Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Carlyles Ghost]

I am curious about how regionalism in Korea takes it's form. How do people from, say, Gangwon-do see people from Jeolla-do.

This idea comes in part from a thread in which a poster's girlfriend told her father she was dating a foreigner; upon hearing the news the father replied "I don't care just as long as he's not from Jeolla-do."

In Canada, the distinctions between the provinces are fairly clear:

British Columbians are pot-smoking, hippy liberals who spend all their spare time on strike.

Albertans are conservative, racist, red-neck hicks rich on oil money and they all drive 4X4 SUV's.

Ontarians, at least according to those who don't live in Ontario, are superficial, arrogant, and elitist who have historically [and contemptuously] viewed anything outside of central Canada as "outer Canada" as Duff Roblin once put it.

Manitobans are...christ I don't have a clue.

But you get the idea. How do Koreans see other Koreans from different provinces?

[Imrahil]

My wife has told me people from Kyeong sang nam do (South East Korea) really do not like people from Jeolla do (South west Korea). Their regionalisim tends to follow the borders of the 3 original Kingdoms that make up present day Korea. She has actually told me that the rest of Korea don't trust people from Jeolla do because they tend to lie and steal!!

[mateomiguel]

the us-vs-them mentality that Koreans exhibit so much is very flexible and not only works for different nations, but also for provinces, cities, neighborhoods, and probably individual apartment complexes too. Korea's political lines are sharply regional, with one region generally supporting a different candidate. Also, Jeolla-do almost rebelled against the rest of Korea in the 1970s and there was a bloody response to it from Seoul.

[Imrahil]

If you want to see evidence of regionalisim in Korea just look at the last presidential election. Literally the entire country voted for Lee Myung Bak except Jeolla province.

[kingplaya4]

It's true sad to say. My girlfriend quit her job because her new boss was going to be from Jeolla-do, and she has made what would be considered racist statements if these people were actually of a different race.

[Imrahil]

My wife once told me that her old boss used to tell her and other office workers that you can't trust people from Jeolla do! Apparently at one time in the past he had a business partner from that region who screwed him out of some money.

[Smee]

Yes, it is kind of humorous how fractured everyone is. Especially funny when Koreans start going on about the jeong and unity of the Korean people . . . then you remember Korea is divided in half . . . and people from Gyeongnam hate people from Jeolla who hate people from Seoul . . . and everybody's stereotype of everyone else is that they can't be trusted . . . and even though South Korea is roughly 2/3 the size of my home state of Pennsylvania there are stereotypes and characteristics for each region, and each part of the country takes pride in something, as if the bibimbap in Jinju is so much more distinctive than that in Paju . . .. really reinforces just how insular folks were way back when . . . and people from Gyeonggi can't understand the Jeolla dialect, and Jeolla folks can't understand anyone in Daegu, and nobody even cares to understand people from Busan because Busan people are all gangsters anyway . . . and middle school kids in North Korea wouldn't understand a lick of what my students said b/c so much of it has come from English.

A few times I've had to shut down some folks around here when they start bad mouthing black people, Chinese, or SE Asians. Um . . . y'all are the black people of Korea, dumbasses . . . now get home to your Vietnamese wives and your Kim Il-sung portraits.

[expat2001]

[Carlyles Ghost]

[endo]

[mateomiguel]

In the US we got this mild form of state-ism too, where I will calmly and casually inform you that Texas is the greatest state in the Union, and brook no argument. However, I don't really take it so far as to say Oklahomans are dirty filthy liars and no one should trust them. Although we do say a lot of things about those damn Yankees sometimes.

[Paddycakes]

[Saxiif]

What I gather about regional stereotypes:
Cheunchon: backward stupid hicks with funny accents.
Gangwon: like Cheunchon except more so.
Jeju: they talk funny.
Gyeongsang: Fascists with sticks up their asses.
Jeolla: Dirty sneaky commies.
Gyeonggi: big mix, from dirty foreign factory workers in Suwon to transplanted Jeolla-ites in Seongnam to yuppie-infested Bundang.
Seoul: superficial, snobby twits.

[Imrahil]

You forgot Kyeongnam! What about them?

[ajgeddes]