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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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 Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 1:21 am Post subject: |
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there are areas of the han that actually look uncannily similar to the two halves of budapest split by the danube. i sometimes like to imagine all those ugly awful buildings on the han torn down and replaced with the buildings from budapest. it would be world class at that point.
Last edited by wishfullthinkng on Sat Jun 30, 2012 1:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Old fat expat
Joined: 19 Sep 2005
Location: a caravan of dust, making for a windy prairie
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| Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 1:33 am Post subject: |
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Stockholm Syndrome  |
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toby99
Joined: 28 Aug 2009
Location: Dong-Incheon-by-the-sea, South Korea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
I went hiking in Seoul with some co-teachers and they 'asked' me (more like told me) "There are not beautiful mountains like this in Canada!" I know this trap well, but still sometimes I get tired of the constant insulting of my home country and culture simply to protect the fragile egos of some Koreans. So I responded, "Well, we do have the Rockies." "Yeah, but they're not this beautiful!" "Uuuuuh, weeeeeelllll...the Canadian Rockies have been described as one of the most beautiful areas in the world many times....but this is very nice too! I really enjoyed it!" "Korea is number 1!, etc., etc., etc..."
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This kinda stuff really chaps my rear, too. Was with my co-teachers out at that lake where they shot "winter sonata" or whatever that popular soap was from a few years back. As we were standing near the water the adjosshi phy ed teacher looks over at me and says "You in America no lake have. Only Korea have beautiful lake." I wanted to gag but knowing better to engage him I went along and said "No - chongmal yepoyo. Korea #1" and made a thumbs up sign, to which they all lol'd. Just hope they never stand on the shores of Lake Superior and get hit with a dose of reality... |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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I've always enjoyed teaching out in the suburbs or countrysides. While the open areas in Korea are beautiful, they do need to do something about the dumping of trash. Think it's bad in the city then go to the countryside.
Lee Myung Bak is spending billions on restoring the four great rivers but it's the countryside that needs beautification. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| toby99 wrote: |
| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
I went hiking in Seoul with some co-teachers and they 'asked' me (more like told me) "There are not beautiful mountains like this in Canada!" I know this trap well, but still sometimes I get tired of the constant insulting of my home country and culture simply to protect the fragile egos of some Koreans. So I responded, "Well, we do have the Rockies." "Yeah, but they're not this beautiful!" "Uuuuuh, weeeeeelllll...the Canadian Rockies have been described as one of the most beautiful areas in the world many times....but this is very nice too! I really enjoyed it!" "Korea is number 1!, etc., etc., etc..."
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This kinda stuff really chaps my rear, too. Was with my co-teachers out at that lake where they shot "winter sonata" or whatever that popular soap was from a few years back. As we were standing near the water the adjosshi phy ed teacher looks over at me and says "You in America no lake have. Only Korea have beautiful lake." I wanted to gag but knowing better to engage him I went along and said "No - chongmal yepoyo. Korea #1" and made a thumbs up sign, to which they all lol'd. Just hope they never stand on the shores of Lake Superior and get hit with a dose of reality... |
Namiseom is such a waste of time. I was shocked that it was something people actually went out of their way to see. Ugly little lake surrounded by concrete with music blaring from the bungee jump spot on the mainland. I don't think Korea is the prettiest country out there, but there are a lot of places with more to offer than that tourist trap. |
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luckylady
Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Location: u.s. of occupied territories
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 12:47 am Post subject: |
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I know I'm not the only westerner who has found a lot of joy in the beauty of Korea's traditional architecture - and I also know I'm not the only one who was aghast at seeing places such as the market in Insadong get flattened to make way for more "modern" (read: profitable) indoor markets.
in post-Korean war times it may have been justified to build quick and functional structures but that time has come and gone. I'm still waiting for Korea to recapture its own heritage and incorporate that into its modern architecture like so many other cultures have.
When Korea is ready to celebrate its past with the future, instead of hiding it away in shame, then it truly will be beautiful. |
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Moondoggy
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| luckylady wrote: |
I know I'm not the only westerner who has found a lot of joy in the beauty of Korea's traditional architecture - and I also know I'm not the only one who was aghast at seeing places such as the market in Insadong get flattened to make way for more "modern" (read: profitable) indoor markets.
in post-Korean war times it may have been justified to build quick and functional structures but that time has come and gone. I'm still waiting for Korea to recapture its own heritage and incorporate that into its modern architecture like so many other cultures have.
