Korean Job Discussion Forums

ohahakehte · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The State of Denial

i talked to a guy back in canada before i left who said that his sister is doing peace work and treeplanting in hiroshima while she's not teaching english.

im not sure how or what i would do, but does anyone of any activities that activist types from the west could get involved in while in seoul?

in canada i was heavily involved in israel/palestine activism as well as anti-poverty and environmentalist stuff

just because · Joined: 01 Aug 2003 Location: Changwon - 4964

This is the land of activism. Korea has the highest protest rate per capita in the world. Just join Hangchanyo(??), the pro-North Korean group, activism every day.

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Do something worthwhile...

read the thread about boiling cats, and demonstrate about that.

Emma Clare · Joined: 24 May 2003 Location: Anseong, sung, song.

Yes. If you really want to protest about something, start with protesting against the freakin' way they treat animals in this country. I fully intend to.

buddy bradley · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The Beyond

*Sigh*

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

ohahakehte · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The State of Denial

Draven · Joined: 03 Feb 2003

candu · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

I agree with Tiger Beer. Why activism without an inspired purpose? Shouldn't an objective or a cause precede activism, assuming an activist response is the best course of action? Is any excuse to protest, demonstrate, etc. a good enough reason to get involved in something? I'm not saying that someone's heart is in the wrong place for wanting to be an activist and somehow make some kind of differenc in the world, but there are a lot of guys who go out looking for trouble in bars on Saturday night and don't need any good reasons to satisfy their urges to take out their aggression on others, because they've already decided to pick someone out. Their actions are all about themselves, and nothing to do with any other person, cause, etc. My point is that there are a lot of activists - many of whom I admire - committed to clearly identifiable causes, and there are also so-called activists endlessly looking for causes - however vague or even contradictory - just so they can stir up some sh*t and fill some gap in their lives. Any excuse will do. One doesn't have to be Doctor Freud - or even Doctor Seuss - to recognize that.

On the other hand · Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Location: I walk along the avenue

Contra Candu and Tiger Beer:

I don't think it matters if an activist is commited to a particular cause, or if he just likes being an activist. You can compare it to charity. One guy canvasses for the Cancer society because he's seen the effects of cancer, and really wants to do something about that particular disease. Another guy just likes to know that he's helping to make the world a better place, so signs up to canvass for the Cancer Society because he saw their ad first. Who cares about the motivation? I'm sure the Cancer Society is happy to get the money, either way.

candu · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

On the other hand, your comparison of activism and charity is a pretty good one in some ways. I believe that the motivation for charity is not terribly important, and a lot of charities rely on passive or casual donors to do their work. (Then again, making sure your charity is "legit" isn't a bad idea, but not the issue this time around.)

Some forms of activism - though not most by any means - may involve violence, or at least the risk of arrest of those protesting. Any responsible protester involved in environmental or political protests should be prepared for consequences. Going to jail, fasting, or getting cracked over the head should ideally not be decisions entered into without some reasonably strong sense of conviction or motivation. (Unless one happens to be the kind of person who seeks those situtations out. Admittedly a minority, but they are out there.)

On one hand it is not my concern to ask why someone wishes to participate in activist causes - I guess we all have our own reasons - but the risks can be high - for both protesters and others - so I suppose I'm curious as to why someone would be seeking out such a potential situation, minus the motivating cause. I am by no means trying to imply that all activism is violent or confrontational, but there is an element of risk that responsible activists I know don't take lightly.

I guess my personal take on activism is that I feel more comfortable knowing that those involved are committed to and educated in the cause, fully aware of and trained in the risks involved in protest, and not motivated by the act itself.

The Lemon · Joined: 11 Jan 2003

On the other hand · Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Location: I walk along the avenue

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

Just thinking about what you could do for activism in general. I guess it depends on your cause.. anything could be good. If its for health reasons.. (a worthwile cause).. maybe you could organize things with your students.. (to see a doctor).. or try to educate about Breast Cancer for example or something like that.

Another good one would be my friend who teaches at a university has been organizing a recycling campaign in his college town. He has some students making presentations (probably in Korean) to city council members and all the rest. Its a pretty worthwhile cause.

I guess thats why I mentioned its good to know whats important to you and pursue it. Also, the students you have are a great vehicle to either 'educate' or 'remind' them of what you view as important. You could creative things with kids. Maybe even have them go to the park with you and pick up trash. Or organize it for the weekends when you aren't working for an extracurricular activity, if you so desired.

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

I'm going to make Tiger look good here, and say that the original poster has too much time on their hands, and wants something to complain about.