Besides, Kushibo. During my stay in Tokyo, my Japanese partners also told the same way whenever I tried to speak a correct Japanese sentence. Also the same case in China as well. I think anybody would try to encourage a foreigner when he tries to speak a language of host country. But, still I don’t understand why my question became so serious with Japanese. I mean it, no offense. If I wanted that, then I would not deny but it’s not the case for me.

Anyway, chonko, if it looked like a kind of insult, then my apology to you personally. With many other issues to argue against, it’s not the subject for sure. Will my apology help you feel better? I hope so.

Well, that is good to hear!

Kleintag, I really dont understand the point of your comments. Are you saying that Koreans expect all foreigners to pronouce their language perfectly even on the first time? Or is it that you think it is fine to ridicule or make fun of foreigners because of their accent? Please let me know whether or not Koreans think it funny and acceptable to make fun of foreigners for not being able to pronounce Korean perfectly. Most people in the world would think this to be very rude…which was my point.

Or is your point that Koreans can pronounce Japanese or English perfectly?

Kleintag, I really dont understand the point of your comments. Are you saying that Koreans expect all foreigners to pronouce their language perfectly even on the first time? Or is it that you think it is fine to ridicule of make fun of foreigners because of their accent? Please let me know whether or not Koreans think it funny and acceptable to make fun of foreigners for not being able to pronounce Korean perfectly. Most people in the world would think this to be very rude…which was my point.

As for the building, you ask me to undertand how South Koreans feel about the building, but my point is that how people felt about it ws largely affected by popular nonsense about the buildings, including the idea you stated, that many older Japanese visitors saw the building (and others like it) as a source of pride over their past colonialism. Their opinions on the matter are being nudged (or shoved) by agenda-driven media.

Still, most Koreans wanted the building preserved. Too bad they didn’t speak up in time.

What is it - ?€œUri-minjyoku..?€?? Is it intended to be read as ?€œWoori Min-Jok?€?? So weird pronunciation that at first glance I thought it?€™s not Korean, isn?€™t it?
That?€™s right, Kleintag, it?€™s supposed to be ?€œUri minjok.?€? (?€?Woori?€?? There?€™s no ?€œwoo?€? pronunciation in Korean!).

Well, on the same token, what is “arigado gojaimasu” and “jabutong?” or “gombangwa”? Looks more Chinese or Korean than Korean.

Usually, I can tell Koreans right off the bat in Japan when they I hear “gombangwa, arigado gojaimas” (Konbanwa, arigatou gozaimasu) or when they try to look for “dakwang” for their “udong” which I never could understand until someone told me that they were refering to “takuan” for their “udon”. Never could understand why they love tsukemono so much… (Try having a Korean pronouce “tsukemono”..comes out to be “chookemono”.
Also, ever heard of “pijja hut”?

?????ͺ???????????΄??Έ?????€?????Ή?€??????Ώ??·????????³??³?????Έ??³??°??‡??Ή?€?
“Thank you, I am from a cancer country person.”

And it was the german who decided to keep the Auschwitz as it were not to forget their ethical war cimes and I think it therefore somehow irrelevant. I don’t know what happened to the building that U.S. military authority used for governing Japan after WWII but it can be compared to the feeling that would arise in many Japanese people when they looked at that building.
On this part, I would ask your understanding because it’s not the feeling Japanese people can understand.

Personally I think future is the most important thing between two countries but what is certain is that in the future there will be another Japan unlike Japan, I mean, a country just with its economical overwhelming power bust with re-emerging military presence in the far east asia. And for a country like ROK to go hand in hand with that new Japan, surely there is still something that makes it think again for some colonial records and afterward proceedings. Let me take an example for this. The case of raping middle school gril in okinawa a few years ago was reported on many foreign magazines. On Economist of England, there were an article that described the resentment of Japanese people on the case. Although the U.S. military authority expressed their sorry for the accident, it took finally Mr. Clinton’s directly apology to cool down the anger around the nation. But, what is important anyway is that for all the cases, Japan and U.S. are still very close allies to each other. Likewise, anyway I think Korea will have to take its directoin in the near future - whether with Japan and U.S. or with China in some years from now. Personally I prefer to form a close relationship with Japan because two countries share many cultural backgrounds inherited from either thousands of years of communication or 35 years of colonial past and together can be a great force balancing powers in the region with a country of 1.4 billion people. I hope in near future, there should come more turning points for both countries to get closer.

Anyway, Japan also will have to decide. Solely with U.S. or with U.S. and some other neighbors in the region. That’s the choice your own people will make.
As you know, in 90s, in the world economic surveys, Japan has been always separated from other asian regions because its economic scale was too big and its economic stage was far more advanced than other asian countries. Still Japan is a big country with an economic scale 6 times larger than that of ROK.
But if Japan remaining apart from other asian countries still in near future, it might bring a undisirable situation in the region, the one that I don’t want to see in reality.