Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cubanlord]

I thought it all died down. No all of the sudden, I am seeing pencils with, "we love Dokdo", flags everywhere....etc. Am I missing something? Has anything changed?

[Gopher]

These things don't really go away. The Chileans and the Bolivians (and the Peruvians) have been bickering over border disputes for well over one hundred years -- and, although I can't speak for the Bolivians (and Peruvians), I can say that most Chileans burn with hatred against the Bolivians (and Peruvians). (see the War of the Pacific)

Chileans also get very worked up over Antarctica, a rather large portion of which they claim as a Chilean colony. They even include a forecast of Antarctic weather in their nightly news weather forcast..."And in the Antarctic terriroties we're going to see..."

I suspect that whatever happens with this island, Japan and Korea won't stop bickering over that either. Just a few days ago I was working with middle school students and world maps. They immediately pointed out where Dokdo lies. I asked them if the Dokdo issue made them angry, one didn't care, but two told me they were very angry about it.

[cubanlord]

projection of their parents feelings no doubt...

[quiksilver]

A couple of my students have Dokdo sandals. Honest.

[just because]

This weekend(monday actually) is the 60th anniversary of Korea's liberation of Japan hence all the sudden grandstanding about Dokdo again

[waggo]

[Gopher]

[waggo]

[Gopher]

Probably for the same reason we don't fly French flags when we celebrate the 4th of July, or the Chinese don't fly American or British flags when they celebrate the Japanese withdrawal...

and also for the same reason Latin Americans don't fly British flags when they celebrate their independence, or the Vietnamese or the Cubans don't fly the Soviet flag for their independence days, and the Afghans, after the Soviets left, sure as hell didn't fly American flags when they celebrated the anniversary of that event either.

A true accounting of the international forces behind the major "independence" movements in world history would do much to defeat petty nationalism, as these days might best be called "interdependence days," but that is not in the interest of any nation-state, I strongly suspect.

[mithridates]

And North Korean flags too, since they were liberated together.

[waggo]

Er...I was joking boys

[babtangee]

I bought one of my classes some Kyochon chicken the other week and it came with a free beach ball. I only blew the thing up the other day, and discovered that it reads, "We love Dokdo, we love Kyochon", and "Dokdo is our" (in Hangeul), with a little pricture of a rock in the sea with a Korean flag and a Kyochon chicken flag on it.

Wonderful advertising. Some of the kids were a bit distraught when I accidently kicked it off the roof of the hagwon.

[funplanet]

Speaking of Liberation Day....I'm in Bucheon (new part) and the flags have yet to go up!! strange...they usually put them up 3-5 days before an event...

[cubanlord]

hahahahaha. you kicked it off of the roof? hahahahahahahaha

Dude....I would have popped the ball, stepped on it....ripped it apart with my teeth....

All of this drama for a piece of rock that bares NO BENEFIT to either party.

[Real Reality]

Defend Dokdo


On April 19, at the dock for the exclusive use of the Pohang Coast Guard in Songdo-dong, Pohang, coast guard sailors are conducting a comprehensive marine drill in order to prepare for preventing a Japanese survey ship from entering Korean territorial waters off Dokdo.
by Young-Han Jeon, Donga.com (April 20, 2006)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2006042085508
Image URL:
http://english.donga.com/data/20060420/photo/2006042085508.jpg