Profiles in stupidity, courtesy the Korea Times:
A 52-year-old man was caught for attempting to eat his landlady’s pet dog.
The man, identified as Park, took the pet Chihuahua into his room, while his 69-year-old landlady Jeon was in the bathroom. He then killed the dog and attempted to cook it at the boarding house in Jongno, Seoul, Monday afternoon.
Park tried to scorch the dog before cooking it in his room, but his clothes in the room caught fire and emitted smoke. His neighbors called the firefighters and his attempt to cook the dog was detected by neighbors and firefighters, according to police.
Police quoted Park, drunk when apprehended, as saying, I did so because I was hungry.”
He was booked on charges of theft.
(HT to reader)
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181 Comments
All that trouble for what, about three ounces of meat? Jesus Cristo…
The only thing they could charge him with was theft? There are no other laws he might have broken?
booked without detention. what do you have to do to get thrown into jail? I know there are a few prisons in Korea. What are most of the people in for? You’d think stealing someones dog and trying to eat it would land you a couple of days at least!
Dude, the man was HUNGRY. What kind of heartless bastard are you?
“Ajussis Ruin Everything” - metropolitician
http://metropolitician.blogs.c.....in-ev.html
On the calls for jail time: Let’s show a little perspective here. It was just a barking rat after all.
Absolutely zero respect for others and their things. Me me me! strikes again.
Reminds me of one of my all time favorite K comedies, ‘Barking Dogs Never Bite’, directed by Bong Jun-ho.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.....Never_Bite
Who among us has not been tempted to off a chihuahua?
We ought to be giving the man a medal.
Paris Hilton owns a chihuahua.
Paris Hilton once called Lindsay Lohan a “firecrotch.”
I blogged about Lindsay Lohan last night.
Everything is connected.
Karma.
# 1,
Your forgetting it’s not just meat it’s soup stock. Just add some scallions to the boiling water and you’re set!
wonder how long it’ll take this thread to get hijacked? who amongst us is going to be brave (stupid?) enough to take the post and/or anything written in this thread out of context?
anyway, sorry to go there.
i must admit, though, i, too, wondered why the old guy didn’t get charged with something more than mere theft.
on the other hand, it WAS just a chihuahua, as has already been alluded to. something about a medal being awarded was already mentioned.
Paris didn’t call Lindsay firecrotch. It was that greasy guy that Paris hung around with…Brandon something. Paris just giggled. Paris couldn’t have come up with something like that…
wonder what happened to that oily fellow?
stop eating dogs.
either really make it a farm to meat-packer to restaurant industry,
or stop eating dogs.
It’s one of the things that sets Korea in the back seat.
One example is constant stealing of pet dogs for consumption. These people can go to hell.
Something like this need not continue in a OECD 20 country. This happens in China, Vietnam. Wanna be like them? Go ahead.
Maybe you’ll have the south pole sticking up with the Mrs. tonight.
As the prophet Baduk said,
(I call him a prophet, because by definition, what he said came true)
2MB will force upon this country some improvements, such as being better at English language.
Years ago, Koreans were advised not to make themselves look like ass holes when traveling abroad.
This applies now to Chinese tourists.
Someday, thanks to 2MB, Koreans will stop stealing pet dogs for food.
I doubt though, they will stop eating it all together.
Dirty old men are dirty old men.
When talking about eating dog meat with my students- I don’t judge, I’ve tried it myself- most of them get defensive with critics(PETA, Brigette Bardot).
We talk about cultural differences and the misconceptions that go on with it.
However, they are always adamant that Korean people DO NOT eat pet dogs. They get very, very serious about this.
Maybe they mean they don’t eat their pet. Eating someone else’s pet on the other hand……
Man, a lot of Koreans get so worked up and angry when someone like Jay Leno makes jokes about Koreans & dogs.
However, stories like this and the number of stories I’ve heard from students about men in their families eating their pets or someone elses pets just shoots down any argument that dog eating in Korea is very well organized and done carefully.
I guess it’s kind of the same as being an American. A lot of people around the world hate us and criticize us. I try to think that we do have our problems, but we aslo have some really redeeming qualities as well. However, whenever an American, especially in Korea, does something incredibly stupid, arrogant or thoughtless in the public eye, I get mad at that person and think “why did they have to be such an idiot and make us look bad?”.
Every place has it’s fair share of idiots. Maybe you can say some more than others.
I do hate chihuahua’s though!
