Comments on: South Korea too obsessed with China? http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/02/21/south-korea-too-obsessed-with-china/ Korea... in Blog Format Sun, 7 Sep 2008 00:39:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: usinkorea http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/02/21/south-korea-too-obsessed-with-china/#comment-2157 usinkorea Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:38:17 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=554#comment-2157 I haven't heard too many people talk about this, but I expect in the next 5 to 10 years, as China grows and the US changes USFK, more people will start talking about the racial aspect of Korea's love of China. There is absolutely no other reason I can figure out why so many Koreans I've talked to take it as blind faith that "China will soon replace America as the number one superpower" means good things for Korea. It isn't a completely one-sided opinion. Most Koreans I talk to worry about competition from China in foreign markets and Korea's domestic market, but they seem to have a split, contradictory way of thinking about China. One about nuts-n-bolts competition, but that doesn't seem to bleed over into the total faith that getting rid of the US influence in favor of a Chinese influence will be good for Korea. It also took me half a year after first arriving in Korea teaching adults to realize that the average Korean doesn't pay any attention to the fact that China played a huge part in keeping Korea divided. I heard much about the Russians and Americans each month, but one day I thought, "Didn't the Chinese push the UN (US) forces back down the peninsula?" When I asked my class about it, I got the blank looks of "I've never thought about that before." And this reminds me of one of my special moments in Korea. I was riding the subway just after my wife and I had finalized the marriage at the city office near the embassy. I noticed entering the car a very old, short Korean man had on one of those paper (dunce) hats with writing in red and was giving a speech in the middle of the car. Later, I noticed he started speaking in good English - and that he was getting closer to me. Then I realized he was saying, "Why is Korea divided? Yes. Because of Russian devils and American devils.... Why is Korea poor? Yes. Because of American devils and Russian devils." He eventualy got right up on my side even though I wouldn't pay attention to him. He stared saying things like, "Ah! New shoes. Life is good. Go home! Go home! Why is Korea poor? Because of Russian devils and American devils. Go home! Go home!" (This was 1998 when Korea's economy had collapsed because of, as it became widely known, the IMF......they still think of it today as the IMF collapse.) After three stops of this, I finally got off the subway, but the guy followed us, smiling broadly the whole time and saying "Go home!! Go home!!", until I got on the subway going in the oppositie direction that was just pulling in. Fun.... He didn't mention anything about the yellow Chinese devils either.... I haven’t heard too many people talk about this, but I expect in the next 5 to 10 years, as China grows and the US changes USFK, more people will start talking about the racial aspect of Korea’s love of China.

There is absolutely no other reason I can figure out why so many Koreans I’ve talked to take it as blind faith that “China will soon replace America as the number one superpower” means good things for Korea.

It isn’t a completely one-sided opinion. Most Koreans I talk to worry about competition from China in foreign markets and Korea’s domestic market, but they seem to have a split, contradictory way of thinking about China. One about nuts-n-bolts competition, but that doesn’t seem to bleed over into the total faith that getting rid of the US influence in favor of a Chinese influence will be good for Korea.

It also took me half a year after first arriving in Korea teaching adults to realize that the average Korean doesn’t pay any attention to the fact that China played a huge part in keeping Korea divided. I heard much about the Russians and Americans each month, but one day I thought, “Didn’t the Chinese push the UN (US) forces back down the peninsula?” When I asked my class about it, I got the blank looks of “I’ve never thought about that before.”

And this reminds me of one of my special moments in Korea. I was riding the subway just after my wife and I had finalized the marriage at the city office near the embassy. I noticed entering the car a very old, short Korean man had on one of those paper (dunce) hats with writing in red and was giving a speech in the middle of the car. Later, I noticed he started speaking in good English - and that he was getting closer to me. Then I realized he was saying, “Why is Korea divided? Yes. Because of Russian devils and American devils…. Why is Korea poor? Yes. Because of American devils and Russian devils.” He eventualy got right up on my side even though I wouldn’t pay attention to him. He stared saying things like, “Ah! New shoes. Life is good. Go home! Go home! Why is Korea poor? Because of Russian devils and American devils. Go home! Go home!” (This was 1998 when Korea’s economy had collapsed because of, as it became widely known, the IMF……they still think of it today as the IMF collapse.)

After three stops of this, I finally got off the subway, but the guy followed us, smiling broadly the whole time and saying “Go home!! Go home!!”, until I got on the subway going in the oppositie direction that was just pulling in. Fun….

He didn’t mention anything about the yellow Chinese devils either….

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