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Korean Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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bekinseki
Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Location: Korea
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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| aq8knyus wrote: |
Insecure? That�s your response? No seriously what does the North do better than the South?
Just more modern? A little bit yes, but we are getting somewhere; it's good for you to acknowledge that NK has the same regard for human life as regimes that existed millennia ago. I must say though I would probably feel differently about the pyramids if I could see the human cost.
I guess out of sight out of mind.
Also appreciate what exactly? The ever so terribly exciting world of people locked in the grip of oppression. |
Thanks for reading into my words and coming up with your own conclusion. Most South Koreans are jealous of my trip to the North mainly because they can't go themselves, and most of the things they would say they want to see would be stuff like Baekdusan or Geumgangsan. Quite a lot of people down here are from there and have living relatives up there, too.
As far as what North Korea does better than South Korea, there aren't many things, but they do exist. Obviously for all the important things, the South is winning, but the North has chosen some interesting things to excel in. Also worth noting, a lot of things the North does better, such as making pizza, is something intended only for tourists, and not appreciated by most North Koreans, so I won't count it.
So, here are a few things that are better in the North:
-beer; up until about ten years ago the North actually had more microbreweries than the South
-soju
-they've totally switched to the solar calendar and there's no "Korean age"
-gardening; everyone's got a personal garden on their balcony
-land access to the mainland
-I've heard their process of urban renewal is somewhat less violent
-air quality, though it's because there's very little active industry up there due to lack of electricity
-raengmyun
-in Pyongyang, the buildings are more colourful than Seoul
-public buildings are majestic and old-fashioned, not just in Pyongyang
-you never get accosted by pushy Christians
-streetcars!
-most awesome abandoned building in the world
-better DMZ tour
-August 15 is a day of celebration, not civil unrest (though the South has gotten better in the last decade)
-more people wear traditional clothes, and they've been adapted for casual use
-bicycles are plentiful
Note that I left out performances such as Arirang and the Pyongyang Circus, which aren't really comparable to anything down here.
Yes, most of these are minor, and some of them only exist as a happy byproduct of a far worse problem, and the list of things that are worse would be much, much, much longer. However, it's always funny seeing people go red in the face at the thought that anyone would ever say anything remotely nice about North Korea, no matter how minor or back-handed it may be.
All the deck-measuring you can do between the two countries, or even more bizarrely between the US and North Korea, is totally useless and futile. |
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marsavalanche

Joined: 27 Aug 2010 Location: where pretty lies perish
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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^^Powerful post.
And I can confirm NK has better beer. There's a bar I frequent that for some reason has NK beer no other bar has.
And it is AMAZING. I can't stand Cass, Hite, and all of that garbage. |
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alpope23

Joined: 15 Mar 2006
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="bekinseki"]
So, here are a few things that are better in the North:
-beer; up until about ten years ago the North actually had more microbreweries than the South
Not enough infrastructure for countrywide brand
-soju
Subjective
-they've totally switched to the solar calendar and there's no "Korean age"
Yipee!
-gardening; everyone's got a personal garden on their balcony
That or starve
-land access to the mainland
Yipee!
-I've heard their process of urban renewal is somewhat less violent
No gas for the bulldozers they don't have
-air quality, though it's because there's very little active industry up there due to lack of electricity
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
-raengmyun
Made from street sweepings!
-in Pyongyang, the buildings are more colourful than Seoul
Can't afford a full load of the same color paint/giant murals about bayoneting running dog lackeys!
-public buildings are majestic and old-fashioned, not just in Pyongyang
I thought they were all public buildings in the workers paradise!
-you never get accosted by pushy Christians
Get a job at Camp 22 and gas a few in revenge!
-streetcars!
And streets free of cars!
-most awesome abandoned building in the world
And the ugliest!
-better DMZ tour
Not the lunch!
-August 15 is a day of celebration, not civil unrest (though the South has gotten better in the last decade)
-YAWN!
-more people wear traditional clothes, and they've been adapted for casual use
because thats all they have.
-bicycles are plentiful
A 1950 Viet Nam standard of transportation! |
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akcrono
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:18 am Post subject: |
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Calender, your lack of understanding is dumbfounding. You are actually comparing the United States to North Korea in terms of press freedom. The press in the US has very little regulation. In north Korea, ALL of the press is 100% controlled by the government. There is no comparison there. Even now in the US bloggers are taking more and more of the major network's market share producing news free of corporate influence. The fact that you even compare the two is scary; they aren't even in the same ballpark.
40,000,000 people without insurance pales in comparison to the people who are actually dying in North Korea. The number is actually around 50,000,000 but these numbers are meaningless unless expressed as a percentage, which is only around 17%. Compare this to North Korea where over 35% of the population suffers from food shortages (a much more serious problem). Also, health insurance is a serious issue that people are complaining about and attempting to fix, unlike North Korea.
