Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sigmundsmith]

When did the trend of circumsition (spelling?) come to Korean?

Considering Koreans are not Jewish so I know it is done for asthetic reasons. I heard the statitics is about 90% (or more) Korean males have it done.

Also, why do they wait until they are 11 years old to get it done?

My understanding that the Japanese and Chinese are not big on it (but I could be wrong) so what makes Korean males different to this uneccessary proceedure?

Saturday 3am. The funny things that pop into your thoughts

[Css]

America...

[Lekker]

It's prettymuch the standard in the United States that they perform it on infants right after birth, although nowadays it's losing popularity. After the Korean war, when America began to have an influence on Korea is when it picked up here. It gets better. They perform circumcision on boys when they are around 10-12 years of age. They don't use anaesthesia either. It is considered as a part of becoming a man. There was a boy in my class last year who was out for two weeks because "his mom dropped a pot of boiling water on his lap, so it hurt when he sat down and stood up. He could only lay down so he couldn't come to class." I called bullshit on that after he came back.

When he finally returned to the class, the other boys looked at him with a lot more respect. If they were all joking around and he was having trouble concentrating, he would tell them to shut up and they would look at him and stop instantly. Almost as if they were afraid of him.

*beep*, I'm glad I was just a newborn when they did it to me, otherwise I'd be kicking the doctors and nurses in the face.

[Benicio]

Circumcision is another influence brought in with US forces- along with the demonization of cannabis.

Why do they wait until 11-12 years old? Well, I have been told that Koreans believe that the kid's gochu(Korean slang for pecker) needs time to grow before the circumcision. If they cut off the foreskin too early, the kid's pecker will be smaller as an adult.
This information may be wrong, but I have heard it from more than one source in Korea, though no one in the medical profession.

Of course, this is ridiculous and completely false, but this is the country that believes in fan death. Superstitions are very powerful!

[Benicio]

My question is why is the Korean medical system so stingy with pain killers. They'll dish out the antibiotics in truckloads even when you don't need them, but they are very reluctant to give pain killers.

When I broke my foot, I was in a lot of pain. The doctor wanted to shoot me up full of antibiotics for no reason and was perplexed when I refused.
However, when I requested pain killers, they refused.

I've been talking to some other friends here about stories of people in real pain in the emergnecy room here and not being given any pain killers. We can't figure out why.

The only guess is the doctor's are too afraid of creating addicts. Do they believe that giving pain killers to someone in pain will automatically create a fiend?

What do you think?

[Lekker]

My dad is an anesthesiologist. I grew up listening to him talk about what medication can do to people if you give them too much. Maybe they have had accidents in the past with giving too much and now they have to be extremely cautious with what they provide in terms of pain reduction. In Korea, and China as well, they don't use anesthesia the same way we do in the west. I think in the west, especially in America, they want to erase the concept of pain completely. I think here, with the absence of pain reduction, it kind of keeps people in the spirits of being tough. No pain, no game. You feel pain? TOUGH. DEAL WITH IT and stop crying. That's the attitude I gather from doctors here.

On the other end, for a twelve year old boy to go through an extremely painful experience such as circumcision without anesthesia, I can't comprehend the amount of pain that would bring. I read reports on what a baby goes through when he is being circumcised. Usually when they pull the foreskin down and snip it, the baby's legs bed at the knees, and he lets out a strong gasp of air. Thank god it happened to me as a baby and I can't remember it. As an American who has gone through the procedure, I am glad I can't remember it, but I also feel like part of me has been eradicated, whatever, nothing I can do about it now.

Here in Korea, it is part of their passage to becoming a man. I disagree that earlier circumcision reduces the size of the *beep*. I think many Asians unfortunately can not change that genetic factor without the addition of surgery. Even then, the *beep* will still go back to normal, just it will be deformed after ten to fifteen years.

[Lekker]

And since when was "p e n i s" a bad word? People need to grow up. We're not in elementary school.

[Benicio]

Lekker, interesting input on the idea of pain in the West & East.

I DIDN"T say that early circumcision reduces the size of the pecker.

I DID say that I have been told by many Koreans that they believe this.

Whether or not this is the real reason for the great delay in the procedure, I can't say. It's just the only explanation that I've been given over the years.

[Lekker]