JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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 Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 12:28 am Post subject: Re: Koreans can and do. Foreigners can not or do not. |
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| The Bobster wrote: |
| Real Reality wrote: |
Koreans are snapping them up.
Koreans Snap Up Luxury Home Electronics
[...] Some 10 sets of the TV have been already been sold. |
Huh? "Snapping them up" = 10 have been sold? |
Oh Bobster... Haven't you been here long enough to know that no Korean has ever "purchased" anything? They don't shop, and they don't buy stuff. They "snap" things "up"! Just as no Korean company has ever calmly weighed its options and decided it would be best to "invest" in China. No, no, they "rush" or sometimes "stampede" into that country. Typically "in droves". And when Volkswagen or BMW sells 10 more cars in Korea this year than they did last year, they're "flooding the market" with imports that "sell like hotcakes".
There are no paragons of restraint in the Korean press, with the Chosun Ilbo and the Hankyoreh Shinmun equally breathless and sensationalist in their coverage of things. Korean journalists have a real talent for turning the most soporific headlines into the most apocalyptic screamers. That's why "Global Steel Prices seen Holding Firm" in the WSJ becomes "China Continues Gobbling up Steel -- Local builders fear mass layoffs, suicides" in the Chosun or the Hani.
| funplanet wrote: |
exactly, who needs all of this junk? I can afford it but why would I waste my money on any of this....
just another stupid example of Koreans trying to show off.... |
There are audiophiles & home theatre nuts all over the world who will spend virtual fortunes on their gear. Korea's not odd in that respect. There are people with stamp & coin collections worth more than their homes. Surely you wouldn't call privately-held works of art or one-of-a-kind antiques "expensive crap" too, would you? One man's "expensive crap" is another man's lifelong passion is another man's priceless masterpiece, usw.
As for the prices people are willing to pay for things, that's an individual consideration. There was a time when I used to carry around 10 won coins in an old sock to pay for my weekly 500cc x 2. Today, 100,000 won to me is... well, I won't say it's "toilet paper" because that would be offensive, but a few more or less don't determine whether I'll take on a project, nor am I going to feel the difference at the end of the month. Now, to my clients and loads of other Koreans, a million won genuinely is "toilet paper" in the grander scheme of things.
But whatever the price, I tend to cringe when precious metals & gems meet mass-produced lumps of plastic & circuitry. Gold-plated inputs/outputs on the rear of a receiver or speaker, or a diamond stylus on a turntable arm -- that's one thing. That's there for a reason, and it's acceptable to me. But when I see things like gold-plated plasma displays and diamond- & sapphire-encrusted MP3 players, I do begin to fear for the future of the species. I know taste is entirely personal, but I cannot imagine many things being in worse taste than the products mentioned in Real Reality's linked article.
As for our gracious hosts being somehow unique in this regard, well, I'm sure plenty of well-heeled Japanese and Chinese consumers would argue that conclusion.
However, there is one particular phenomenon that I have personally observed that would support the "keeping up with the Kims" theory. This is not entirely unknown in the West, though I'm not aware of it being as common there. Here's what I'm talking about:
Someone is building a new house or remodelling an existing one including the exterior. There are many options, many directions, many styles, many themes to choose from. Typically in the West you'll have a husband & wife, they're both offering input, ideas, preferences, questions, etc. They'll have an idea of their own... they'll look at the neighbourhood, but also at homes from the other side of town, country or even world. They'll have pages in books and magazines earmarked to indicate what pleases them, what they envision... something to match their taste. As an architect, builder or remodeller, that's your starting point.
In Korea, it's so often that this is the case: The wife (alone) will point out the snazziest-looking home on the block and say: "Make it better than their house".... and that will be the sum total of input, direction or concern. |
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