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UnJef

Joined: 03 Jun 2003 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 10:10 am Post subject: everything here sucks |
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Is it just me, or is everything in Korea worse than it is in the West?
Korean people act stupid and rude, and nobody in my country acts stupid and rude. Also, Korean people speak a language that I don't understand, and that makes them wrong. Furthermore, the way Korean people behave here is different than the way that people from the West behave, and therefore it is wrong.
Why can't everyone--all over the world--be the same? Why must people be different?
Cultural relativism is stupid. Cultural superiority, on the other hand, that's easy. Yay!
My country is the best! Why did I ever come here? |
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eleruen
Joined: 18 Dec 2004 Location: Bundang, South Korea
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 10:28 am Post subject: perhaps... |
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I tend to find that they are polite to each other and rude to foreigners. While grateful with US military aid during the way,there is some resentment growing quietly towards the perceived (and perhaps accurate) dependence on the US.
However, being female, it is Koreans not fellow foreigners who will go out of their way to get you out of a sticky situation.
There are tons of ways Koreans are rude, but in general I have found that in crunch situations, the average Korean will displace more kindness and human decency than the average westerner (taking previous canadian, british and aussie ex-boyf/flings into consideration).
ps I am from England, in case you are wondering. |
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UnJef

Joined: 03 Jun 2003 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 10:34 am Post subject: |
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Umm...
My point = completely missed.
I give up. |
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eleruen
Joined: 18 Dec 2004 Location: Bundang, South Korea
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 10:44 am Post subject: |
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perhaps i did miss your point.
i wanted to concentrate on your first few words, as this struck a chord with me.
[/quote] |
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peony

Joined: 30 Mar 2005
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 11:08 am Post subject: Re: everything here sucks |
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UnJef wrote: |
Is it just me, or is everything in Korea worse than it is in the West?
Korean people act stupid and rude, and nobody in my country acts stupid and rude. Also, Korean people speak a language that I don't understand, and that makes them wrong. Furthermore, the way Korean people behave here is different than the way that people from the West behave, and therefore it is wrong.
Why can't everyone--all over the world--be the same? Why must people be different?
Cultural relativism is stupid. Cultural superiority, on the other hand, that's easy. Yay!
My country is the best! Why did I ever come here? |
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Apple Scruff
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 11:30 am Post subject: |
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eleruen wrote: |
perhaps i did miss your point.
i wanted to concentrate on your first few words, as this struck a chord with me.
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UnJef was being facetious. Assuming that you are a rational human being, you weren't supposed to agree with any of his/her words. |
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Hanson

Joined: 20 Oct 2004
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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And the winner of the Worst Post Award goes to... |
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Mashimaro

Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Location: location, location
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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Hanson wrote: |
And the winner of the Worst Post Award goes to... |
you?? Jef makes a very good point. |
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Guri Guy

Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Location: Bamboo Island
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you unjef for addressing an issue that has been beaten to death. In my opinion, Korean apologists are just as annoying as they are very smug and self righteous. They figure because they think they have "gone native" that they can judge and criticize everyone else. Just the same as a minority of people that come over here and make asses out of themselves. *yawn* |
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Demophobe

Joined: 17 May 2004
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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Man....a lot of people here need a map.
Unjef....quit flexing that apathy....
....show off.
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dogbert

Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: Killbox 90210
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 4:37 pm Post subject: Re: perhaps... |
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eleruen wrote: |
the average Korean will displace more kindness and human decency than the average westerner |
I would agree with this observation. |
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trigger123

Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Location: TALKING TO STRANGERS, IN A BETTER PLACE
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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to me one of the oddest things on this board is how any westerner who argues the case for korean values or customs, or at the very least advocates a rational and balanced reaction to the things westerners experience here, is named an 'apologist'.
i fall into this catergory; i refuse to be overly judgemental about koreans and their culture. i try my best not to complain when the foreign culture that i came to experience is 'too' foreign for me to handle. if i wanted to experience europe i would live in europe for gawd's sake. i don't always like what i see, but i then i don't see how its fair to start criticising every detail for being just being 'korean'.
the term itself is misleading. what exactly are we apologising for? looking at the dictionary, the term applies to someone who tries to explain something, or defend it. and yet apologist is used as a derogatory term; how can that be?
(p.s. nice one unjef. ) |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
and yet apologist is used as a derogatory term; how can that be?
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The whiners, who generally think in generalizations, needed a label to throw back at the, ummm...non-whiners. |
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Ilsanman

Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 6:28 pm Post subject: yes |
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trigger123 wrote: |
to me one of the oddest things on this board is how any westerner who argues the case for korean values or customs, or at the very least advocates a rational and balanced reaction to the things westerners experience here, is named an 'apologist'.
i fall into this catergory; i refuse to be overly judgemental about koreans and their culture. i try my best not to complain when the foreign culture that i came to experience is 'too' foreign for me to handle. if i wanted to experience europe i would live in europe for gawd's sake. i don't always like what i see, but i then i don't see how its fair to start criticising every detail for being just being 'korean'.
the term itself is misleading. what exactly are we apologising for? looking at the dictionary, the term applies to someone who tries to explain something, or defend it. and yet apologist is used as a derogatory term; how can that be?
(p.s. nice one unjef. ) |
Do you require an explanation? Some apologists are very fair and speak logically, and explain things very fairly and objectively. I don't mind them.
Then there is a different category of apologists. They are the ones who claim the Korean culture to be not different, but superior, put down other foreigners for having a hard time, try too hard to be culture gurus, and defend things that are blatantly wrong (eg, principal not paying a teacher). That is a negative thing, so clearly. |
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Wangja

Joined: 17 May 2004 Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
Then there is a different category of apologists. They are the ones who claim the Korean culture to be not different, but superior, put down other foreigners for having a hard time, try too hard to be culture gurus, and defend things that are blatantly wrong (eg, principal not paying a teacher). That is a negative thing, so clearly. |
I must have missed all those posts. Has anyone really defended non-paymnet??? |
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