That and arrogant, selfish a$$es like this ajosshi.
It’s like a child- “but I was hungry!”
“Man, a lot of Koreans get so worked up and angry when someone like Jay Leno makes jokes about Koreans & dogs.”
Of course Koreans get upset. To you this is just merely a joke. HA HA HA, very funny. To Koreans this essentially takes the country back to the M.A.S.H days when it was underdeveloped and dirt poor. So it’s more then a joke, it’s a quick way of putting down a country that has spent the first half of the 20th century being put down culturally, economically and politically.
I get offended also. There are a lot of Koreans in LA. So when Jay Leno says Koreans eat dogs in his Burbank studios, what does that mean about all the Koreans who work in the dry cleaners, convenience stores and gas stations in U.S. neighborhoods? Americans don’t always make the distinction between what Koreans do on the peninsula and what they do in the states. Shit, I even have one friend who lives in NJ who still meets people who seriously ask if she’s originally from North Korea.
oh, man, that guy was hungry. What more he have to excuse? Don’t you know Korea is very poor country? Hahahaha… I couldn’t take my laugh.
I don’t think it takes Koreans back to the days when they were poor, as I do not see any correlation between consumption of dogmeat and poverty. Koreans are offended by the joke for other reasons.
Wangkon936:
Not having the capacity to laugh at ourselves is pretty good evidence that we still have a long way to go in shedding the backwardly image you mention.
Also note that the kind of things Jay Leno and other American comedians “joke” about with regard to foreigners, Korean journalists write up in all seriousness. Talk about being strict on others and lenient on ourselves (as the Korean saying goes).
If I had a dog and someone were attempting to par-broil him or her I’d kill him, as simple as that. I consider pets part of the family. Now I know as a foreigner they’d lock me up and throw away the key. But say I were Korean, or, for that matter, say in this instance this woman who owned the chihuahua were a little more burley when she caught this guy with the dog on the broiler. Say there was a knife handy. How would this have gone down? Could she use the, “I’m old and have had a hard life” defense, or do you have to be guy for that? Okay, what if she were a guy?
I’m sorry, I have to disagree. This story is hilarious…even if you are Korean. The guy stole his landlords dog to eat it? LOL! I know this would make a field day target for Jay Leno or anyone else, but I will admit that I had trouble keeping my laughter in when reading this because it’s not only about a guy who ate a dog, he stole the landlord’s dog and ate it.
BTW, the parents of four of my Korean-American friends were North Korean born. I am not sure why that is a ridiculous question to ask. Furthermore, one of my good friends from university was originally a Zainichi North Korean who was studying abroad.
I guess there’s no edit function. I meant “backward”, not backwardly.
Maddlew,
If drunk Korean male dog owner beats up the thief, police will slap the thief in the head and tell him to go home. If any other kind of dog owner beats up the thief, expect the headline: “사람이 개만도 못한 세상.”
15 / wjk: There are dog farms. Actually a student of mine claimed her father owned a free-range farm in Jeolla… Jindo-dogs that were basically treated like cattle, they could run around and play and be fed all in a certain area and every so often when one was “ready,” it was butchered and sold for meat. She mentioned nothing of the humaneness… but she did claim she couldn’t eat any other dog because free-range was so much more delicious…
…on a sidenote, this guy’s an idiot and I hope the landlady tosses his only worldly posessions off her balcony…
What a relief, he failed to eat Chihuahua. The dog meat would have excited his sexual drive to rape his 69-year-old landlady.
Haha! This story is hilarious. You’d think if you were going to roast some dog, you wouldn’t target your landlady’s dog. I’m guessing Park’s rent has just sky-rocketed.
On a more serious note, I have much more sympathy for Park than I do for Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. whose cruelty toward animals recently led to the largest beef recall in US history (143 million pounds of beef). Hopefully the American beef industry will learn a lesson here. Treat animals with respect. Or if you can’t, at least freakin ban video cameras from your facility!
Yeah, never joke about dog meat. You can joke about 9/11, and did Koreans ever do that! In a constantly recurring TV commercial too. But mention, without proper multi-culti respect, the indisputable fact that Koreans eat dog meat, and hoo boy…
Alejandro, Koreans are very sensitive about their dog meat for some reason. I tried to get a picture of a dog meat vendor in a market last week, and the adjumma refused to let me take the picture, and was rolling up her sleeves to make a boshintang out of me. You can’t joke about dog meat, you can’t even take pictures of it or talk about it. I don’t know if it’s a lack of a sense of humor, or if it’s a victim complex. Whatever it is, if only Koreans knew how much I dig the doggie dinner. I would have gladly partaken in Park’s chihuahua-soju snack party, and I would have even made sure Park put the lighter fuel on the coals and not on his @$#%@#$ clothes.
