't mess with my Saturday lunch date.

Of course, when they're older these same children are going to want the respect the elderly traditionally receive. It's a vicious cycle.

[Steelrails]

Everyone thinks hating on the old is great until they become old themselves.

Are the old automatically right? No. Do they have issues? Yes.

At the same time the young are not automatically right and they have their issues to. It seems some young people are still recovering from the time mommy and daddy told them to stop playing video games and to take a shower.

Mentally stable people can have respect for the old and listen to what they have to say while not assuming that the old are right.

Then again, suppose the guy was a veteran or something. Suppose the old man was a WWII veteran back home and the kid was some "ethnic homeboy". Would you still have the same reaction and rants about Confucianism?

Is Confucianism perfect, no, but then again, that doesn't mean it isn't better than anything you come up with. I'm sorry, but the fact that 25-35 year old NETs who live in a country they hate think they have a complete moral code figured out is ridiculous. Can I read your philosophical treatise? Do you even have the discipline to sit down and write such a thing?

And it's really strange that people are making excuses for the young guy who was violating the old guy's personal space (a common rant on these threads)

But he's an old Korean male. Must be wrong.

[Yaya]

A few facts about Confucius:

� Confucius himself, by his belief that woman is inferior to man and despicable, never accepted a single female student in his lifetime.

� Confucius was a murderer. As a government official, he had a scholar named Shao Zhengmou （少正卯）killed simply because he didn�t agree with him.

� Confucius was a petty government official and always yearned to climb the social ladder through pleasing the emperor and the court.

� Confucius only indoctrinated his students with his views, never allowing any questions and inquiries from others about what he thought. He ruled by his own doctrine � everything is according to birth, gender, age, power, status�, no questions asked.

http://kaichenblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/evil-of-confucianism-and-harmful-effect.html

[Captain Corea]

[Feah]

[Triban]

In this case I see the old man grabbing the boy. I wouldn't want anyone grabbing me. However, the boy was in the wrong getting angry about someone asking them to move their foot. That is ridiculous.

I have met/seen many kind old men as well as others that should not be let out into public (#1 the drunk adjosshi that took a swing at my face but I'm TOO FAST).

I respect the kind elderly men/women. They deserve respect. The others do not. Same goes for the young adults.

Confucianism in it's current form is a horrible bastardization of what is what supposed to be. The Golden Rules of Confucianism was SUPPOSED to be:

"Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you."

"An inhumane ruler runs the risk of losing the right to rule."

However, even Confucius did not follow his own philosophy. He sucked. Confucianism is also outdated and people regularly/obviously abuse/manipulate it for their own personal pleasure/gain/sadistic tendencies. It seems no Korean remembers:
"Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you."

[rainism]

steelrails, i hope you're not referring to me in your response.

I'm fully on the side of beating the crap out of pigeonchested tough guy whine boy.

every single piece of evidence in the story points toward that idiot being at least mostly at fault though we'd really need to see in what way and manner the old man asked him to uncross his legs.

but you don't play tough guy with granpa. You can tell him to do something to himself and then laugh at him, but strutting up, playing tough guy, much less issuing physical threats is way way out of line.

I don't care what kind of "Confucian oppression" the lad had experienced up until now.

if I had been on that train, I would have probably inserted myself between his little chest and gramps. Just as a barrier mind you, I'm fairly sure he wouldn't have had felt so tough in front of me.

I'm as opposed to Cunfucian age crap as anyone, in fact I rather openly sneer at it and ridicule it, but playing tough guy with an old man on a cane just crosses a very firm line and I would've almost surely been forced to react.

Had the old man been a loud mouthed 40 or 50 something adjosshi, then I just would've chuckled and watched with amusement.

[atwood]

[Steelrails]

Casting off the yoke of the old, simply to run without reins in chaos is not progress.

The fact that young people suggest that old people are wrong for thinking old people are right because they are old, and then assert that young people are right simply for the sake of being young, is why I roll my eyes at some of the more anti-elderly out there.

Especially from a generation that is so much enjoying the shade of the previous generations' tending.

[Triban]

Hm, isn't the older generation living off the younger generation while subsequently siphoning off all the elderly benefits so that the now young generation will be left with nothing when THEY are old?

And they still try to boss you around?

p.s. Most changes in social philosophy happened radically, not over a long period of time.

[eskeemo]

[radcon]

That video is hilarious. Somebody needs to tell that young Korean guy that you can't act tough while dressed like a sissy. The old man should have just sat there and ignored the young guys rantings instead of engaging him in an arguemnt: speak to the hand.