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Ginormousaurus
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Location: 700 Ft. Pulpit
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 Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
-Seoulites spend more time commuting than anyone else on the planet
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if you are going by city and not by nation then this has a high chance of being true. the only other city in the world that would have seoul beat here is tokyo. |
I still don't agree. Sure, Seoul is huge but many people I know in Canada commute 1-2+ hours to their job. Our cities might be smaller, but they're more spread out with less public transport infrastructure.* I have had many Koreans, including official guides to Korea, tell me Koreans sleep on the subway because they commute so far. An hour trip is just as long in Seoul as it is in Toronto or Chicago. At my first PS job here I was told by several different teachers that they were tired because they had to commute so far. Then they found out that I had an hour commute each way, more than most of them, and I found it to be normal. It's not a peeing contest, it's just one of those things that Koreans are told their whole lives without actually knowing what's going on in the rest of the world. And thus a commonly accepted 'myth'.
*Public transport. I have no idea why Koreans don't seem to be as proud and/or actively supportive of this. It's simply great all over the country, Seoul in particular. When I gush over it to my Korean co-workers and friends they're surprised to hear how much foreigners love it. Cheap, clean, safe, efficient and extensive. Just wish they'd have bathrooms on the intercity buses! |
blackcat, it's numbers, sheer and simple. seoul has 11 million people in the city proper and the biggest city in canada, toronto, has 5.5 million. if the average seoulite travels one hour and the average torontonite travels one hour the math speaks for itself. even if seoulites travel for 31 minutes on average they still beat a torontonite clocking in at an hour. the only other cities that would top seoul is tokyo which has in at 13.2 million people, mumbai at 18 million, and shanghai at a staggering 24.3 million. (i might be missing a few but you get the point) |
wishfulthinking, I'm not following your math. I don't see how you can say that an average Seoulite commute of 31 mins can somehow be longer than a Torontonian's commute of 60 mins. 31<60
It seems like your comparing total man-hours spent travelling, which is irrelevant.
To be clear, the comparison is the average commute time of a Seoulite versus that of another city's citizen.
It is NOT the combined commute times of everyone going to work. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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I think his math is TOTAL commuting hours of the ENTIRE population.
Which is possibly the oddest way of looking at it. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
-Seoulites spend more time commuting than anyone else on the planet
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wouldn't this imply that seoulites as a whole spend more time communiting than other peoples as a whole? this is the way your english would be interpreted...
if that's not what you meant then my apologies but it'd be silly to say that you think it's a myth that individually they travel less/more because there's really no way of knowing. for example some of my co-workers travel from incheon every day 2 hours each way to get to work. |
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Ginormousaurus
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Location: 700 Ft. Pulpit
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| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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| That's why average commute times are compared. |
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Hatcher
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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| The one myth no one has posted yet is that Korean men never attack western or non-Korean men. Three K men jumped me and one of them spent 10 months in jail. When I tell Koreans, they dont believe me. I ask, do K men fight each other? Yes... do western men fight each other? yes... then why wouldnt K men attack a western man? |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:54 am Post subject: |
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| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
-Seoulites spend more time commuting than anyone else on the planet
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wouldn't this imply that seoulites as a whole spend more time communiting than other peoples as a whole? this is the way your english would be interpreted...
if that's not what you meant then my apologies but it'd be silly to say that you think it's a myth that individually they travel less/more because there's really no way of knowing. for example some of my co-workers travel from incheon every day 2 hours each way to get to work. |
Yes, I meant the average Seoulite vs the average Westerner or whomever. I'm sorry I wasn't more clear, but I'm also perplexed at how you would interpret it to mean total commuting time, especially after my other post talking about individuals. People say all the time "Korean kids study more than American kids." Well, the US has about 6x more people, so that statement would necessarily be false if we didn't understand that it meant individuals. I'm honestly surprised that anyone would interpret my words that way. I don't think anyone else would be so confused by what I wrote.
Anyway, you're right, it's impossible to tell and it comes down to the individual as was my point. |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:58 am Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
Great post. This is why I wish this forum had a Like button. I really agree with what was said here, but have to quote the whole thing to say that. |
Thanks!  |
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Newbie
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:52 am Post subject: |
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| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
| Newbie wrote: |
2. Western people can't eat spicy food: I can guarantee you there are MANY western people who can't. And generally, Koreans like to generalize (yes, I see the irony there!). So they meet 10 Westerners who don't like it, and they assume all don't.
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Well, I'd say that while many foreigners actually don't like spicy food, many tell Koreans this to avoid Korean dishes without offending the Koreans they are with. It's silly that we have to be that ultra-sensitive, but I've done it many times. Not only that, but Korean food generally has one specific type of 'spiciness'; I know many foreigners who don't like Korean spicy food, but love Mexican, Indian, etc. Meanwhile, I know many Koreans who take pride in the spiciness of Korean food (for some reason) but cannot handle a burrito or Indian curry. Lastly, I have eaten with lots of Koreans who cannot tolerate the spiciness of the Korean dish we're having while the foreigners at the table are lapping it up. So, basically, I think this whole "Foreigners can't handle Korean food because it's too spicy" is more to do with what they've been told all their lives rather than actual experience (we can see this with many myths already listed here).
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3. Kpop is popular all over the world: First, it's insanely popular in Asia, so they thinks it's world famous* Seems to have a small but growing fan base in South America and Europe. But, it's nowhere near as popular as Koreans think. Blame the media here. They exist to stoke the nationalist ego of the country. (*Canadian media is guilty of this too: someone like Avril Lavigne might be popular in the US, and suddenly she's "World famous". Is it really the whole world?)
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When my students learned I was from Canada in my first year here many of them asked me about Avril Lavigne. A few of them had her stickers/name on their books and bags. Her popularity may be fading, but I have heard her songs playing in several Korean establishments up until last week. How many Canadian, American, French, etc., kids do the same with Lee Hyori? Or Girls Generation? Or even Psy? Maybe you'd still hear Gangnam Style in a pub in North America/Europe/South America/etc. now, but I doubt you'll hear anyone else from Korea. Lastly, Canadians don't attach their identity to Avril Lavigne. When I meet Koreans I don't demand that they compliment Canadian music and list their favourite Canadian bands (which happens often here). Maybe if a band is from your hometown you'll mention it, but would you get angry at someone who says they don't listen to them, or, GASP!, doesn't like them? Have you ever told a Korean that you don't like Korean music? Not all of them, but in my experience a lot of them would have gotten very upset.
I don't mean to argue with you, it's just two points I have had many disagreements with various people over the years so I wanted to present the other side.
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Damn.
Y'know... after I posted that one, I thought, "Hmmm. I guess Avril Lavigne actually is a world star. Someone's going to call me out on that. I should go change that to one of the other many Canadian bands that our media tells us is taking on the world."
So, yes, you're right about Avril. BUT, our media does do it. Sell a few albums in the US and do a few big shows, and suddenly you're taking on the world. I think of Barenaked Ladies, Tragically Hip, Sarah Mclachlan, Marianas Trench, etc.
Anyway, my point about Korean pop music is it's big in Asia, digging out a little niche in Europe and South America, and can only stand to get more popular in North America. Not "British Invasion" popular. But more popular than the 0 it was at 5-10 years ago. |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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