Benicio74 and Timmy,
If you cannot see the connection between dog eating jokes, M*A*S*H, and a half-century of poverty in Korea, then clearly you both are racist pricks.
Haha Sonagi proves my point exactly. Victim complex and no sense of humor!
24: You’re obviously confusing that with the place where my dog went when he was 12. It was so special that my parents didn’t even let me come along for the ride.
#20
One of the English on-line dailies here published an article last summer explaining the relation between dog and snake meat and the unscientifically proven (superstitious) health benefits.
The premise is that in times as Korea has been a typically poor country, dogs (easy prey) , snakes and other less desirable land and aquatic creatures were sources of needed protein. This often boosted the consumers’ strength and energy, thus creating the myth of ‘health benefits’.
Hence the correlation between poverty and dog meat consumption.
Now, loach soup (추 어 탕) falls in the same category I reckon, and creeps me out a bit. Where do those snake looking catfish hang out? And why is it supposed to be a ” healthy food” ?
Maddlew
He would well deserve a good ass kicking but to stab him for killing your dog! I’d hope the Korean authorities would lock you up whether you were a foreigner or not and I’d bet that your own government would lock you up as well.
Dog-eating Koreans are now charging rich pet-loving Americans $150,000 to bring their dead pooches back to life.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/scie.....tworkfront
How do you like them apples now?
@#32
Next time I see Koreans being antagonized with slurs about them being dog eaters, I’ll remember to laugh and carefully note that such Koreans must have victim complexes if they don’t laugh when they’re being victimized.
I’ve seen Asians bashing Koreans for being dog eaters. Of course, these Asians are usually from countries where the people eat dogs too. Not that they know any of this — because Jay Leno didn’t mention it. Now, that’s funny!
Next time I see Koreans being antagonized with slurs about them being dog eaters, I’ll remember to laugh and carefully note that such Koreans must have victim complexes if they don’t laugh when they’re being victimized.
The next time an expat starts whining about the xenophobic Korean press, or some random ajossi looking at him wrong in the street, or what have you, tell them to lighten up and stop having a victim complex.
Next time I see Koreans being antagonized with slurs about them being dog eaters, I’ll remember to laugh and carefully note that such Koreans must have victim complexes if they don’t laugh when they’re being victimized.
But who said Koreans were being antagonized? Again, you are demonstrating a victim complex.
Wake up Netizen Kim. There’s a slight difference between xenophobia/racism and mentioning the fact that Koreans eat dog meat. Hello!
Wake up Netizen Kim. There’s a slight difference between xenophobia/racism and mentioning the fact that Koreans eat dog meat. Hello!
This is what makes Korea looked down upon in the modern world. Just when people are starting to learn about “Korea Sparkling”, a story about a Korean man eating the most beloved domesticated animal in Western history breaks out. And learning that this is common in Korea, myself am also shocked beyond belief. I always thought the Korean Dog Eaters was just a racist rumor. This story better not get played in the States or Europe because people will believe that Koreans are barbarians and do not deserve the time of day.
“This story better not get played in the States or Europe because people will believe that Koreans are barbarians and do not deserve the time of day.”
Better hope that all the school and workplace shootings that occur in America aren’t reported outside the United States, lest people around the world get a similarly negative impression about its people.
Better hope that all the school and workplace shootings that occur in America aren’t reported outside the United States
They need to start ripping out all those metal detectors from the inner-city high schools and start putting them in the universities.
#43: Doubt it will, there were news stories about some American taking part in beastiality and as far as I know, Americans aren’t considered ‘barbarians’ across the globe for that.
“Better hope that all the school and workplace shootings that occur in America aren’t reported outside the United States, lest people around the world get a similarly negative impression about its people.”
You’re right, Virginia Tech did not help. But back to the subject, Most civilizations stopped eating dogs 30,000 years ago once mankind realized that canines were the most loyal to humans. It goes without saying to not enjoy torturing and eating a loyal subject. And no that was not a North Korea caniballism joke.
