Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

[Jane]

KIM SEONG-KON is the writer of the weekly Korea Herald column Koleidescope, and he has been sharing his, at times, unpopular opinions about Korea for years.

He's a SNU professor. No underling would want to mess with a man like that.

[Steelrails]

I always though Korea resembled a beer can that was unevenly squashed...oh wait you mean the nation, not its shape on the map...actually that beer can resemblance might fit the nation too...bent out of shape to some degree with a lining of alcohol.

[ThingsComeAround]

Damn shame. I find this to be true as well

[Joe666]

Good for him. The rare individual in a sea of clones.

[eamo]

He's the best (only good) thing about the Herald.

How can one Korean be so capable of intelligent, unemotional, critical analysis, yet so many aren't?

[The Gipkik]

The analogies and metaphors are all so vague and nebulous. It's intellectual self-mortification with a dash of self-flagellation thrown in for good measure. Vapid.

[komerican]

the man writes one absurd article after another. LOL.

[eamo]

[ThingsComeAround]

http://k.daum.net/qna/view.html?qid=3RV0g

More truths from our favorite reporter

Komerican,

[freethought]

[komerican]

[freethought]

Komerican, I don't think you are applying the proper context. He might not give the context that you mention, but that context isn't necessary. He is talking about continued hostility, so unless your position is that the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s continue to impact the Korean psyche (and if this is true, that would indicate a level of irrationality that would normally result in a short if not extended stay at a mental hospital), the context you bring up doesn't really apply.

And it certainly can't apply to the issues that he's raising re: today. The Japanese may have invaded (multiple times), but since the end of the most recent invasion the relations with foreign nations have been pretty damn good.... I seem to remember something about an international force doing some sort of good for Korea... You then have the much maligned American military presence, without which South Korea would not exist today. Then there are the arms sales from the Americans to the Korean military, again, without which South Korea would likely not exist. In short, if you take away other countries, especially America, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, South Korea would not exist. And these are the exact nationalities that the author is saying are facing maltreatment/disadvantages.

[The Gipkik]

[jhuntingtonus]

Korea is at the crossroads.

It is developed now, not developing. It is a major country now, not "will be" some day. It has a life expectancy longer than America's. The people are very serious about education. It has been a world role model in overcoming adversity (65 years ago it was a colony, and 40 years ago it had the same per capita GDP as Afghanistan), and, unlike its neighbors, has very little to apologize for. Creativity in the schools is on the rise, and younger children, well cared for, are inquisitive. The incidence of most forms of crime is, relatively speaking, microscopic.

Yet, it unnecessarily retains the pugnacious character it may have needed to get this far. Though stress and suicide levels are among the highest on the planet, attitudes on mental health are destructive. Smoking and binge drinking are excessive. Driving habits and lack of law enforcement are bad enough to cause significant loss of life. Lack of planning is a cultural defect especially bad in a country this size, and some things such as the addressing system (have you ever seen so many Y-turns?) badly need modernization.

So the situation is the same as is faced by a business that grew from a start-up to part of the firmament - what got Korea here is not the same as what it needs for continued growth and prosperity. Where should the country go from here? How can it leverage its strengths, its energy, and its impressive set of allies and trading partners, without making the same mistakes they did? What should the role of foreigners, such as we English teachers who can tell we are loved by some and hated by others, be? What choices will be made?