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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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 Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 7:02 am Post subject: No time for anything............ |
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The very thing that built Korea up to being a 1st/2nd world country is the same thing that's killing it as we very speak.
I call it the ���� ���� disease, or other names.
Need I explain?
No time for anything.
No time to build buildings properly, so they have to build them twice.
No time for safety standards.
No time to properly plan for the future.
No time to care about the environment.
No time to punish corrupt people.
No time to correctly work on reuniting the 2 Koreas.
No time to learn English properly.
No time to say 'excuse me' on the subway before pushing you.
No time to teach children manners.
There are so many more examples.
I think if I could start learning Korean all over again, the 1st verb I would learn is �ٻڴ� and the 1st phrase I would say is �ð��� �����
Now that Koreans are believing all the hype about China's future (personally, I don't, but that's another story for another time), there is a mad rush to learn Chinese now. I wonder if they're learning it properly, or if they'll speak it as badly as they speak English-ee here. Not that I care at all for Chinese anything.
Any thoughts? |
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fidel
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Location: North Shore NZ
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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Another mindless rant, highlighting for us once again your perceived deficiencies with Korea/Koreans, well done, I hope it makes you feel more superior. 
You seem to be a sad lad, do you have any friends? (Hold up a minute, I'm not suggesting making a Korean friend!). Possibly you could join a club or something, like a European only club where us civilised, slow paced lot, can discuss how to teach the savages the 'right,white way of doing things'. |
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kiwiboy_nz_99
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Location: ...Enlightenment...
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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Another mindless rant, highlighting for us once again your perceived deficiencies with Korea/Koreans, well done, I hope it makes you feel more superior.
You seem to be a sad lad, do you have any friends? (Hold up a minute, I'm not suggesting making a Korean friend!). Possibly you could join a club or something, like a European only club where us civilised, slow paced lot, can discuss how to teach the savages the 'right,white way of doing things'. |
The OP is right, and in fact even Koreans talk about it and complain about it. |
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fidel
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Location: North Shore NZ
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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These topics have been talked about in some form or another every week on this site for the last several years. Okay, the balli balli phrase was coined by someone in the past, it got talked about a lot in the media and became accepted as a fact. That's how these things happen.
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| No time to build buildings properly, so they have to build them twice. |
Don't understand this statement, however korean construction companies are active around the world so they must be doing something right. In the past Korea had a terrible public safety record especially in the 80's and 90's however that was seen as the price of development.
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| No time for safety standards. |
Safety standards are the norm however whether they are enforced or not is another discussion.
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| No time to punish corrupt people. |
Again a lack of will, nothing about time constraints.
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| ]No time to correctly work on reuniting the 2 Koreas |
. Share the world your wonderful insights on how you would reunite correct the two Korea's.
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| No time to learn English properly |
. Just like I haven't the time to learn Korean, and I haven't the time to learn Taekwondo, and Bob down the street hasn't got time to paint his house.
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| No time to say 'excuse me' on the subway before pushing you |
The time is there, however cultural practices restrain most people from admitting their wrong.
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| No time to teach children manners. |
Seem no worse than kids you might encounter anywhere around the world. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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All these things are features of big city life anywhere in the world, except in Korea you can cross off frequent violent crime off that list.
"This modern life with its sick hurry and divided aims" (Wordsworth) is a feature of every country that has sacrificed its old fashioned curtesy, strong family life, and rich natural environment to capitalism and consumerism.
However I still think Seoul is a more pleasant place to be than many western cities. |
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gomurr
Joined: 04 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Korean Construction Companies are active around the world because they are cheaper than their Western/Japanese Counterparts. If Korean Construction is so good then why are there huge cracks in the walls at a year old building where my school is? |
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komtengi
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Location: Slummin it up in Haebangchon
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| Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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They are renowned for cutting corners to get things done quickly... KTX springs to mind.
As for the reunification... why would you want that to happen anyway?? |
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oneiros
Joined: 19 Aug 2003
Location: Villa Straylight
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| Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 7:09 pm Post subject: Re: No time for anything............ |
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| Ilsanman wrote: |
No time to build buildings properly, so they have to build them twice.
No time for safety standards.
No time to properly plan for the future.
No time to care about the environment.
No time to punish corrupt people.
No time to correctly work on reuniting the 2 Koreas.
No time to learn English properly.
No time to say 'excuse me' on the subway before pushing you.
No time to teach children manners.
There are so many more examples.
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No time for heartache
No time to run and hide
No time for breaking down
No time to cry
Just thought this thread was begging for some Sisters of Mercy.  |
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Butterfly
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: Kuwait
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| Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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| kiwiboy_nz_99 wrote: |
The OP is right, and in fact even Koreans talk about it and complain about it. |
It is true actually, that mainstream modern culture here has tended to focus so much on new projects that they don't really finish the old ones. Korean people I often find, don't really have a good idea of the difference between reality and imagined on the topic of pace. They don't actually work at anything like the pace they plan to.
This is the 8282 culture, it's not that things get done quickly, it's the perception that they must, when the reality is different. Korean people do work hard I believe, it's just the older generation don't really understand the concept of productivity, and how much work you can expect from an individual or team and indeed how to maximize their production levels.