And I should clarify, it is estimated that only 1 in 10 Koreans in the peninsula still eat dogs. I can understand cultural values and all, but I have a hard time believing that eating dogs has always been a tradition in Korea. It seems more likely a recent custom brought from Manchuria or China within the past 100 years or so. Even if “man’s best friend” is “man’s best dish” over there, that still is no excuse for someone to eat another person’s pet.
“The consumption of dog meat can be traced back many years. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. One of the wall paintings in the Goguryeo tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a UNESCO World Heritage site which dates from 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse.”
I can see where you’re coming from acropolis7. I was just pointing out that: 1) You can pop over to the Fox News website and, on a daily basis, find at least half a dozen US News stories that smoke (no pun intended) this one in terms of shock value, and that 2) These stories are probably not the most accurate depictions of Americans in general.
I think that the majority of Koreans, Americans, or people of any nationality - at least those not in the midst of a famine - would tend to oppose the eating of another person’s pet, just as I’m fairly certain that the majority would also disapprove of murdering one’s coworkers or classmates.
Was anyone making excuses for him? Do pro-gun Americans make excuses for guys who go onto college campuses and open fire on students?
Great, now we America — land of the school shooting — and Europe — soon-to-be land of honor killings and sharia law — calling other people barbarians because they eat animals they think are pets. Hindus think cows are sacred — hasn’t stop Americans from eating them by the millions.
Dog: the Other Red Meat
Cows are not loyal nor trustworthy. And unlike cows, dogs are responsible for at least 1/3 of the planets population. Before humans had weapons, they had dogs as companions to find food, even in the toughest times, dogs remain loyal to humans. No other beast has helped human beings as much as dogs. The fact that you would even compare a dog to a cow is amazing. And as far as school killings, lets not bring that up because if you consider those events barbaric, then you must look at the persons who commited the worst. The Romans killed for sport, but they would not be termed barbaric by scholars now would they?
I was looking up the history of 개고기 and stumbled upon this;
http://www.gospelfarm.co.kr/imgData/hang_big.jpg
개소주! 하하하! I’ve got to try it, if only it weren’t a quarter mil a bottle.
Blah, blah, blah, blah. You know what, dogs are such good friends to man, that when you’re hungry, you can eat ‘em! And they’re yummy, too! And I’m sure if you trained a cow, he’d be just as wonderful a companion as a dog.
Also, tell 1.6 billion Muslims that a dog is man’s best friend — they consider the animal unclean.
You’re right. The comparison is totally bogus. After all, I’ve never heard of anyone dying of “Mad Dog Disease.” I’ve never heard of a dog becoming a sacred object for a faith of 1 billion people.
I gather that pigs also make pretty good pets; however, they make even better pork roasts, hams, sausages, 삼곂살, and footballs!
I doubt any Cow can be trained to rescue people trapped in unforgiving conditions like Saint Bernard’s can, or be medical companions that help operate things a physically handicapped person cannot,or herd your livestock for you…..
I take that back. Rocko’s best friend from “Rocko’s modern life” probably can.
you win.
Don’t get me wrong. Eating other people’s pet is really f*cked because people tend to, you know, get emotionally attached to them. I love bacon and samgyupsal, but that doesn’t mean I’ll go slaughter my neighbor’s pot-bellied pig (… they don’t have pot-bellied pig).
But ‘man’s best friend’ and ‘loyalty’ is bs concept because it’s not universal. At best, it is a localized societal opinion, and often criticisms against eating dog is associated with overt ethnocentrism. This is amplified when words like ‘barbarian’ gets thrown around. Jay Leno is as guilty as any racially/culturally insensitive Korean media - though Leno does not have the journalistic responsibility Korean media seems to lack, he does have responsibility that comes along with his significant social influence.
Regulation of dog meat industry is critical in order to minimize, if not eradicate, the abuse of dogs prior to slaughter as well as potential sanitation problems.
Just my two cents ^^.
Hey, I doubt dogs can carry packs on their back, plow your field, provide rich and plentiful fertilizer, provide heating fuel (as they do in Mongolia) and create building material (as they do in East Africa). Hasn’t kept them off the dinner plate, now has it?
“I doubt any Cow can be trained to rescue people trapped in unforgiving conditions like Saint Bernard’s can, or be medical companions that help operate things a physically handicapped person cannot,or herd your livestock for you…”
Ironically, two of the three country references you make (Switzerland) is also known for their fine dog meat dish.
#57: Leno has one responsibility: make people laugh. If someone’s wittle feewings get hurt in the process, then that someone needs to grow a sense of humor.