The people who built the pyramids are irrelevant to this conversation, as the rulers who are responsible for them are not around anymore and would not receive your tourist dollars. KJI is in power and gets the money you spend to tour North Korea. Your argument about current corrupt powers is solid, but again, few countries in the world are as repressive as North Korea, so your money is really better spent almost anywhere else.
Spanking is physical punishment. While not a "beating" by your definition, it elicits the same responses that a beating does, and therefore many of the symptoms of abused children can be seen in children who receive spankings. Spanking is simply the lazy parents way of stopping bad behavior with minimal effort. Spewing your uneducated nonsense on here before spending 5 minutes to do a little research suggests yet again that you didn't actually obtain a degree.
You might find this map rather insightful:
http://www.fao.org/hunger/en/
Even bringing up US starvation to defend your position is absurd.
I am a liberal who has consistently voted against the Republican party. |
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akcrono
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:20 am Post subject: |
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| bekinseki wrote: |
| aq8knyus wrote: |
Insecure? That�s your response? No seriously what does the North do better than the South?
Just more modern? A little bit yes, but we are getting somewhere; it's good for you to acknowledge that NK has the same regard for human life as regimes that existed millennia ago. I must say though I would probably feel differently about the pyramids if I could see the human cost.
I guess out of sight out of mind.
Also appreciate what exactly? The ever so terribly exciting world of people locked in the grip of oppression. |
Thanks for reading into my words and coming up with your own conclusion. Most South Koreans are jealous of my trip to the North mainly because they can't go themselves, and most of the things they would say they want to see would be stuff like Baekdusan or Geumgangsan. Quite a lot of people down here are from there and have living relatives up there, too.
As far as what North Korea does better than South Korea, there aren't many things, but they do exist. Obviously for all the important things, the South is winning, but the North has chosen some interesting things to excel in. Also worth noting, a lot of things the North does better, such as making pizza, is something intended only for tourists, and not appreciated by most North Koreans, so I won't count it.
So, here are a few things that are better in the North:
-beer; up until about ten years ago the North actually had more microbreweries than the South
-soju
-they've totally switched to the solar calendar and there's no "Korean age"
-gardening; everyone's got a personal garden on their balcony
-land access to the mainland
-I've heard their process of urban renewal is somewhat less violent
-air quality, though it's because there's very little active industry up there due to lack of electricity
-raengmyun
-in Pyongyang, the buildings are more colourful than Seoul
-public buildings are majestic and old-fashioned, not just in Pyongyang
-you never get accosted by pushy Christians
-streetcars!
-most awesome abandoned building in the world
-better DMZ tour
-August 15 is a day of celebration, not civil unrest (though the South has gotten better in the last decade)
-more people wear traditional clothes, and they've been adapted for casual use
-bicycles are plentiful
Note that I left out performances such as Arirang and the Pyongyang Circus, which aren't really comparable to anything down here.
Yes, most of these are minor, and some of them only exist as a happy byproduct of a far worse problem, and the list of things that are worse would be much, much, much longer. However, it's always funny seeing people go red in the face at the thought that anyone would ever say anything remotely nice about North Korea, no matter how minor or back-handed it may be.
All the deck-measuring you can do between the two countries, or even more bizarrely between the US and North Korea, is totally useless and futile. |
Great post, but I'm not sure this really cancels out the poverty and starvation. |
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calendar
Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: being a hermit
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:38 am Post subject: |
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ackrono, you are the same as the three in the suicide thread. You do not like what you hear and you do not like knowing that your home country is just as bad as a communist one, so you insult and attack the other person.
America waterboards and tortures people, hey, just like NK. The numbers do not matter that much, the fact that they stoop to the same level and do the same things means they practice evil like NK. |
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akcrono
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 3:10 am Post subject: |
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| calendar wrote: |
ackrono, you are the same as the three in the suicide thread. You do not like what you hear and you do not like knowing that your home country is just as bad as a communist one, so you insult and attack the other person.
America waterboards and tortures people, hey, just like NK. The numbers do not matter that much, the fact that they stoop to the same level and do the same things means they practice evil like NK. |
I am regularly the first to point out the problems in the US. I do it more than I should. You have yet to provide any statistical proof that the United States is comparable to North Korea in any significant way. You STILL haven't addressed any of my points about the problems in North Korea. The numbers DO matter. You learn this in college. If that's really how you see things, that the huge evil is the same as the small evil, there is nothing anyone can teach you and your ignorance is terrifying.
I might also want to point out that EVERY country tortures. Its a sad reality. Be willing to bet you a million won that the US tortures 50% fewer of its citizens than NK. Feel like betting? Or does the knowledge that you actually have no clue what you're talking about prevent you from defending your ridiculous point? |
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