Korean Job Discussion Forums

Newbie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

You guys ever watch Arirang? What a joke! The stuff on there reminds me of Iraq's Information Minister guy that was always on during the Invasion of Iraq.

Too many stories to go over that praise "Dynamic Korea", but my favorite was last week. They were comparing Hanbok's, the traditional Japanese clothes for women (don't know name), and those for Chinese women (don't know name). The narrator goes on to say that the Hanbok is by far the most attractive, complimentary to the female form, and flattering for the women that wear them. Shocked

IMHO, The Chinese ones are by FAR more attractive, sexy, form fitting, and flattering. I would easily place the Japanese second, and Hanbok in a distant third. I don't want to come off like I'm mocking the Hanbok, cuz I'm not. I do think they are quite nice, just not complimentary to the female body.

I can't believe how biased Arirang is. It's my daily dose of "oooh, oooh, look at us! Korea IS amazing!"

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

And BBC World Report - the only thing they had worth watching, has now been replaced with Barney the Dinosaur in the morning. It's like they're trying to come up with the crappiest station possible. I don't even recommend it to my students anymore because it will probably just turn them off English.

numazawa · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Location: The Concrete Barnyard

Yeah, not to knock the poor ol' hanbok, but I agree it's a second runner-up at best -- not even in the showing if we also include those swanky sarongs worn by Singapore Air stewardesses. Smile

lastat06513 · Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:44 pm Post subject:

I think the producers at Arirang get their cues from the good ol' folks at CCTV9, which is equally as boring.

Yaya · Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Location: Seoul

Any news media run by a government will have this stuff. That said, Arirang is deep in debt and most of its news staff are women probably because they'll work cheaper.

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

jaganath69 · Joined: 17 Jul 2003

Newbie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

leebumlik69 · Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:41 pm Post subject: Ok

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

Face up...TV in the ROK is not only overly boring, It's not waygook friendly either. Most people consider Thailand third world but, IMHO...it's a lot more modernand Farang friendly than Korea!

Troll_Bait · Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 11:10 pm Post subject:

Arirang TV seems to have never even thought about the question, "Who is our audience?"

Is it for Koreans, expats in Korea, Koreans in foreign countries, or non-Koreans in foreign countries? Who?

They try to be all things to all people, and end up being nothing to nobody.

They now have programs where the speaking and the sub-titles are both in Korean.
In that case, there's nothing to distinguish it from a Korean channel.
A Korean wouldn't watch it, and a non-Korean certainly wouldn't.

"Health For All" used to be amusing for information like "kimchi cures cancer" and whatnot.
Now they've got some foreign guy doing the WhiteMonkey Dance.

"Let's Speak Korean" is useful only as a supplement if you're already studying.
You can't learn much from a program that begins with a wrap-up Question

and is conducted almost exclusively in English.
They also pad it up with a lot of silly, useless banter and antics.
This is a Korean style of programming that is a turn-off to foreigners.

They used to have historical dramas, which I was a huge fan of.
What happened to them?
I doubt that there's a lack of interest on the part of foreigners.

lastat06513 · Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 2:38 am Post subject:

I know this is off-topic, but....

jaganath69, that is an awesome pic of Nigel.....you rock, man!!~!

doublejeopardy · Joined: 16 Jan 2006

I think the chinese outfit is called the cheongsam...or is that vietnam?

I cannot stand Arirang most of the time. I'd rather watch AFN Shocked

It is 2006! If you're gonna do propaganda, as everyone does, you gotta be more subtle than that. It's all in the delivery. For those of you more fluent in Korean, is the delivery the same on other channels? Is it so up with Korea, sugary sweet, bleech?

Sidenote: Inspired by the mention of "Health for All", what do you think? Tomato: fruit or vegetable? I watched it once (and was so disgusted I gave up). They said vegetable because it doesn't grow on a tree. I say fruit because it bears seeds, but none of my kids will hear it! Maybe I need to start a poll for it. Laughing