Speaking of Leno, has anyone alerted him to this story yet?
Regulation of dog meat industry is critical in order to minimize, if not eradicate, the abuse of dogs prior to slaughter as well as potential sanitation problems.
Government regulation of the dog meat industry is indeed necessary to stop the abuse of the dogs. South Korea legislation has tried to do that. In order for that to happen, dogs have to be officially classified as livestock.
However, the same animals right people (both Korean and from abroad) have successfully thwarted any attempts to apply the Livestock Processing Act to dogs.
I’m glad you guys finally found your niche.
Comparing dogs with cows is like comparing 9/11 to the south gate collapse. And absolutely no one in their right mind would ever do,… nm.
In all fairness I will just nod my head and agree that dogs are no different from eating than pigs, dolphins, whales, or the Dutch. I do not want Marmot to be mad at a me.
No… no cultural imperialist like yourself would.
WTF are you on about? Try getting a f8cking chihuahua to plow your fields day in and day out until it drops dead! Now that’s loyalty!~
“Dog-eating Koreans are now charging rich pet-loving Americans $150,000 to bring their dead pooches back to life.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/scie…..tworkfront
How do you like them apples now?”
Even in a recession, Americans will find time to spend ridiculous amounts of money to justify the making of the movie “The 6th Day”.
Reams of USDA regulations didn’t stop a California slaugtherhouse from waterboarding and ramming forklifts into downer dairy cows to get ‘em to stand long enough to be butchered.
slaugtherhouse = slaughterhouse
“No… no cultural imperialist like yourself would”
Im still kinda new here so I don’t know if your joking around with me or being serious. But you have to admit that you never here the term “imperialist” in America. First time I read about Americans being “imperialists” was while reading the KCNA webpage.I almost spat my Sprite out my nose. I did not know whether to be flattered or to feel bad. If someone ran up to an American in a foriegn country and yelled ” you American bellicose Imperialist!” the American would more than likely be wondering if the person had just gotten done watching Star Wars or something.
rabies.
not exclusive.
dogs and cats are known to nibble at their dead owners in locked houses.
haven’t been to Bovine University yet,
but it’s my understanding that Koreans “pae” the dog to unleash the hormones they credit to enhance men’s erections.
THAT, I have a problem with.
THUS, dog meat can’t be shelfed like any other animal meat.
fresh in a cage.
THAT, I have a serious problem with.
they don’t get a clean neck slice.
they get beaten, beaten, beaten, beaten, beaten, beaten, beaten, beaten, beaten, to death.
all for the libido.
that did get me pretty hot
My god, I am so wiped out… Apparently I’m the only person here thats owned a chihuahua. That little dog was sooo loyal. It was just me and my 3 lb dog. I loved that dog. Everybody else couldn’t go near her because she went nuts and started barking her head off. But she was totally different with me. Thats the way those little dogs are. A three pound dog that would come running to the door when I got home from work, wagging her little half ounce tail. Just one cool little happy animal. When she died at 13 years of age It killed me. It was my first dog and I don’t think I will ever buy another. Thats what a good dog she was… I tried to see the humor in a what happened to the ladies little dog. I mean I really tried. But as far as I’m concerned you can hang that bastard… And, thats as creative as I can get. Oh my god!!!
Some people say that loyalty - true loyalty - can’t be bought at any price. I don’t know about that, but this article does show that it can be caught and grilled.
Sonagi:
I like to laugh at jokes that make fun of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Jews, Chinese, Arabs, and most of all, Koreans. I’m proud of Korea, and I’m not insecure enough to be offended by a joke made by a comedian who is obviously an equal opportunity offender. Moreover, I dare point out your view of Korea is extremely troubling, since (South) Korea never had “half a century of poverty.” I advise you to reflect how your obviously good intentions led you to such an absurd understanding of our history, and to be less insecure and paternalistic about our country and our people. We can laugh at ourselves. Try it, it will be very therapeutic.
timmy, I think Koreans have plenty to be proud about, and I’m glad to hear that you have the capacity - heck, even enjoy the opportunity - to find humor in your country.
Thirty years of poverty might have been more accurate number than the fifty years Sonagi mentioned, at least if one wants to start the clock in 1945 or 1948. I think that my wife’s family got their first fridge in 1978. About the same time as they got a TV. And they’ve never looked back!
#74 Are you one of these people who put human life below animals? Would you spend over $900 dollars for an operation to save your animals life?
