Sometimes I think there is justice in the world. (Thanks to James for the link, and Jennifer for the news tip!)
The news that the Russkies have forced a switch of people going into space just made my week. Regular readers of my blog know that we’ve always been in Soyeon’s camp ever since she made the final 300 and we decided to do interviews with her, well before she got anywhere near the final cut. I just had a weird feeling she would win.
I won’t repost the first two parts of the interview series here, nor start running off at the mouth, since I know that will irk some Marmoteers. You can read more and see those vids at my blog if you’d like.
Just FYI – part 3, which I planned to do in April, will get upped sooner than I had planned. I was originally planning a poignant sendup for Soyeon, since she said some pretty cool things about the eventuality of not being chosen as the final candidate, and that’s the way things had apparently ended up; but now, I think it makes sense to get that out sooner, rather than later.
Because now, it’s a party!
Congratulations, Soyeon!
68 Comments
(from the Korea Times)
Seems pretty harsh to be disqualified for that, but I guess their space capsule, their rules.
Thanks…^^
Hey Mike, I haven’t been able to see your page for weeks now from work… seemed to disappear after your problems with the blogs.com deal. Any idea what’s up?
Just saw a picture of her on CNN and she is very cute!
First good looking astronaut I’ve seen.
Well, John Glenn did have that sexy scamper about him…..
Wonder why a smart guy like Ko San made stupid mistakes like the ones mentioned above?
Anyway, part of me is thinking whether Ko San was let go because of his association with Samsung. This program does have its detractors which view it as a big government funded space tourism junket, and considering the recent events surrounding Samsung, the government may have decided that putting a Samsung man in orbit, using government funds, might not reflect postively on the whole program.
Besides there’s more PR value in putting a female Korean in space rather than a male Samsung researcher.
Dude, how do you “accidentally” send a training manual home? Every training manual I’ve ever seen, even for things a hell of a lot less complex than a space shuttle, has been roughly the size and weight of a small tank. That’s like mistakenly not realizing you have a brick in your bag. And I’m not suprised that they’re pisssed that he was looking at things he was not authorized to see. He’s lucky he’s still being allowed to stay as the back-up!
Of course, So-yeon was clearly a better candidate from the first, so I’m pleased she’ll get to go!
Dude, how do you “accidentally” send a training manual home? Every training manual I’ve ever seen, even for things a hell of a lot less complex than a space shuttle, has been roughly the size and weight of a small tank. That’s like mistakenly not realizing you have a brick in your bag. And I’m not suprised that they’re pisssed that he was looking at things he was not authorized to see. He’s lucky he’s still being allowed to stay as the back-up!
Of course, So-yeon was clearly a better candidate from the first, so I’m pleased she’ll get to go instead of that tool, Go.
Well, it’s not just PR, methinks.
Without getting into specifics, since I don’t want to get anyone into trouble, in terms of qualifications, Soyeon was always acing everything from physical to written exams. Hence, a lot of people (including myself) were both surprised and disappointed that she didn’t get picked. She’s qualified for that seat, perhaps even more (I can only suspect) than Ko himself.
If there’s any theory involving Samsung I’d tend to believe, it’s that Samsung, which has big bucks and major influence, wanted its man in space. Talk about PR!
Personally, I think one mistake involving a training manual “accidentally” sent home might be forgiven. But then peeking at forbidden pilot’s manuals? Come on. I think there was some state-motivated “peeking” going on, and the Russians are pissed and took him off the roster, both as punishment and because they don’t trust him. Would you, if a foreign astronaut was caught trying to send home sensitive materials?
#1,
The Russians could have easily accused him of much worse than not following regulations. My guess is that they preferred to have South Korea knock a few extra million dollars off its debt than to make this into an international incident.
This is the first time I’m reading this blog so I don’t know how you know this Soyeon or San, but I guess you’re in the business.
I seriously doubt that San took those manuals home ‘accidentally.’ I would not be surprised at all if Korean government instructed him to take a peek in some of the techinical stuff of even bring it home. You better believe that those manuals have been copied and stored in Korean laboratories.
Well, it kind of irks me that a woman from Korea gets to go to space first, but I guess that’s just the Korean in me. I was pulling for San because of his Samsung connection. Not that I have any affiliation, but it was a proof that he’s capable. There I go again with the Korean bias. Whatever.
I don’t know about this situation, and am not a space expert, but it seems that looking at manuals for other crew members would be encouraged, not forbidden. If you get in a tight spot up in space, the more you know the better. I may be missing something.
#7.
Then the next question is; Why the peeking?
It could be just a case of unauthorized peeking, but on the other hand why would Ko San do that considering what he had to go through to get the seat on the Soyuz. And also why would the ROK government be interested in amature espionage?
Well whatever the inside scoop, Soyeon has her work cut out for her. The Ko San story has probably spread among the Russian space folks, and me thinks that they probably don’t trust Soyeon and will be looking very closely at her until the April 8th launch. Which means one mistake by Soyeon and bye bye space program.
