In light of the illuminating article (posted by the Marmot himself) concerning how “shocked” foreigners are about the North Korean test, I thought I would post something retro - a look in the past.
According to a poll conducted by an insurance company in Seoul almost twenty years ago, and, reported in Korea Times, the number one cherished item or person in the lives of Korean children (5,245 children polled) was unsurprisingly - their mother. What is surprising is the second most cherished thing was BEEF - that’s right - BEEF. Anyone that has been here for a number of years will remember the old soybean burgers that were adorned with pieces of cucumber, carrot, and shredded cabbage with a healthy (?) glob of mayonnaise nearly as large as the burger(?). There was very little beef in them, and I am sure that the few children who were able to eat hamburgers on the American army bases fell in love with them at first bite - this poll seems to indicate it.
If mom was first, and beef was second, where was Dad? Right at number three. In the years that have passed since then, I seriously wonder just how much different the order would be now. Obviously the computer would score a much higher score now than it did nearly twenty years ago. It is also interesting to note that the dislikes are probably pretty much the same now as they were back then.
Here are the list of the top ten “likes” and “dislikes” of Korean children in 1987.
Likes/Dislikes
#1 Mom/Homework
#2 Beef/Exams
#3 Dad/Fights
#4 Friends/Stealing
#5 Dolls/Punishment
#6 Bicycles/Insults
#7 Pianos/Spankings
#8 Computer/Hospital
#9 Toys/Injections
#10 Fried Chicken/Parental Fights
Perhaps it is time for Korea Times to do another poll.
14 Comments
I can remember the day when it was “fashionable” for men to carry a wooden toothpick in their mouths as they caroused about town in the evening. It was a sign that the men where those of means. Don’t see that anymore, which may mean that beef is much more affordable or may be due to wooden toothpicks being forbidden.
For the kiddies I reckon pizza would replace beef and Starcraft and other computer games would replace dolls, bicycles, pianos and toys. Perhaps friends, too.
Friends, dolls, bicycles, pianos, toys…
Life was so much simpler then!
Anyhow, Andy, that’s actually a great idea, that the KT should repeat the survey.
By the way, that sample size of 5,245 (quite a bit larger than any political survey; smaller only than medical cohort studies) is pretty impressive. It’s almost like serious journalism.
D’oh! Sorry, Robert (Neff), not Andy! 착각했으니 미안합니다.
I don’t think starcraft is all that popular with younger kids (elementary/middle school students) these days. Fifa online, crazy arcade, kartrider, guns (gunz?), etc, are the ones I hear about often. The diversity of games (especially if you add cellphone games) would likely make the generic term ‘computer games’ necessary.
Actually, seeing as computers allow you to play games and chat with friends, they’d probably be pretty close to the top of the list, but I’m not sure if they would come before cellphones.
Not surprising, considering that some of them weren’t born yet when Starcraft came out.
I think “work” would appear in the list of dislikes. People are a little less focused on work these days… I know my former employees were more focused on the outside-the-office life than anything else. The one thing I hadn’t insured in the office was the clock: with so many pairs of eyes glued on it, no way someone was gonna steal it…
South Korea might have pretty lax labor standards, but I’m pretty sure they tend to enforce the ones on child labor.
Re my comment #3 on the sample size: on rereading, I see it’s an insurance company that carried out the survey. Seeing as everything insurance companies do (the premiums they charge, the payouts on claims, etc.) is predicated on having reliable statistics, 5,945 subjects makes sense.
New poll. My, how times have changed.
#1 Internet/USFK
#2 Cell Phone/Japan
#3 Money/School
#4 American Restaurants/Walking
#5 Stealing/Hard Work
#6 Sex/Exams
#7 Starbucks/Laws
#8 Dear Leader/Paying Bribes
#9 Spanking Girls/Traffic
#10 Cheating/Parents’ Significant Other Fights
Zonath: right. I was thinking – and should have mentioned it – of the same dudes who answered the original questions 20 years ago…
koreans are still into beef apparently. i’m in Kunsan AB’s commissary and i see GI with Korean girlfriends loading up on all the Kalbi and other beef products. hell, i even see koreans without ration cards going into Kunsan’s commissary and shopping as the person who holds the ration card purchases it for them. i tell you, these people have balls to do what they do in usually controlled areas. either/or koreans are getting plump…
The commissary is a microcosm of Korea. Korean chicks using GI’s there just as greater Corea is using the US in the big scheme of things.
i couldn’t agree with you more…