#70 Mary Provost did not look her best
The day the cops bust into her lonely nest
In the cheap hotel up
on Hollywood West July 29
She’d been lyin’ there
for two or three weeks
The neighbors said
they never heard a squeak
For hungry eyes that could not speak
Said even little doggie’s have got to eat
She was winner
The became the doggie’s dinner
She never meant that much to me
(But now I see) Oh poor Mary
Mary Provost was a movie queen
Mysterious angel of the silent screen
And run like the wind
the nation’s young men steam
When Mary crossed the silent screen
Oh she came out west from New York
But when the talkies came
Mary just couldn’t cope
Her public said Mary take a walk
All the way back to New York
Those Quaalude balms didn’t help her sleep
As her nights grew long
and her days grew bleak
It’s all downhill
once you’ve passed your peak
Mary got ready for that last big sleep
The cops came in
and they looked around
Throwing up everywhere over
what they found
The handiwork of Mary’s little dachshund
That hungry little dachshund
Poor Mary, poor Mary, poor, poor Mary
Poor Mary
She was a winner
that became the doggie’s dinner
She never meant that much to me
(But now I see) Oh poor Mary
As a Korean i can’t believe this. Its the god damn old people. Early boomers and their parents. I personally blame China because dog eating been in China for centuries.
As a Korean i can’t believe this. Its the god damn old people. Early boomers and their parents. I personally blame China because dog eating been in China for centuries.
Oh shut the fuck up, you retarded fool.
#82 There is a lot of love in those words. Good show old boy!
@#76:
Are ya new here, Timmy? Regulars would figure out that I was mocking comment #18.
Righto, tonto; it was more like 5000 years of poverty for all except the hereditary aristocracy.
Isn’t more accurate to say that Korea, like most of the world, has had several decades of prosperity after thousands of years of poverty?
No, it’s not. The rulers of various countries collected baubles, trinkets, and monuments based on the wealth of their nations — compare the treasures of Britain, France, Cambodia, various Indian subcontinent states, Egypt, the Incas, Mayans and Toltecs, or nearly any other great civilization (China!). Then go see the meagre collections of junk down in Kyeongju, Kongju or Puyo. See the tinfoil hammered out to be the crowns of proto-Korean kings. Even the rulers of these people were dirt poor.
To me that makes the Korean economic miracle all the more amazing and miraculous, and worthy of respect and praise. But for some reason, Koreans want to lie to me and to themselves about the glorious and rich past of the country that they somehow fumbled away. And for that I Blame Japan™.
I wasn’t referring to ruling classes of the world and am not aware of poverty measures that do that.
He knows, slim. He just felt like unleashing a little storm of FU.
You were talking of wealth of nations. Wealth of nations can be measured by the treasures they accumulate, no? For example, Britain was rich, even while many (most?) of the British were poor. Consequently, London is swimming in treasure. By contrast, Korea has virtually none. It may be more satisfying for Koreans to say “It was all stolen!”, but that is a lie. The more likely truth is, for 99.5% of its history, this has been one of the most wretched and poor countries on the face of the Earth.
What a spectacular reversal! Rags to riches. Slaves to free men. Enough of pretend past glories — this current prosperity is Korea’s achievement, and it is truly glorious.
Nice closing counselor. But why didn’t you bold the truly glorious?
I fear too much boldface makes me seem too much like whackadoodle John C. Dvorak.
‘The more likely truth is, for 99.5% of its history, this has been one of the most wretched and poor countries on the face of the Earth.’
a lie but anyway, you’re still married to one, ain’t ya?
‘See the tinfoil hammered out to be the crowns of proto-Korean kings. Even the rulers of these people were dirt poor.’ brenden
this one shows your ignorance even more. you mean, you can gage the wealth and poverty of nations based on the use of gold foil? are you kidding me? the crown’s crap, i agree, but i understand it’s concept while you apparently don’t. got nothing to do with wealth or poverty.
still further, interesting that shilla had one of the largest urban centers in the world, no? how could it be the koreans were so poor?
perhaps, anger.
Consequently, London is swimming in treasure. By contrast, Korea has virtually none.
Perhaps if Chosun had gone on a 500 year span global exploitation rampage (aka imperialism, slave trading, genocide, etc), Seoul also would be swimming in such treasure.
What do you think?
I have read that Korea may have once influenced the regions near Shanghai and established trading routes with India and as far as the East African coast. I know most people would shoot down this idea, but you have to admit that a majority of Korean history has been eroded by constant wars and looting. It would not surprise me if half of Japan’s prosperity and history actually has Korean roots. And this is coming from a non-Korean.