Amazingingly, people here are very aware of the work of management theorists and gurus right throughout the 20th century who all talk about productivity and motivation rather than time and motion, but it doesn't seem to make any difference. I'll never understand it. Constant communication problems also cause obstacles to rapid production of work. |
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fidel
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Location: North Shore NZ
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| Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Korean Construction Companies are active around the world because they are cheaper than their Western/Japanese Counterparts. If Korean Construction is so good then why are there huge cracks in the walls at a year old building where my school is? |
I don't know, I'm not an expert in building construction.
Below is a ranking of the worlds top construction companies in the world.
1 VINCI, Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
2 BOUYGUES, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Cedex, France
3 Skanska AB, Stockholm, Sweden
4 Shimizu Corp., Tokyo, Japan
5 Bechtel, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.A.
6 Kajima Corp., Tokyo, Japan
7 Taisei Corp., Tokyo, Japan
8 Grupo ACS, Madrid, Spain
9 Hochtief AG, Essen, Germany
10 Obayashi Corp., Tokyo, Japan
31 Hyundai Engineering & Constr. Co., Seoul, S. Korea
43 Daewoo E&C Co. Ltd., Seoul, S. Korea
Notice the predominance of wealthy western/advanced countries in the top ten? Both Korean companies have respectable rankings given this list is made up of the top 225 Global construction companies in the world today. |
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Barking Mad Lord Snapcase
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| fidel wrote: |
| These topics have been talked about in some form or another every week on this site for the last several years. Okay, the balli balli phrase was coined by someone in the past, it got talked about a lot in the media and became accepted as a fact. That's how these things happen. |
These topics have been talked about in some form or another every week on this site for the last several years. Okay, the whining waegook syndrome was coined by someone in the past, it got talked about a lot on ESL Cafe and became accepted as a fact. That's how these things happen.
Of course, there is no substantial evidence that either the "balli balli" syndrome or the "whining waegook" syndrome is based in reality, is there?
If you can prove that one is more real than the other, I'll bow down and kiss your boots. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 2:59 am Post subject: yes |
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| fidel wrote: |
Another mindless rant, highlighting for us once again your perceived deficiencies with Korea/Koreans, well done, I hope it makes you feel more superior.
You seem to be a sad lad, do you have any friends? (Hold up a minute, I'm not suggesting making a Korean friend!). Possibly you could join a club or something, like a European only club where us civilised, slow paced lot, can discuss how to teach the savages the 'right,white way of doing things'. |
Look at Europe. Look at Korea. Which one has been handled better?
Case closed. |
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captain kirk
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 5:25 am Post subject: |
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Barking Lord Mad Snapcase, you list your location as Australia. When a person is not in Korea it's easy to see 'whining foreigners', because 'you have to be there' to want to vent. Apparently you're not here in Korea, so what business do you have calling foreigners here on 'whining'? If anyone in Korea wants to whine about feeling blocked by different ways that annoy them, this is the place to vent and feel better, solidarity, solicit and get a sense 'it's not just them' feeling it.
Jeez, man.   |
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Barking Mad Lord Snapcase
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| captain kirk wrote: |
Barking Lord Mad Snapcase, you list your location as Australia. When a person is not in Korea it's easy to see 'whining foreigners', because 'you have to be there' to want to vent. Apparently you're not here in Korea, so what business do you have calling foreigners here on 'whining'? If anyone in Korea wants to whine about feeling blocked by different ways that annoy them, this is the place to vent and feel better, solidarity, solicit and get a sense 'it's not just them' feeling it.
Jeez, man. |
It seems that you have missed the irony of my message.
Fidel implied that the "balli balli" syndrome either does not exist or is exaggerated. However, before that, he accused Ilsanman of whining by saying:
"Another mindless rant, highlighting for us once again your perceived deficiencies with Korea/Koreans, well done, I hope it makes you feel more superior."
In other words, Fidel did not buy into the "hype" of rushed Korean business practices, but he did buy into the "hype" of the ESL teacher who must surely hate Korea if he ever says anything negative about any aspect of it. By simply replacing "balli balli" (which Fidel apparently did not believe existed) to "whining waegook" (which he took for granted as an objective reality), I attempted to draw attention to this discrepency. Holding a mirror up to someone is usually the best way to show them their flaws.
In short, I objected to Fidel accussing Ilsanman of whining (in this instance, at least) while in the next breath letting Korea off the hook for a very real and well known problem.
Most of the time I have defended the right to criticise, or "whine", if I personally feel that the criticism is justified. I would freely admit that I am biased (like everyone else here), and I would also admit that the positive qualities of Australia outweigh the positive qualities of South Korea as far as my own values are concerned. My present sig pretty much sums up my feelings on this matter, but just because I don't believe in "10/10's" does not mean that I see all cultures as equally "enlightened" or equally "flawed". As with everything else, it is a matter of degree.
I realize that using irony or sarcasm to illustrate a point runs the risk of being misinterpreted. Perhaps you should criticise me for my clumsy attempt at satire, not for expressing the sentiments you mistakenly believed I was expressing.  |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:52 pm Post subject: yes |
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It's not an angry rant, as much as an observation, prediction, or worry.
I seriously believe that their lack of taking time is hurting this country in ways they can not begin to understand, or prevent.
Thanks for those who stood up for me.
I never once said I coined the term '���� ���� syndrome'. It's what I call it. Some others call it similar, or the same thing. |
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