Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Alyallen]

Baccus wrote "ode, aly - although aly has made this point before, and it can be said to be true to an extent, both of you - it only scratches the surface. there are many truths but how do they help us to understand the underlying reasons behind them. cultures are much more complex and no simple reading can begin to scratch the surface.��

That is correct, this is only scratching the surface. And you are correct, no simple reading can explain everything. Given that, why start this part of the thread with ONE ARTICLE? That is hardly the research standard used in higher education. All the other posters can do is defend or try to disclaim the validity of the article. If you had started out with a balance view of the situation, you would get more balanced answers. Also, as far as I know (correct me if I am wrong), most people here are teaching ESL, not psychology, sociology, anthropology, or anything in the field of social science. So these are the opinions and observations of laymen (and women). It does not make it less valid but perhaps the culmination of our observations will establish some semblance of a theory behind all this.

Baccus wrote, ��the degree to which things occur here are much more extreme and also very different than in the west.��

I'm an American, so I will talk about the American experience. Civil rights in the U.S. has only been utilized in real social change/reform since the late 1950s and 60s. Inter-racial marriage and relationships (overall) are up but it is hardly sweeping the nation either. The same thing can be said for Korea, their interaction with foreigners have been fairly limited until the 1950s and 60s (and no I'm not counting the historical cases of Japan and Chinese influence). The US has a multitude of races in a multitude of jobs. Korea, on the other, seems to have foreigners in a limited number of fields. A number of these fields (such as the Army and ESL) are nomadic, since you never know when you will be transfer or fired. Plus many foreigners are not Korean citizens in general, what is to stop them from leaving?

Why, given the fact that Koreans have only recently included foreigners/minorities in their way of life (just like the US), would they suddenly be open-minded and willing to see foreigners or their relationships with Koreans on an equal level. That has not happened here in the United States to the extent people think.

Korea has made progress. But I wouldn't expect a miracle from a homogeneous population so quickly, when it has been (and continues to be) difficult for a heterogeneous population such as the United States to acclimate to the inclusion of immigrants, foreigners (meaning temporary residence in this case), and minorities.

Baccus wrote ����and if the case you two make is that it's the same everywhere, then why the cultural problems, why special marketing teams for every culture. have you ever heard of the three keys in another country?" do americans only/prefer to marry peole of the same blood/race? too simplistic of a reading. what's the point of higher education?"

As far as cultures go, Yes, cultures are different. What I was refering to in my post was the stigma that relationships between foreign and "native" people have attached to them. The perceptions other people have of these interactions are of great importance. Like I wrote before, 2 people may want to be together, but if there is such a horrid stigma attached to it, not all relationships could deal with such a thing. When people can't think of a reason why person A from this country/race would marry person B from another country/race, they start seeing devious and deceptive reasons behind the relationships. To be fair, there is some merit in seeing devious and deceptive reasons because they do happen. But it hardly happens in a vaccum. Person A or B could be in the relationship for a devious reason. Why focus on one side of the equation? The one side receiving (WAY) too much attention in this equation is the Korean side.

Baccus wrote, "do americans only/prefer to marry peole of the same blood/race? too simplistic of a reading."

As far as Americans go, here's my deal. Americans are the culmination of a multitude of cultural norms smothered under the American flag. Before anyone gets mad...hear me out. All Americans are different in a number of ways based on things such as how long their family have been here and also how much they assimilated into the culture, race, ideology, education, degree of assimilation, personal choice, and many more things. Some people are very liberal and have no problem with interracial dating and marriage. On the other hand, you will find people who are against it for their own personal reasons.

If you ask THIS American, I'm all for it. I'm an equal opportunity kinda gal


Baccus wrote, "what's the point of higher education?"

What's the point of higher education? Interesting...like others have pointed out, you only used one article to start this portion of the discussion and also to beat people over the head with when they didn't agree with you. It doesn't seem as if higher education did much for your discussion skills.

By the way, Zyzyfer, Brilliant post!��.couldn��t have said it better myself

[dutchman]

[Ody]