Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dave Chance]

May give some insight into the manners and mindset of Koreans today-

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2012/02/142_105138.html

A recent book chronicles the experiences and views of foreigners on Joseon and its people from the beginning of the kingdom until its demise due to Japanese�s occupation.

The book is a rare documentation of detailed responses to life and travel in Korea by foreigners from all walks of life and various countries.

Some remarks are generous, but some can be scathing.

Jack London (1876-1916), an adventurer-writer who chronicled Asian wars, spent four months here around the time the Joseon Kingdom was losing its sovereignty to Japan and expressed his disdain in articles, books and essays about the Korean people.

He described the people of Joseon as �weak and lazy" and "overly curious," as he was constantly being stared at on the streets. One can imagine that the presence of a Westerner must have been quite scandalous during those times.

London�s 1904 essay, �The Yellow Peril� wrote; �The Korean is the perfect type of inefficiency ― of utter worthlessness.�

Although harsh, London's comments may not be totally unfounded. The Joseon elite, rather than defend their country, simply caved in to the Japanese and collaborated with them in ruthlessly exploiting their countrymen in order to hold onto power, then turned around and did the same thing when the US came knocking. The scooters on sidewalks, men all having basically the same haircut, the spitting, herd mentality, fast track to beauty through plastic surgery, highest rate of suicide in the industrial world, etc., speaks volumes about the lack of commitment from above to develop life and culture for the common man...and to instead chain him to perpetual toil and anxiety from birth to perpetuate the economic 'miracle' (access to US markets bartered for 300,000 troops in the Vietnam conflict) which only has the same type of Joseon elite London saw back in the day smiling at his cleverness.

[12ax7]

Well, it's no secret that Jack London developed some pretty extreme political views when he became rich (and sank deep into the bottle and became addicted to morphine).

It's quite ironic that he's best remembered today for writing a children's stories about dogs.

[Dave Chance]

His political views were not extreme, merely his personal response to robber barons ruling US society (London himself was forced into working 12-18 hour days as a 13 year-old to make ends meet).

The addiction to morphine was about his kidney stones.

I'd venture to say he led an interesting and adventurous life, and was able to make a name for himself despite the odds-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London

[12ax7]

[Dave Chance]

It's true he discussed and considered things like social darwinism and racialism as did a number of other people because they were burning issues of the day (and to a certain extent still are).

If you had kidney stones back in the day you might consider taking some morphine as well, especially if a doctor were to prescribe it to u (as was usual back then).

And London wasn't alone in his assessment of the Joseon, either.

Fact is, the personal physician to King Gojong, Horace Allen, who wasn't hooked on smack (and is ironically enshrined at Yonsei University), in his memoirs had similar things to say.

[ghostrider]

Here's a link to his essay "The Yellow Peril."
http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/Revolution/yellow.html

He makes a lot of interesting generalizations about Korea, China, and Japan. He criticizes Koreans for being lazy and too cowardly to defend themselves against foreigners. They spend all day chatting and smoking but take off running at the first hint of danger. He says the religion of Japan is patriotism- a patriotism that is blind and unchecked by any ethical impulse. The Japanese emperor is God and can do no wrong. The Chinese are praised for being hardworking and industrious.

[The Floating World]

Gotta love the classic false inferences.

So being an addict automatically makes you a bad person and someone whose philosophical, scientfic or and philosophical views are invallid?

[andrewchon]

I have to agree with Jack London. Joseun was just about dead and was about to disappear. If there was no western intrusion, no scientific revolution, left as it was with Japan in isolation and Ching dynasty as the only regional super power, Joseun would have died, just like Soviet Union died.
Why? There was no incentive to work. If a farmer grew crops then the Yang-ban just took them. If a merchant sold his wares and made money, Yang-ban just took them. There were rebellions but their demands were never 'big' ideas like getting rid of the Yang-ban class. It's not like the peasants didn't know 'steal a cow and you're hung but steal a crown you're a king'. Even in a desperation of rebelion they couldn't bring themselves to demand the cure. That's a society about to die.
So Jack London was right to say what he said. He was a man of his times and the European Civilization was at its peak of its perceived greatness.

[The Floating World]

Also he praised the Chinese highly and said they were very hard workers and very efficient etc. Wow, what a racist drug addict.

[12ax7]

[Dave Chance]

^^Whatever London wrote about the Chinese or however much he tripped the light euphoric on morphine is besides the point.

The Joseon sucked, and sucked hard, which why some aspects of Korean culture today are so skewed and off.

Even native sons of Joseon didn't hesitate to admit so much-

http://kyujanggak.snu.ac.kr/MOK/CONVIEW.jsp?type=HEJ&ptype=list&subtype=ym&lclass=&mclass=&sclass=&ntype=ym&cn=GK07644_00

A collection of tales written by Yeonam Bak Ji-won (1737-1805), who was a thinker of the Silhak (�Practical Learning�) school and writer during the latter half of the Joseon Dynasty.The seven stories included here are �A Tiger�s Rebuke,� �Tale of Literary Licentiate [Sheng Yuan] Heo,� �Tale of Faithful Women,� �Tale of a Yangban [Confucian Aristocrat],� �One Thousand Characters,� �Why the Concise History [Shi L�e] Cannot Be Read,� and �Why the Essence of the Comprehensive Mirror [Tong Jian Jie Yao] Cannot Be Read.�In the �Tale of a Yangban,� the author castigates the Confucian aristocracy as useless thieves who, with their many undeserved privileges, prey on the masses. In �Why the Concise History Cannot Be Read,� he states that the Chinese chronicle is not good as a primer because its overwhelming scope forces children to memorize masses of information instead of allowing them to expand their knowledge gradually through an understanding of one character or phrase at a time. In �Why the Essence of the Comprehensive Mirror Cannot Be Read,� the author likewise claims that it is neither useful nor educative to have children spend an entire year (he establishes 300 days as the maximum possible time for their studies per year) on reading the fifteen-volume Essence of the Comprehensive Mirror, especially considering that this period is crucial to learning, which begins at the age of seven. As such examples show, Bak, as a thinker of the Silhak school, exposes and portrays in a very comical manner the ills of his age even while writing works of fiction.

[Captain Corea]

[everything-is-everything]

[Smithington]

[The Floating World]