For example, if a Russian came to Korea and took some LCD manufaturing data home ‘accidentally,’ all hell would break loose. A former LG exec actually managed to pull something like that to the Chinese, so yeah. Things like that happen I guess.
In a separate matter, I’m very pissed that we’re going with the Russians. It only costs $30 million to ride to Soyuz and spend a week on ISS, and there were seven private tourists who already did exactly what this government-funded astronaut will do. Why can’t we participate in a Space Shuttle mission with a longer duration?
Yeah, the huge debt, yeah. But if Japan can send its people on Space Shuttles we should too. Russia can take its time paying us back in T-92 Black Bear MBTs and whatnot.
That is assuming it’s a case of unauthorized peeking of manuals.
Vic, is there any particular reason besides blatant sexism that Soyeon’s gender is pissing you off? I mean, I’d love to hear a reasonable reason . . . except that of course, there is none.
@15,
Well yeah it is the sexism. I really didn’t keep up with their testing results or anything. As a matter of fact I didn’t know that they realeased such info in the first place.
I’m not that pissed off that Soyeon gets to go. It’s just that San has been talked about for months now as the first Korean astronaut and then bam, Russians command us - clients - to change the face of this whole program.
Before I even get there, I’m more angry at this ’space program’ to begin with. I have no idea what the details of the program are, but this sounds almost exactly like the package that Dennis Tito went on before. Is it space program or space tourism? If it’s space tourism like it’s looking right now, what right does the MST have taking my tax money and sending a lucky (albeit, very qualified, I take it) Korean to space?
I mean seriously, what kind of ’scientific experiments’ can be done in a week that hasn’t been done before? With all the money invested on developing Space Kimchi and Ramen and stuff, this better be a first of many, or I’ll be asking for my tax refund.
@4
Soyeon isn’t actually cute…
And 15, you won’t believe how many retarded sexists are commenting on Naver’s article on this… I honestly don’t know which of the two is more qualified, but I trust that Soyeon is qualified to go to space, but some of these Koreans are saying that the Ministry of Gender Equality lobbied for an underqualified woman even as a backup. Now that’s what I’d call blatant sexism.
I mean, give me some credit. I’m not as bad as a lot of the close-minded chauvinistic Korean males. I’m just pissed that Russians get to have such a big say in a supposedly “Korean” program.
At first I saw “Russkies” and “change of chairs” and thought this was about the election of Moscow’s new puppet president so Vladimir Putin could keep pulling the strings.
BTW, Metropolitician, “Russkies” is often considered an offensive term. You may want to clean that up.
I don’t see how Naver commenters excuse you being a sexist twat, nor why I should give you credit for anything. From what you said I have no idea what would distinguish you in any way from those “close-minded chauvinistic Korean males”
And if you “trust” she’s qualified, why make the statement in the first place? Or do you think it’s inherently impossible that a woman could be qualified for this work?
Even though, of course, she outpreformed Go in nearly every test, and passed every single one with flying colors.
Next we can work on the logic of how Russian control over who goes up in their spaceship makes your sexism totally ok . . .
@19
Holy defensive paranoia Batman!
Okay, I said ‘irked.’ Irked. Not ‘pissed off,’ not ‘angry,’ not ‘infuriated,’ irked. A woman rarely, rarely is the first to anything in this country and if you would just get off your high horse for one second and look around, you would understand how a Korean male can be ‘irked.’
And don’t call me a twat.
And don’t accuse me of saying that Russian control over who goes up “TOTALLY” justifies my sexism. I was educated this way and I try, I do, but if a guy doesn’t even have the right to be ‘irked,’ I don’t know if that’s fair.
And don’t falsely accuse me of possibly thinking that a woman is inherently unqualified for such tasks. I’ve seen plenty of women of other nationalities go up in space and take care of business. I’ve never seen a woman to be the first astronaut. And I’m surprised, and ‘irked,’ to see Korea, not exactly known for its feminism, choose a woman to go up there.
If you feel that I still have to explain my reasoning more to your close-minded defensive feminist self, feel free to grab a Korean guy nearby and chances are he’ll be more of a pig than I am.
I said ‘irked.’
Christ.
And by the way, I am very pissed off that there still are people like you who make general assumptions about some guy online because you have no accountability of slandering in such a blatant manner. You could accuse me of being a chauvinistic pig all you want, but believe you me, I am not and I know it. If you’re so fast to call someone names like a child in play, my advice is to get the hell off your keyboard and go look at yourself in the mirror and try to figure out who in your childhood scarred you so badly that you feel obligated to take it out on every male on this planet who slips his tongue even slightly.
Talk about closed minds. People like you give feminists a bad name. I’m not calling you a feminist because I don’t think you are, but trust me, in this country, they’ll be very quick to accuse of being one. And yeah, being a feminist is still an accusation in this ancient nation. I’m surprised that you’re in it and you have no clue about any of this. More ‘irked’ than surprised.
