Comments on: Where’s a decent translator when you need one? http://www.rjkoehler.com/2005/07/21/wheres-a-decent-translator-when-you-need-one/ Korea... in Blog Format Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:22:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Kushibo http://www.rjkoehler.com/2005/07/21/wheres-a-decent-translator-when-you-need-one/#comment-20295 Kushibo Thu, 21 Jul 2005 16:40:50 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=1832#comment-20295 When Korea was opened up to the West, and especially when the Japanese began to dominate, the issue of "extraterritoriality" for foreigners was a major sore point for Koreans. As long as USFK behavior and SOFA regulations seemed to include the trappings of extraterritoriality for USFK members (and their families), there was bound to be a lot of animosity. Now SOFA has changed, there is a lot more access to USFK personnel accused of crimes, and just as importantly there is a great deal of effort on USFK's part to show contrition. These are all very good signs for future relations. The anti-USFK groups, especially those with an obvious ideological bent (and their Korean-language rhetoric gives them away), are like a broken record: they will always be stuck complaining about the SOFA and USFK behavior. But the readers/viewers themselves deserve a little more credit to separate rhetoric from reality. They will see efforts like this, and even if they smirk at the awkwardness, they will be satisfied that 2ID isn't running around arrogantly unconcerned about how its people are behaving up in ??ij??ngbu. When Korea was opened up to the West, and especially when the Japanese began to dominate, the issue of “extraterritoriality” for foreigners was a major sore point for Koreans.

As long as USFK behavior and SOFA regulations seemed to include the trappings of extraterritoriality for USFK members (and their families), there was bound to be a lot of animosity.

Now SOFA has changed, there is a lot more access to USFK personnel accused of crimes, and just as importantly there is a great deal of effort on USFK’s part to show contrition. These are all very good signs for future relations.

The anti-USFK groups, especially those with an obvious ideological bent (and their Korean-language rhetoric gives them away), are like a broken record: they will always be stuck complaining about the SOFA and USFK behavior. But the readers/viewers themselves deserve a little more credit to separate rhetoric from reality. They will see efforts like this, and even if they smirk at the awkwardness, they will be satisfied that 2ID isn’t running around arrogantly unconcerned about how its people are behaving up in ??ij??ngbu.

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