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igotthisguitar

Joined: 08 Apr 2003 Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:20 am Post subject: Scandal Puts Focus on South Korean Culture |
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Scandal Puts Focus on South Korean Culture
Korea's Stem-Cell Scandal Raises Questions About
Culture That Values Speed, Craves Attention
By BURT HERMAN Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea Dec 22, 2005 — Six-day work weeks from morning until night. Companies trumpeting bigger and bigger flat-screen TVs. A government that proclaims it wants to be a "hub" for everything from finance to robots. South Korea is fiercely committed to being No. 1, and doing it yesterday.
As South Korea's top scientist Hwang Woo-suk falls from his lofty perch amid a wave of allegations questioning his research, the country's competitive culture of always hurrying coupled with a healthy sense of national pride and craving for international recognition could be partly to blame.
"The Hwang Woo-suk case is a good example that in Korean society there still exists remnants of the past experience of fast growth," said Park Gil-sung, a sociology professor at Korea University. "It's a problem of our social system that desires fast results."
Hailed as the "Pride of Korea," Hwang and all of his purported breakthroughs are now being investigated by science journals and universities.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1435349&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 |
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bellum99

Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: don't need to know
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:32 am Post subject: |
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If he was a smarter man, he would have been okay. He was so arrogant and boastful. I still remember him a year ago on T.V saying Koreans are better than any western scientist because of chop sticks. The chop sticks train their hands so that they are more capable and talented than the western scientists.
He just couldn't keep his mouth shut. If he had limited his lies to even keeping up with the Western scientists he might have been okay. But no, he had to make these amazing claims that no other lab in the world was able to compete with. He just looks really pathetic and stupid. |
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vlcupper

Joined: 12 Aug 2004 Location: Gangnam
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 7:58 am Post subject: |
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This scandal makes me giggle like a 7 year old. Hee! |
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canuckistan Mod Team


Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:39 am Post subject: |
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It's quite amazing he tried to slide doctored research past the world's scientific community; surely he knew making the claims he did would be investigated.
Had quite a bad case of hubris as well--of the variety the Greeks warned about. |
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Greekfreak

Joined: 25 May 2003
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:47 am Post subject: |
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You called? |
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BigBlackEquus
Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Location: Lotte controls Asia with bad chocolate!
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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Why do I get the feeling that, upon hearing this news, nearly every expat in Korea (with the exception of maybe Homer) laughed or shook their head inwardly as if they knew this could happen? |
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Paji eh Wong

Joined: 03 Jun 2003
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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Like I said in another thread, this can only be a good thing. A Korean getting embarassed on the world stage for academic dishonesty is exactly what this country needs. Maybe then Koreans can ask some questions about why the education system here is so terrible. |
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vlcupper

Joined: 12 Aug 2004 Location: Gangnam
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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Paji eh Wong wrote: |
Like I said in another thread, this can only be a good thing. A Korean getting embarassed on the world stage for academic dishonesty is exactly what this country needs. Maybe then Koreans can ask some questions about why the education system here is so terrible. |
In an ideal world, they would, but come on. They'd just blame the foreign hagwon teachers, rally behind their "unjustly" humiliated brother, and go about their business. They're the real victims, remember. |
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cellphone
Joined: 18 Feb 2004
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 1:05 am Post subject: Re: Scandal Puts Focus on South Korean Culture |
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South Korea is fiercely committed to being No. 1 |
And they'll simply never make it. THey are far from it.
Really sounds like this article may be a cover up piece to apologize for Korea's scandalous, lie-ridden nation. |
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cellphone
Joined: 18 Feb 2004
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 1:18 am Post subject: |
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"In that kind of rush to be first, they kind of cut corners," he said.
"Sometimes the ends justify the means and things that get in the way like sticking to the rules are annoying and seen as secondary," Breen said.
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Baaaaaaa hahaha. |
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anyway

Joined: 22 Oct 2005
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 3:44 am Post subject: |
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What an embarrassment. I mean the guy was the toast of the town. Now he's just toast. Pitiful.
I agree with the comment that this country needs something like this to focus their attention. They need to be able to tell the sheet from the shinola. And then not step in it, too... |
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bellum99

Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: don't need to know
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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I love that he actually had a title from the president.
He was called " Supreme Scientist" in Korea. The supreme has been taken back and soon so will the scientist part. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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Laugh all you want, but this will set stem cell research back a few decades. |
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Paji eh Wong

Joined: 03 Jun 2003
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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vlcupper wrote: |
Paji eh Wong wrote: |
Like I said in another thread, this can only be a good thing. A Korean getting embarassed on the world stage for academic dishonesty is exactly what this country needs. Maybe then Koreans can ask some questions about why the education system here is so terrible. |
In an ideal world, they would, but come on. They'd just blame the foreign hagwon teachers, rally behind their "unjustly" humiliated brother, and go about their business. They're the real victims, remember. |
I disagree. I don't think that there is any way that Koreans with power could construe this as anything but a Korean problem. The long knives are out for Hwang and the wielders are all Korean.
I wasn't here, but I think the country went through a similar period after that mall collapsed in '95.
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Laugh all you want, but this will set stem cell research back a few decades. |
I'm going to assume you mean socially. Scientifically, Hwang was full of shit, so the field wasn't actually propelled anywhere anyways. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Location: I walk along the avenue
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
vlcupper wrote:
Paji eh Wong wrote:
Like I said in another thread, this can only be a good thing. A Korean getting embarassed on the world stage for academic dishonesty is exactly what this country needs. Maybe then Koreans can ask some questions about why the education system here is so terrible.
In an ideal world, they would, but come on. They'd just blame the foreign hagwon teachers, rally behind their "unjustly" humiliated brother, and go about their business. They're the real victims, remember.
I disagree. I don't think that there is any way that Koreans with power could construe this as anything but a Korean problem. The long knives are out for Hwang and the wielders are all Korean.
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I agree with Paji. If there was gonna be a huge nationalist backlash, it would've happened already. But the facts are:
1. Hwang was originally exposed by a Korean TV show.
2. Hwang has admitted that he is a liar.
3. It was an American scientific journal that endorsed Hwang, whick kinda throws cold water on the old "Americans are out to get us" schtick.
4. Bush and Company are openly hotile to stem cell research, so it defies plausibility that they would conspire to beat Korea in the stem cell research department.
So as it stands, I don't see that you've got the raw material for another nationalist psychodrama here. |
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