# 49,
Dog eating on the Korean peninsula has had ancient roots and probably came from settlers from or passing through Manchuria. The Tungustic tribes of Manchuria also ate dogs until Nurhachi (founder of the Manchu Qing Dynasty) banned it when a dog saved him from drowning. That’s why dog eating isn’t as wide spread in China and Manchuria.
# 51,
Reminds me of a scene in in The Patriot after Martin’s men capture Cornwallis’ personal baggage…
John Billings: I say we drink the wine, eat the dogs, and use the paper for musket wading.
Reverend Oliver: Eat the dogs!
Benjamin Martin: Aye, a dog is a fine meal.
Reverend Oliver: G-G-Good Heavens!
# 74…
I think all of our male jingoism in these threads is about to scare vicki away…
Sonagi, do something.
Alot of history was systemically wiped out by the Japanese occupation.
China has and still eats a large amount of dog meat. China is the biggest and only exporter of dog meat in the world.
Korea being dirt poor is just a patent lie. Dont comment on Korean history which you know little about mr. reject lawyer.
I actually agree with Mr. Carr on this one.
Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa is full of lies.
First off, it was written 300 years into Koryo’s Kingdom. And it professes to accurately note 5000 years of Korean history.
2nd off, there is surely a severe lack of monumental monuments which are found in other great civilizations.
Rich kings build stuff and collect stuff.
China used to collect them at Luo Yang.
Japan hoarded some, too.
the only proof of having been rich is present…is well, non existant. Unless you want to count some stone made Giant Buddhas.
Giant Buddhas are found in Central Asia as well, though, where they seemed to have been well off sometime ago.
Korean ones aren’t as big as theirs, though. Draw your own conclusions.
Where are Goryo’s monuments, which lasted 400 years, longer than some Chinese kingdoms? Well, there’s a blue jar.
What about Chosun, 500 years? A white jar.
They outlasted some Chinese kingdoms, too.
You gotta take into account that they were portioning a big % of their GDP to China since 668AD. I’d guess 30%.
Hail Great General, Kim Yoo Shin !
He’s a piece of shit.
Granted Maya and Inca don’t exist, they built huge shit to feel good about themselves.
And it is indeed interesting that Shilla and Baekjae kings wore thin gold crowns.
While, it is clearly, clearly, so clearly evident to me now, that
Goryo and Joseon kings were not allowed to wear gold crowns.
Must have been a Chinese edict.
What a powerful peninsular nation.
Netizen Kim:
I agree 100%. But financing that kind of thing takes some initial wealth, which Korea never really had enough of to muster an effort. (It also takes advanced technologies.) The Europeans never got going with it until they had a decisive edge over neighbors, from the 15th century or so.
Koreans are generally pretty good at mistreating foreign laborers here in Korea and overseas. This country also has a history of mass enslavement of its own people. So don’t tell me that slavery was something that Koreans reject by their kind and egalitarian nature. That’s not true either. Koreans are people, and if during their history they had ever been wealthier or more powerful than their neighbors Korean “imperialism” would have presented itself.
pawikirogi:
Sure enough you can gauge the relative wealth and poverty of nations — and corporations — based on the accumulated collection of stuff its rulers have. Why do you think the rulers collect that stuff? It’s to show off how rich they are — they mobilize the wealth of their people for the purpose of aggrandizement.
What do you think the “Leeum” is all about, anyway?
Visitors to the Kim family’s junk closets in North Korea are generally struck by how the nature of the “treasures” on display confirm how poor North Korea is.
Don’t tell me Koreans eschew conspicuous displays of wealth. That’s nonsense. But I’m game: What’s pawikirogi’s explanation for the fact that the rulers of Korea’s various states couldn’t muster very much in the way of baubles? If the crown is crap, what explains that fact?
ditto81:
It would not surprise me either. In fact, I am glad to support such a thesis 100% — maybe more. Why does it matter that you (or I) are non-Korean? Are we supposed to automatically “support” the “Korean side” of some factual dispute if we’re ethnically Korean?
Japan got most of its early technology transfer, and a lot of its people, via the Korean peninsula. And then Japan had better environmental conditions to work with, and thus was able to achieve more. There’s no value judgment here. Poor is poor, just like wet is wet.
I wish someone (your parents) hadn’t filled your heads with nonsense like poor = genetically inferior. Poor just means poor.
