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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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 Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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| ajgeddes wrote: |
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| I'm not explaining this well, am I |
Not really.
I don't think you are seeing the big picture here. When it was happening in North America, it was truly a new concept to have people equal and to give rights to all people. There weren't other countries living like that saying "you should do this because we have done it". You are right, they aren't directly copying it, but they are able to see that it exists (or at least attempting to exist). It's the knowledge of knowing that it CAN be done and that other countries have done it, and that they SHOULD probably do it to. |
Maybe, but you can't say North America did it first and it was truly new. Remember Greece??? It may not have been well implemented (there was still slavery, and women couldn't hold too much political power), but all the ideals were there and was a good base. It definitely wasn't "a truly new concept" for North America. Maybe you are right for Korea, but the same thing applies to all of the West then. Was there the idea of a truly free society before Greece???  |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:25 pm Post subject: |
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Well, I think it is a little harder to compare two things that happened 2000 years apart, to things that are happening withing 50 years of each other with one highly influencing the other.
If you don't want to call it a new idea to western societies, that's fine, but I would doubt that people like Martin Luther King, and other, had ancient Greece in mind when trying to push the civil rights movement. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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The korean people and government will go along with what the media makes an issue out of.
Now the big thing is mixed-race.
Last few months it was sex crime on kids. The TV here ran stories every night about the terrible rape of children. Hey presto! The rape laws were toughened.
Before that it was Dokdo. Now and then they come back to Dokdo because it's a great story for them.
Another story they love to run is the poor quality of Chinese imported foods.
Foreign teachers was the issue for part of 2005 (remember we didn't used to have to show Uni transcripts? Well, SBS put an end to that).
Every time the Korean media goes nuts about something they swarm on it and make Koreans think it's the only issue in the world. Then the government knee-jerks and says they're doing something about it. |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
The korean people and government will go along with what the media makes an issue out of.
Now the big thing is mixed-race.
Last few months it was sex crime on kids. The TV here ran stories every night about the terrible rape of children. Hey presto! The rape laws were toughened.
Before that it was Dokdo. Now and then they come back to Dokdo because it's a great story for them.
Another story they love to run is the poor quality of Chinese imported foods.
Foreign teachers was the issue for part of 2005 (remember we didn't used to have to show Uni transcripts? Well, SBS put an end to that).
Every time the Korean media goes nuts about something they swarm on it and make Koreans think it's the only issue in the world. Then the government knee-jerks and says they're doing something about it. |
I think that's pretty cool, actually. In the US, the entire country can be upset about something and the government won't do jack squat. What about Bush saying no amount of opposition from US citizens would change his mind on something, and that he doesn't notice polls. It would be nice if my government were as keen to popular opinion as Korea's is. |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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| ajgeddes wrote: |
Well, I think it is a little harder to compare two things that happened 2000 years apart, to things that are happening withing 50 years of each other with one highly influencing the other.
If you don't want to call it a new idea to western societies, that's fine, but I would doubt that people like Martin Luther King, and other, had ancient Greece in mind when trying to push the civil rights movement. |
So, ancient Greece's ideals completely ingrained into our North American society are influencing Korea. Anyways, back to my original post, Korea is doing it much faster than the West did. Look how long it took Canada after it layed the foundation to abolish it's sexist and racist laws after seeing Britian. And America took even longer after that (and I am not sure where Australia is in this chain). |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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| So, ancient Greece's ideals completely ingrained into our North American society are influencing Korea. |
Yes.  And helping it along at the same time. |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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| ajgeddes wrote: |
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| So, ancient Greece's ideals completely ingrained into our North American society are influencing Korea. |
Yes. And helping it along at the same time. |
WHich is nice. If only this would work as well in other areas of the world too  |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Well, societies have to be willing and wanting to accept something for it to happen. Can't make people do something they don't want to do. |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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| ajgeddes wrote: |
| Well, societies have to be willing and wanting to accept something for it to happen. Can't make people do something they don't want to do. |
good point. It will happen all over someday I am sure. |
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Anne0
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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Well, I know all of you here seem to really want to believe change is not going to happen but I think maybe it has and is happening. I've been here since january and i've gotten nothing but positive things. One person said i'd like to see korean sit next to a black person on a train. Come hang out with me. They not only sit next to me. They touch my hair and say how pretty it is. Then they tell me i'm very pretty. Most of them are older korean woman i'm talking 50 and up. Whereever I go people go out of their way to help me. I speak korean as often as I can and in turn they'll speak English or make gand gestures.
sometimes I even get free stuff. Like I went to a musuem right by Gungbok palace and the lady gave me a 5,000 musuem booklet for free just because she saw me looking at it.
