Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Corea]

Man it's hot today. A high of 35 with 85 humidity.

How the heck did anyone fight a war in this.

[Derrek]

They didn't.

It was never like this before.

This is Bush's fault. And America's fault.

Global warming.

(Just saving the liberal wackos on here some time).

[plokiju]

This sounds like the forecast for my apartment. I hope the high has already been reached.

[Mashimaro]

korea, the only country in the world with four seasons..
hot, stupidly hot, cold and ridiculously cold

[Gopher]

[babtangee]

[Flossie]

I had a discussion about this with a friend today, in fact. We were discussing snow in Japan (because of a Japanese movie I had just seen) and he asked if I had seen snow in NZ. I said of course. Then the usual 'do you mean you have four seasons in NZ?' question. I was a bit short tempered with him and just said 'you know, excluding countries near the equator, almost every country in the world has four seasons, not just Korea. Why can't Koreans get that?' He just said 'Well, whenever I see NZ on tv it is always sunny.'

Logical assumption I suppose, but I never got an answer to the original question.

[Gopher]

Well, it's only my director and a few of the students at my school, so, keeping myself in check for Capt. Korea, I can't generalize very far based on this random sample...

but the way my director emphatically explains it, it seems very clear to me that she does not believe that I had previously grasped the idea that there can indeed be four seasons, as if it is a unique thing here...

[pegpig]

The hottest day in Seoul so far this year. Something that I just don't understand is the general Korean refusal to wear shorts. It's ridiculously hot and I couldn't believe the number of people wearing jeans on the subway ride home this evening. I looked around the car that I was in and approximately 2/3 of the people were not wearing shorts. Why? Take it off.

[Hanson]

Ajumma student: "Do you have 4 seasons in Canada?"

Me: "Of course we do."

Ajumma student:

Me: "Many countries have 4 seasons"

Ajumma student: "Ok, Hanson, now you're just talkin' crazy!"

[JongnoGuru]

Oh, your countries may have something you call "four seasons", but Korea's the only true four-season country on the planet. This is established fact and only half-wits or liars would bother contesting it.

And another thing, you can never compare your feelings about autumn with those of Koreans. Never. You see, all Koreans feel a deep sadness, a bitter melancholy when the leaves begin to turn in autumn. Yes, it's part of what they call "jeong", and it's unique to Koreans. It's heart, it's compassion, it's sentimentality... oh, it's a combination of all sorts of feelings that cannot be translated into English. You can write a million words in English and not begin to properly describe it. Yet every Korean that ever was knows instinctively -- genetically -- what jeong means, how it's expressed and how it feels. But not you. Never you.

Or so said a Korean girl I used to work with. She also became very upset once over the weirdest thing. A simple, one-line synopsis of a British kids' TV programme in my newspaper TV listings -- it went something like: "In this episode, Jimmy and his friends learn an important lesson about the dangers of conformity".... God, did that rile her. "WTF sort of useless fucked -up show is that?!! *scoff!!* *spittle!!* *sneer! sneer!* (Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!)

She hated the South Korean government (which gave her a very decent job), thought NK was maybe 10% as bad as SK and the U.S.-controlled rest of the world claims it is. She had an endless supply of head-spinning U.S. government conspiracy theories, each one nuttier than the previous. And these didn't all have to do with U.S. policy or behaviour in Korea, but U.S. involvement in every country, and even domestic U.S. skullduggery. Like President Truman's famous (though naturally hushed-up) slaughter of 20,000 striking railway workers. What's that? You didn't know that Truman, that pawn of big business & the railroad barons, ordered federal troops to shoot-to-kill an entire union & their families? (Of course you'd deny it )

In the end, the only sources she could cite for her wildest assertions were her (Korean) university seniors and some of the more "enlightened" professors. Oh yeah, and the only country or leader I recall her ever saying something complimentary about (apart from a few desperately poor, hopelessly mismanaged and corrupt 4th & 5th World nations) was Libya. Why? Well, for all the wonderful things that ol' Muammar has done to advance the cause of women's rights, you dolt!

[Gopher]

I hear you. I don't like frustration, so I don't ever attempt to debate with conspiracy theorists (esp. because sometimes there is indeed a conspiracy, but it's really rarely provable).

Here's something conspiracy theorists worldwide will hate, from Shackley's just published memoirs, which I just finished today. Print it for your friend and watch her go apoplectic, that is, if you're ever bored and want to have some fun:

"The expression 'terminate with extreme prejudice' is not, and never has been, in the CIA phrase book. 'Terminate' does appear there. It means to sever the employer-employee relationship. 'Terminate with prejudice' also appears there. It means to deny to an unsatisfactory employee the benefits that he could have earned through honorable service. 'Terminate with extreme prejudice' is the invention of a journalist or novelist." (p. 258)

Also, former Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms claims that CIA tracked the "CIA killed JFK" conspiracy to a KGB black propaganda operation in Europe that just got picked up and repeated in the U.S. press. It was designed to undermine faith in the CIA, and it worked.

Conspiracy theorists hate that last one, especially when Helms identifies the known Soviet-controlled newspaper and the original article.

Now go have fun with that secretary or whoever she is (or was; I get the impression that you may not know her anymore)!

[Captain Corea]

[spidey112233]

Personally, I HATE talking about the weather! it's pointless! it's like one of these small conversations that we MUST some how talk about. Sure it's hot, accept it! A couple of months later, people will be complaining about the cold. That's life people! Talking about the weather to death throughout our lives isn't gonna change nothing. i LOVE the heat!! better than freezing my butt off in January

[Ya-ta Boy]

I used to confuse the whole issue by insisting Korea has 5 seasons, counting the rainy season as a real season (which I do) but gave up when I realized I was only undercutting my credibility on all other issues.