“Perhaps if Chosun had gone on a 500 year span global exploitation rampage (aka imperialism, slave trading, genocide, etc), Seoul also would be swimming in such treasure. ”
Exploit whom? And if Korea could have, you dont think they wouldnt have??? Bc Koreans are such nice people???
We were either too busy sucking China’s cock, getting fucked in the ass by the Japanese, or just fighting amongst ourselves like we always do.
I certainly did not intend to open up a whole new front of K-bashing, J-bashing, expat-bashing (and whatever it is that Netizen Kim does with words) when I pointed out that poverty was the normal condition of mankind, including in Korea, for most of history. I got the impression that folks were suggesting that the sparkling Korea we all know and love (or love to hate) today was the norm that Korea got back to after a few lean decades under Japanese rule or Syngman Rhee kleptocracy or something. The downtrodden serfdom of today’s DPRK subjects was more likely the norm, no?
The proximate issue was dog eating and its relation to low living standards and the sensitivity about that image. I don’t associate eating dogs with poverty, because in the two places I’ve seen it (and tried it) — South Korea and Taiwan — as long as I’ve been visiting the region (1980 onward) dog has been a delicacy MORE expensive than other foods.
# 60,
You are wrong. Leno’s primary responsibility isn’t to make people laugh. It’s to make money for himself and NBC BY making people laugh. Otherwise, he’d be out of a job.
Television stations don’t like to upset people because if yelling at them doesn’t work then they just yell at the sponsors. This is why so many mainstream television shows are so PC these days.
# 101,
“We were either too busy sucking China’s cock, getting fucked in the ass by the Japanese, or just fighting amongst ourselves like we always do.”
True… and we end up kowtowing to China or getting bitch-slapped by the Japanese because we are too busy fighting amongst ourselves…
“When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.”
- John B. Bogart, city editor of The Sun between 1873 and 1890, offering what is perhaps the most frequently quoted definition of the journalistic endeavor (Wikipedia)
“It’s news! Man bites rabid dog in southern India” Reuters UK
http://uk.reuters.com/article/.....EnoughNews
Sonagi:
Yes, I am new here. Thanks for clearing that up. (Should’ve known; “Racist prick” did seem a bit over the top.)
Brendon:
I’m painfully aware of the over-glorifications and distortions that exist in Korean history education. It is a problem that definitely needs to be constantly addressed. But seriously, “one of the most wretched and poor countries on the face of the Earth”? Unless I’m mistaking sarcasm for sincerity like I did with Sonagi’s comment, seems like you’re simply replacing one form of distortion with another, even more egregious, one. I’m no history buff, but if there’s one certainty in world history, it’s that the pendulum of properity never stops swinging. The height of the British empire or the Mayan civilzation is hardly a fair standard to use in deciding a country is “wretched and poor.” I would obviously never assert that Korea had a glorious history that surpasses the wealth of the British empire or any of the other great civilzations, but if you add the temporal element, there were many periods when Korea was better off than contemporaneous Europe, Africa, etc., just like there were many periods when the reverse was true.
In the end, I think you’re probably annoyed with the closed-mindedness and prejudice you perceive in Koreans to the point you want to just say “the f*** with all this, this is how pathetic your country is.” You’re frustration is evidenced in the kind of counterarguments you preempt; e.g., “don’t tell me that slavery was something that Koreans reject by their kind and egalitarian nature,” “Don’t tell me Koreans eschew conspicuous displays of wealth.” Sure, online comment boards are overrun by these type of comments, but out of ALL the Koreans I know, I’d say less than 1 out of 5 are thickheaded enough to make those kind of assertiongs. Furthermore, if you’re annoyed by Koreans in this respect, you’d be annoyed by 80% of the whole world. Glorification of history and artificial sense of superiority is par for the course in most countries, especially those that are ethnically homogenous (yes, even EUROPEAN countries. All I’m saying is that although your frustration is justified, it doesn’t justify you crossing the fine line between criticism and insult.
#98 It did scare me away. But even though I realize I’m minnow in a sharks tank, I will keep going, figure this out and learn something…
Way to hang in there, timmy and vicki!
#78…”Are you one of these people that puts human life below animals?”…. No, are you? I’m not an animal, are you? And, I would spend what ever I could to make sure an animal in my care was taken care of if it needed help. They are, after all flesh and blood. On the other hand I not radical about it, but I would hang somebody if they ate my dog…