When Korea is ready to celebrate its past with the future, instead of hiding it away in shame, then it truly will be beautiful. |
such a great post you wrote, luckylady... having read those negative posts. someone started a thread that korea is a beautiful country... then, as usual, &^%s are trying to make a point that korea is not a beautiful country. what for? perhaps they're simply trying to be funny on here.
life is short so don't be... |
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seoultee
Joined: 11 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:07 am Post subject: |
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I couldn't agree more. I live in Busan which has some of everything - mountains, beaches, parks, city life.
Great positive post. |
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pegasus64128
Joined: 20 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:29 am Post subject: |
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| adzee1 wrote: |
After visiting almost 30 countries I have to say Korea is the least beautiful of any which I have visited. The buildings are the ugliest I have ever seen, people throw trash everywhere and little attempt is made to keep the place clean.
Yes the mountains and countryside are ok but every country I have visited has better mountains and better beaches, with the exception of Holland & Belgium who make up for it by having beautiful cities. |
Yeah, what credibility has some random post got if it's not qualified with at least a claim to have traveled to other places. It's a positive post at least.
Korea has some beautiful mountains - but you need to get up nice and high into the big ones to see beautiful nature there - proper surging rivers, waterfalls etc. Down below it's pretty ordinary imo. Most of the little mountains that make up most of this country are the same as every other one, and every tree seems to be the same. From sea level to 800m or so, it's all the same - very little variety. I'll give you a clue - there are very few tourists in Korea outside of shopping tourists.
If I may digress a bit, Northern Thailand is stunning and the culture feels alive - not militantly weaponized as it is in Korea. The southern parts of Thailand are also extremely beautiful - Krabi etc. Vietnam is very beautiful. I could go on but I won't. I do claim to have traveled to most of South East Asia, several European countries, and parts of North America.
Korea has a very high opinion of itself for a place that is mediocre when compared to anywhere else I've been.
Furthermore, Korea has a knack for shitting on the things it has that are good. The islands and beaches have some fake splashes of civility (for KTV sitcoms) but it's generally blue plastic crap, blue trucks and zero aesthetics you will find in these places. However, a lot of this is due to the Korean war and the turbulence that is still rife in this place. No matter how they improve Korea, there will be dirty old men wearing tracksuits spitting all over it anyway. Korea is minimalist in it's style or lack of, and unfortunately it doesn't have a knack for minimalism. Jeju's not bad though. |
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toby99
Joined: 28 Aug 2009
Location: Dong-Incheon-by-the-sea, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:00 am Post subject: |
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| luckylady wrote: |
When Korea is ready to celebrate its past with the future, instead of hiding it away in shame, then it truly will be beautiful. |
"When" should probably be changed to "if"; either way I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for this to happen. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:28 am Post subject: |
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| I think Korea as a whole suffers from the problems faced by Niagara Falls. Its naturally beautiful locations have, for the most part, been developed in a cheap and tawdry manner. Now, despite Korea's wealth, it's going to be very difficult to ever reverse course on that development. |
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luckylady
Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Location: u.s. of occupied territories
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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| toby99 wrote: |
| luckylady wrote: |
When Korea is ready to celebrate its past with the future, instead of hiding it away in shame, then it truly will be beautiful. |
"When" should probably be changed to "if"; either way I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for this to happen. |
well I'd like to think with all the Koreans who move abroad and raise families overseas, those succeeding generations will eventually have an impact when searching for their roots - eventually it will happen because it does in so many other cultures. |
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pegasus64128
Joined: 20 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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| luckylady wrote: |
| toby99 wrote: |
| luckylady wrote: |
When Korea is ready to celebrate its past with the future, instead of hiding it away in shame, then it truly will be beautiful. |
"When" should probably be changed to "if"; either way I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for this to happen. |
well I'd like to think with all the Koreans who move abroad and raise families overseas, those succeeding generations will eventually have an impact when searching for their roots - eventually it will happen because it does in so many other cultures. |
na�ve but cute. |
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