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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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 Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 6:45 am Post subject: Irony |
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IE26Dg01.html
A Korean blogger travelling through China drew a lot of accusations of racism - from Koreans - after posting criticisms of Chinese manners on his blog:
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Cha described a scene in China that he had experienced while riding a train from Zhengzhou, the capital of Hebei province, to Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province. This is part of what he saw: a mom let her toddler urinate right on the carriage floor; people disposed of instant-noodle cups by throwing them out the window; men went shirtless when it got hot; people didn't flush after using restrooms; a young couple pulled off the seat cover to shine their shoes before they got off the train.
Cha continued: people hulled sunflower seeds (a favorite travel snack for Chinese) and spat them on the floor haphazardly; some spoke on their mobile telephones at the top of their lungs without any consideration for other people; men smoked everywhere without seeking consent from others.
Cha concluded: "While watching these people, I couldn't help but think that Chinese people solely pursue their own convenience and interest. They utterly lack public morals." |
It's ironic that the misbehaviours Cha noticed are almost the same as the ones Koreans regularly get blasted for here on Dave's.
It's ironic that he doesn't seem to be aware of how much standards of behaviour have changed in Korea over the past 30 years, as you might have seen similar stuff in Korea not so long ago.
It's ironic that some people here on Dave's aren't aware of that change either, or even of how much things have changed even over the past 10 years.
It's ironic that some people here on Dave's would probably be surprised to find a Korean so sensitive to that kind of thing, except that the whiners will zero straight in on his 'hypocrisy' and ignore his 'sensitivity' totally due to the good old cognitive filter.
It's ironic that, despite what many here on Dave's appear to believe about Korea, the Korean public reaction to his article has been so sensitive, even, one might say, politically correct.
It's ironic that a lot of people here on Dave's complain about stuff here when the big country next door is much more shocking in a lot of ways. |
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 6:51 am Post subject: Re: Irony |
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| Privateer wrote: |
| It's ironic that a lot of people here on Dave's complain about stuff here when the big country next door is much more shocking in a lot of ways. |
I think the true irony in this post is that most of us don't live there and have no need to care. |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 9:33 am Post subject: Re: Irony |
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| twg wrote: |
| Privateer wrote: |
| It's ironic that a lot of people here on Dave's complain about stuff here when the big country next door is much more shocking in a lot of ways. |
I think the true irony in this post is that most of us don't live there and have no need to care. |
Very true. I've never been to China, and don't really care to go. |
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happeningthang
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 9:50 am Post subject: |
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I've not been to China, but a good friend travelled to Beijing and reported, that on the flight over, people were smoking and spitting on the floor - in the plane!
I can see what the OP's getting at with the similarities of complaints, but I think there's a BIG distinction between peeing on the street, and peeing in the confines of train carriage.
Same goes for all the other complaints with the exception of smoking, and possibly the littering. Even these don't really stand up with Korea being markedly litter free compared to a lot of other places, and public transport being smoke free.
Last edited by happeningthang on Sat May 26, 2007 10:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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dutchy pink
Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 9:57 am Post subject: |
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| As absurd as it is to make blanket generalizations about Korea and Korean people, it is even more absurd to generalize about China. There are only say, 1.2 billion people there, the actions a few no way reflect China in general. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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| A lot of complaints foreigners have about Korea are far greater in China. There's a certain type of person who can never accept anything but their own culture's way of life. A lot of them come here to teach English, and a lot of them are Koreans who travel to other countries too. |
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Hater Depot
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| I have heard that travelling by train in China is a fairly miserable experience. I can barely stand Amtrak myself. |
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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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| happeningthang wrote: |
| I can see what the OP's getting at with the similarities of complaints, but I think there's a BIG distinction between peeing on the street, and peeing in the confines of train carriage. |
In that instance it was a mother who let her toddler pee on the floor in the train and it compares to mothers here who let toddlers pee into a cup on the table while at a restaurant. So I was thinking about people who complain about the latter rather than adults peeing in the streets. |
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