I mean the ignorance does come out in the kids I teach but it's so innocent I want to laugh. Like they'lla sk where am I from and sometimes Ijust don't feel like answering. So then they're just start naming countries. Canada? Africa? USA?. But the important part is, they ask first.
My school is on a large hill and there's a rather large golf course a little furthur down. Sometimes when i'm walking to town people offer me rides and then we'll have a nice horrible english/horrible korean chat. They're quit funny really.
So my point is. Given my overly positive experiences here. I think attitudes in Korea are changing for the better and will continue to change. |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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| There's a fine line between democracy and mob rule... unfourtantly korea errs to much on the side of mob rule at times. Clear balanced media, that contributes to public discussion is far superior to the media fueled hysteria that is basis of public policy here. |
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chicagorick
Joined: 25 Mar 2006
Location: 1060 W. Addison
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Anne0 wrote: |
| I mean the ignorance does come out in the kids I teach but it's so innocent I want to laugh. Like they'lla sk where am I from and sometimes Ijust don't feel like answering. So then they're just start naming countries. Canada? Africa? USA?. But the important part is, they ask first. |
Africa isn't a country....  |
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Newbie
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Anne0 wrote: |
Well, I know all of you here seem to really want to believe change is not going to happen but I think maybe it has and is happening. I've been here since january and i've gotten nothing but positive things. One person said i'd like to see korean sit next to a black person on a train. Come hang out with me. They not only sit next to me. They touch my hair and say how pretty it is. Then they tell me i'm very pretty. Most of them are older korean woman i'm talking 50 and up. Whereever I go people go out of their way to help me. I speak korean as often as I can and in turn they'll speak English or make gand gestures.
sometimes I even get free stuff. Like I went to a musuem right by Gungbok palace and the lady gave me a 5,000 musuem booklet for free just because she saw me looking at it.
I mean the ignorance does come out in the kids I teach but it's so innocent I want to laugh. Like they'lla sk where am I from and sometimes Ijust don't feel like answering. So then they're just start naming countries. Canada? Africa? USA?. But the important part is, they ask first.
My school is on a large hill and there's a rather large golf course a little furthur down. Sometimes when i'm walking to town people offer me rides and then we'll have a nice horrible english/horrible korean chat. They're quit funny really.
So my point is. Given my overly positive experiences here. I think attitudes in Korea are changing for the better and will continue to change. |
Well, we all have stories. They don't quite give an accurate picture of the country though.
Yesterday I was discussing racism with a Middle School class. I told them about the problem I sometimes face when holding hands with a Korean girl in public, to which one boy repsonded "I guess white and Korean is okay. Just as long as it isn't black and Korean"
No one batted an eye. Sure, the same kind of thing could be said in the West, but not without some kind of reaction from those who hear it.
Like your story though, this should not be taken to represent all of Korea. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:48 pm Post subject: |
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| laogaiguk wrote: |
| Korea is doing it much faster than the West did. Look how long it took Canada after it layed the foundation to abolish it's sexist and racist laws after seeing Britian. And America took even longer after that (and I am not sure where Australia is in this chain). |
Thats true. Korea is in a good position to follow the positive development models of the west, while avoiding making the same mistakes.
What is not happening fast enough here, and almost not at all, is environmental awareness and protection. for a First world country, Korea is way behind. there is not a single protected nature reserve in this country. They would concrete over the DMZ and eat the last tigers there as an aphrodisiac, in a heartbeat. |
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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:55 am Post subject: |
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| Newbie wrote: |
Yesterday I was discussing racism with a Middle School class. I told them about the problem I sometimes face when holding hands with a Korean girl in public, to which one boy repsonded "I guess white and Korean is okay. Just as long as it isn't black and Korean"
No one batted an eye. Sure, the same kind of thing could be said in the West, but not without some kind of reaction from those who hear it. |
I find my response is mixed. [Sorry for the awful pun].
1. Wow. He actually used the phrase 'Just as long as it isn't...'? I don't think I've ever heard a Korean, and I mean even a fluent English conversationalist, use that particular phrase!
2. [Approaching the situation from a slightly different angle] That would have been a perfect time to mention Hines Ward. |
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