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ryleeys
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: Columbia, MD
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 Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 4:49 am Post subject: |
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| Pyongshin Sangja wrote: |
| Traitors? When the option is having your house burned down and your family kidnapped or murdered I bet you would sign up, too. |
Well, the most notorious traitor in 'American history is discussed enough that his name is synonomous with traitor: Benedict Arnold. |
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matthewwoodford
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Location: Location, location, location.
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:47 am Post subject: |
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I think it's true that young Koreans have a warped view of history. Hopefully some at least will gain a more balanced perspective as they get older.
A lot of westerners also seem to be quite ignorant about history and just have a vague idea of what happened based on dimly recalled school lessons and movies. Hence when they stumble on a fact that seems surprising - say, that Koreans fought in the Japanese army - they feel the urge to take it out of context, quote it and tell everyone how their whole picture of history has been radically changed because of it. |
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JacktheCat
Joined: 08 May 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 8:07 am Post subject: |
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When I first posted this thread I was musing ...
In general, most Koreans are either ignorant or in denial that Koreans formed a large part (ok, cannon fodder) of the Japanese Imperial Forces in WWII. Without them, the Japanese would not have been anywhere near as formidable of a fighting force.
And specifically, that Korean Guards ran the Japanese POW and Concentration camps and were renowned for their brutality and inhumane treatment of Allied prisoners. Several Koreans were tried for war crimes after the war for their actions in the POW camps. |
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JacktheCat
Joined: 08 May 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 8:16 am Post subject: |
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| Juggertha wrote: |
I find my adults (educated soem 20 year ago) are fairly versed in history and Koreas place in it.
However ALL of my younger students have a very warped perspective! I really worry what the sunshine policy is teaching these kids. |
Yeah, I've noticed that too. There is a real age gap in Korean's interpretation of their history.
I tried doing a few historical coverstation classes with my advanced middle and high schoolers but stopped it when I found over a quarter of them believe, very firmly, that the U.S. had started the Korean War. When I tried to correct them, they accused me of lying and being a stoogie for the American Government.
I should add that my attempts to get my 23 year old Korean co-teacher to back me up backfired and she instead told the class that there was a lot of debate about who actually started the Korean War, and that perhaps the North Koreans acted in self defense because they thought they were about to be invaded by America. At this point I gave it up as a lost cause. I am an English teacher, not a history teacher.
Last edited by JacktheCat on Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:05 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Butterfly
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: Kuwait
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Juggertha wrote: |
I find my adults (educated soem 20 year ago) are fairly versed in history and Koreas place in it.
However ALL of my younger students have a very warped perspective! I really worry what the sunshine policy is teaching these kids. |
We all get a flowery version of our own history, I did, I never learned anything of the brutality of British imperialism in school, I got the romantic version. It's not right, but it's not exclusive to Koreans either.
| Quote: |
| I think it's true that young Koreans have a warped view of history. Hopefully some at least will gain a more balanced perspective as they get older. |
Many will, I'm sure. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| It's a bit like the French who view their own WWII history as one of steadfast resistance against the German occupation, throwing Molotov cocktails and the like. But like any occupied nation, most people just do what it takes to live. |
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endo
Joined: 14 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul...my home
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 7:49 pm Post subject: |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
quote]
A similar gap exists in probably every occupied or colonial nation.... Danes, Poles,Czechs, Austrians, French, Canadian, US, etc, etc... |
Don't forget the gaps in U.S. history too, of the Welsh (not Italian) origin of the word "America", of how the first European settlers were Welsh, and had intermarried with some local tribes in and near the Dakotas well before Columbus. Most of the Welsh founding fathers hid their heritage because of the prejudices of the English who're antagonistic toward anything except total assimilation of the people of Wales.
(And no, I'm not Welsh.)
That's just one example.
[/quote]
What in the hell are you talking about? |
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Lyrt
Joined: 26 May 2004
Location: Somewhere in France
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
| It's a bit like the French who view their own WWII history as one of steadfast resistance against the German occupation, throwing Molotov *beep* and the like. But like any occupied nation, most people just do what it takes to live. |
Why do you speak about things you know nothing about ? |
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Zed
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Shakedown Street
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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| VanIslander, can you tell us more about this Welsh connexion? I've heard of Vikings reportedly making inroads into North America (places like Manitoba or the Dakotas) but not Welsh. And the name? Is this Amerigo Vespuci tale a myth? |
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shakuhachi
Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Location: Sydney
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Traitors? When the option is having your house burned down and your family kidnapped or murdered I bet you would sign up, too. |
Come on! Nothing like that ever happened and I challenge you to come up with a single instance. |
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Zed
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Shakedown Street
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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| All those comfort women were volunteers? |
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Lyrt
Joined: 26 May 2004
Location: Somewhere in France
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, hello Shakuhachi,
I put the links of the thread you started. If we had to correct every false assertion posted on this thread we wouldn��t sleep much. |
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ryleeys
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: Columbia, MD
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| Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 12:25 am Post subject: |
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| shakuhachi wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Traitors? When the option is having your house burned down and your family kidnapped or murdered I bet you would sign up, too. |
Come on! Nothing like that ever happened and I challenge you to come up with a single instance. |
Sarcastic? If not, all of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence were ruthlessly persecuted whenever the Brits got their hands on them...
And what's this nonsense about Welsh in the Dakotas before Columbus? I've been pretty much everywhere in America and have seen the history for myself... never have seen any thing about this. And most of the legends about the Vikings getting there are way far fetched too. From what I hear, they put down some roots in Eastern Canada, then left (as all people that have been to Eastern Canada do eventually...  ) |
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mourningclam
Joined: 27 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| JacktheCat wrote: |
When I first posted this thread I was musing ...
In general, most Koreans are either ignorant or in denial that Koreans formed a large part (ok, cannon fodder) of the Japanese Imperial Forces in WWII. Without them, the Japanese would not have been anywhere near as formidable of a fighting force.
And specifically, that Korean Guards ran the Japanese POW and Concentration camps and were renowned for their brutality and inhumane treatment of Allied prisoners. Several Koreans were tried for war crimes after the war for their actions in the POW camps. |
Actually, one reason that the Koreans were used as POW camp guards was that the Japanese thought it wasn't honorable for their soldiers to keep guard of enemy prisoners. It is part of the old samurai ethic of not being captured by the enemy and doing the honorable thing by either dying in battle or performing sepuku (ritual suicide). Being a POW camp guard wasn't a respectable duty among the Japanese. |
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Homer
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 2:20 am Post subject: |
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| Whether voluntary in involuntary |
Jack...in the Japanese empire...voluntary was not a very often used term...
It was called a compulsory draft...you serve or you suffer the consequences. |
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