Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mike K]

Hi
I moved to Seoul a couple of months ago and I find myself somewhat starved for intellectual discourse.
The people I've met here are cool enough to hang out with, but I find they're not interested in talking about serious things (philosophy, religion, world politics, etc). There seems to be no shortage of intelligent discussion on this forum, so I was wondering if anyone else was in a similar situation and would like to start a discussion group of sorts.
Nothing stuffy or pretentious, I just envision going to a bar, downing some beers and talking about differing systems of political philosophy, or what America's place in the world is/should be, or whether a capitalist/democratic system is the only key to modernization, or why Kerry and/or Bush is a dangerous lunatic who must be kept from the White House.
Please respond or pm me if you'd be interested, I'm hoping to get at least 5 or 6 people, preferably of different viewpoints, together.

[rapier]

what a great and refreshing idea...excellent.
I'd be interested in joining, but I'd need advance warning of any topic under discussion, so as to study some background material to have an informed and supported argument ready.

[funplanet]

check out "Current Events" forum...you may wanna change your mind...

but as for philo.....I'm game

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

The current events forum is where you'll find the people most interested in this. Remember to stay away from the right wing loonies though, they want to kill all the muslims and make america a theocracy ...

Personally I'd never meet up just to talk politics. A group of intelligent people into having a wide ranging discussion that flows where ever it goes would interest me though.

[Us in DC]

[Yaya]

[osangrl]

nah that stuff makes my brain hurt.

[d503]

I'm game. I miss those conversations, and something about typing them in isn't the same. If you let me know the topic I'll come prepared, and if you don't I'll let you know what I really think.

[PEIGUY]

i'm game too, give me a pm, i'm not really into philosophy but i like talking about politics and whatever else comes up int eh course of a conversation.

[Mike K]

So a good number of people seem to be interested. How about meeting sometime this weekend? Is Saturday good for people?
As for our topic of discussion, I'd say a good place to start would be the US election and what the outcome means, both in direct terms (What will the sweeping Republican victory mean for the future? Will we see more wars started? Will we see terrorism resolutely confronted? Will we see skyrocketing deficits and a crippled American economy? Will we see a full recovery as a result of tax cuts?) and also in the more abstract sense. What does Bush's victory mean for democracy as a whole? Does his winning of the popular vote say something about how easily voters can be manipulated by fear and religious pandering? Does it discredit democracy as a political system, or demonstrate its virtues? What about the negativity of both campaigns - is that illustrative of the baseness of human nature and the necessity of appealing to the lowest common denomenator? Does this show us that democracy cannot be the endpoint in the evolution of our political process, and that we must continue to strive for a better system? Is a better system possible?
I'm sure everyone has an opinion on this, but I'll be more than willing to play the devil's advocate if one's needed.
Bear in mind this is just a starting point, and I would expect the conversation to wander to some degree, so if this topic's not entirely to your liking please don't be discouraged, the conversation will inevitably wander. In terms of location, I live at Dunchon-dong but since that's probably inconvenient we can do it somewhere more central... Like Sinchon or Itaewon.
Please write back or PM with any ideas as well as times that are good for you, and I look forward to downing some beers and hashing out the great problems of our age.