Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hellofaniceguy]

Personally...I find it true. Now the story...


"I don't know what it's like where you live in Iraq, but where I live in the United States, Koreans hate black people." This is a line from the popular ABC drama, "Lost," which tells the story of 14 people marooned on a desert island.
Staring actress Kim Yoon-jin, who has gained popularity for her role in the blockbuster movie "Shiri," the drama is being criticized for painting a hugely distorted picture of Koreans. There is concern that the erratic behavior of Jin (played by Daniel Dae Kim), who plays the husband of Sun (played by Kim Yu-jin), may become a universal stereotype of Korean men for American viewers.

Jin, a Korean who cannot speak any English, is painted as a patriarchal and conservative character. Most Korean viewers who have seen the show reject the two-dimensional characterization as either ridiculous or mammothly anachronistic.

In one scene, as soon as another foreign survivor speaks to his wife, who has opened the last button on her sweater, Jin points to her cardigan and yells at her to button it up. When his wife wears a sleeveless T-shirt, Jin tells her it is too conspicuous. Speaking no English at all, Jin goes throughout the drama cursing to everyone in Korea.

Twenty-two-year-old Song Ju-yeong, who hasn't missed an episode since "Lost" was first screened, said, "As this is a drama seen by many Americans, I wish the Koreans could have been good characters. [Jin's] personality is so exaggerated that one has to wonder if such a Korean man actually exists."

Kim Dong-hwan, 26, said, "I was surprised when my American friends asked me if all Korean men were like that. In that Jin is portrayed like a typical Korean man, I wish some sort of special reason was presented to show that only Jin's personality was like that."

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[Tiger Beer]

[itaewonguy]

[Blind Willie]

Well, some Asian nation has to take up the "buck-toothed and evil" mantle that got left out in the cold when we decided that we like Japanese cartoons. why not Korea?

[paperbag princess]

yeah, because korean men are the most liberal, forward-thinking, gender egalitarian men in the world. WHATEVER! i've had random korean men on the street tell me to cover up tummy, when there wasn't that much showing anyway.

[Real Reality]

Where did the television program get such an idea?

(Editorial) Korean Men's Abuse of Women
Last week my girlfriend had two run-ins with Korean men. The first occurred on a subway. She was standing on the train when an older man started screaming at her and pointing at the dog. No-one would say anything to the man. She had to look him in the face and tell him he was shameful. She told me it was like talking to a three year old that has gotten into trouble. It is sad when you have a man yelling at you for loving and taking care of animals. This has happened to her many times. I have been on the train many times and have never been yelled at. Two days later she was going up an escalator and a Korean man turned and kicked the dog. She pushed him back and he turned to hit her. When they got to top of the escalator he was screaming at the top his lungs. He pushed her into the wall and no-one would help her. She had one hand on the dog and was carrying a backpack.

A young Korean woman was crying and said nothing was wrong. Soon after the woman ran into our room and fell over crying. She was terrified. Others living on the same floor could hear but would not come out of there rooms to help. Is this so common they think it bothersome to deal with spousal abuse?

A country is as good as its leaders, and when the former president has two sons in jail something is wrong.
by Robert Johnson, Chosun Ilbo (December 30, 2002)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200212/200212300038.html

Leaders?

Korea Times (December 6, 2004)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200412/kt2004120615275710230.htm

see also Korea Herald (December 7, 2004)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/12/07/200412070029.asp

Man Arrested for Beating Daughter over Dog
Seoul's Suseo Police Station booked a 51-year-old taxi driver identified as Lee without detention Monday on charges of beating up his daughter after arguing with her over a pet dog. According to the police, Lee returned home after having half a bottle of soju (distilled liquor) Sunday afternoon. As Lee was having his lunch, his pet dog pounced on him, and Lee tried to throw the dog off the balcony in anger. His 27-year-old daughter tried to stop him, which infuriated Lee, who accused his daughter of believing him to be lower than a dog. He beat his daughter on her cheek and side with his fist.

Police were notified and sent to the scene. Considering that Lee had been investigated for domestic violence several times previously, they booked him and requested that the court forbid him from coming within 100 meters of his daughter.
Chosun Ilbo (November 29, 2004)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200411/200411290022.html

Foreign women here can find marriage frightening
In a separate report released by the Korean Women's Hotline in March, it was revealed that more than 30 percent of foreign women married to Koreans in the Gwangju area suffered from physical or verbal abuse from their spouses. Among the myriad demands hurled at them, some said they were forced to sell their bodies.
A shortage of help is one of the major obstacles that foreign women married to Koreans face in domestic abuse situations; most advocates for foreign laborers in Korea deal with workplace-related issues.
By law, foreigners who marry Korean citizens are eligible to apply for citizenship here after two years of marriage, but they also must have their partner's consent. These preconditions for citizenship are problematic, because abuse usually starts in the first few months of marriage, said Kim Yun-jeong, a counselor at an Anyang social services center.
"We had a woman who came to seek help after three months of marriage," Ms. Kim says. "Even if the women are qualified to apply for Korean citizenship, most Korean men who marry foreign wives often don't agree to sign for their wives' Korean citizenship because they fear that the women might run away after obtaining the visa. We've seen a foreign woman with a child who's lived with her husband for five years, but he still won't agree to sign it."
by Park Soo-mee, JoongAng Daily (September 7, 2004)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200409/07/200409072141067939900091009101.html

[Daechidong Waygookin]

Yes, there are huge problems with spousal abuse. However not all the men are abusive or assholes like they are being made out to be by this show.

As for the Korean citizenship, is it female spuses of Koreans that are eligible or are males also eligible? Theres probably no way Id take up Korean citizenship, but some kind of greencard or permanent residency thing that gives me more freedoms than the F2-1 would be great to have.

[dogbert]

I'm beginning to think that Koreans need to do some serious work to resolve their complex emotions regarding dogs.

[jaebea]

It's a love hate thing.

Hate the mutt, love the soup.

:)

jae.

[Zed]

[itaewonguy]

does any body watch korean TV or korean movies!??
I mean come on.. just take a look at the men on those shows how they act! aleast every drama has that stereotypical korean males..
problem is simple.. koreans can show themselves like they are .. they just hate it when foreigners show koreans in the same way..

tv, sports, books, talkshows whatever it may be koreans hate it when foreigners do it...

but flick a channel and you will see it all over the tv...

[Shapur]

The writer of that article must be blind. I've seen behaviour just like that described in the article many, many times.
Personally I think that's quite an accurate portrayal of the behaviour of a large number of males here. Just how big a proportion of the total male population you think it represents comes down to personal experience I guess.
It's never comfortable looking in the mirror and seeing the unpleasant truth....
Of course on the other hand it's quite acceptable to portray ALL black men on Korean TV as criminals. I saw a show about a Korean adoptee in Australia the other day and his criminal buddy was a black man naturally:?
But that's ok. It's fine to continually bash other ethnicities on Korean TV. But we must never allow criticism of Korea....

[casey's moon]

Jin is nothing like the typical Korean man of his age. Not at all. I thought the characterisation was hilarious -- but I also felt that once we saw the history of the Korean couple, it made more sense. I don't think that Jin is supposed to represent Korean men. His wife already planned to leave him and her father and make it look like she disappeared -- obviously she realizes that Jin isn't a typical man, nor is her father.

[casey's moon]

[Shapur]

No I didn't see the show, but in fairness I wasn't talking about the show. I was referring to "the behaviour described in the article" and I have seen that "many, many times."