Looks like the Russkies know a spy when they see one. Congrats to Soyeon, especially if what Metro says about the test results is true.
Now it’s way off topic. Again.
Oh and congratulations, Soyeon. Love ya!
Sorry.
OK - so you describe yourself as “irked” at her going simply because she’s a woman, right? And you fully admit that you don’t know very much about her qualifications, but it just bothers you that she’s female, right? And you yourself admit that Korean society is sexist, too.
So, just because you admit you’re part of the system and the fact that she being a woman bothers you somehow lets you off the hook? Like we’re supposed to get on our knees and fellate the fact of your open-mindedness and coolness at admitting your sexism?
Figbash has every right to call you on your sexism, which isn’t categorically different from the “chauvinists” you seem to think you’re somehow different from – but aren’t. Stop whining like a baby. If you’ve got the balls to “admit” you’re a sexist ass, then take your licks. Don’t go crying about how mistreated you’re being, or how now YOU are the victim of left-wing nuts attacking you for no apparent reason.
Who’s being unnecessarily defensive here?
If some dude was like, “Yeah, well all the Presidents of the United States were white men, and even though the other candidates were qualified, I just can’t vote for a black or a woman,” OK – cool. You admit you’re a racist. And I’d call you a racist fuck.
Don’t ask for extra credit points or a gold star just because you admitted it.
Coming back with, “Well, at least I’m not in the KKK! I didn’t lynch any black people, you know!” doesn’t change anything. It’s a matter of categorical difference, not degree.
If you’re a racist fuck, you’re a racist fuck.
Or a “sexist twat.”
You made your bed. Lie in it.
“I don’t know about this situation, and am not a space expert, but it seems that looking at manuals for other crew members would be encouraged, not forbidden.”
I’m sure the Russian crew has it covered. They’ve flown many missions without a civilian on board.
Besides, it’s unwise to allow a civilian, a foreigner to boot, to have access to more information than he needs to know, no matter how insignificant said information may seem to the lay person.
Well look who joined the fray…
Yeah, I am sexist. I admitted it on comment number… hmm… 16. But I’m not so sexist that I don’t think a woman should go up there. I’m irked and also surprised that Korea chose, albeit not entirely in its own will, a woman to be the FIRST, the FIRST astronaut to go up there. As far as my short knowledge of space travel goes, there hasn’t been a woman from a certain country that was the first in that coutnry to be in space. It’s a world first and I don’t think it’s necessarily ’sexist’ to be surprised by it.
And I never said that I was ‘irked’ just because she’s a woman, but because she’s the first among Koreans as well as a woman. And I never said in any way that I don’t think Soyeon is qualified for the job. Whatever the reason was, San was chosen and Soyeon was a backup. Apparently all of you know them both very well and think Soyeon is better qualified, but I have no real proof to believe you or otherwise. All the information that I can judge from is the fact that our #1 choice was rejected, so we have to send the backup. Fuck you if you can’t read.
And I didn’t know that you could write ‘fuck’ on here. Not my first time online, mind you, but first time here anyway. Well, fuck you if you think I’m some right wing sexist-racist GNP-supporting Korean dumbfuck cuz I’ve been taking shit from pricks like that for years for being a communist, ball-less, feminist, Kim Jong-Il loving son of a bitch for my entire fucking life just because I’m stuck in this goddamn country. Yeah, I know it’s no excuse if I’m so fucking disgustingly sexist, but I really don’t think I’m as bad as the majority of the Korean population, of the majority of the fucking American males who won’t vote for Hillary just because she lacks a penis.
And yeah, I’m the immature little prick asking for gold stars and shit when I tried to keep the argument light and all of a sudden I’m thrown names like twat and shit. And Metro, who the fuck are you to try to tie this shit up making me look like a fucking airhead and justifying Figbash? Who gave you the fucking crown? I’m not a fucking kid and I don’t think Figbash is either so I don’t need your self-righteous ass telling me whose bed I made and what a racist twat I am.
What the fuck is with the politicizing? ALL I tried to convey here was that I am pissed that the Russians tell us who to send and who not to, even though we’re the ones paying. And whether Soyeon is more qualified or not - again, I don’t know the details - San was the one Korea chose and Soyeon is the one that we had to choose because of Russian pressure. Another thing was that I am irked and surprised that Korea, a traditionally chauvinistic country, is going through with such a move which has no precedents.
And fuck all of you if you think Korea is blatantly sexist. Nobody attacked Park Keun-hye’s gender when she was running for President within the GNP. Look at what kind of shit about Hillary is being said in the States. Look at all the Jewish women who serve in the IDF without complaints. Maybe we were and maybe we still are sexist at heart, but we know what the fucking law says and we abide by it. At the end of the day, we’re the ones opening the door for the ladies.
Victor and Metro, take it outside. And watch the language, Metro: save the profanity for your own site.
- The Sheriff
Hey, “Whitey” -
I’m responding in kind and on topic. I’m not the one frothing at the mouth, here, and I didn’t call anyone a bad name. So if you’re a real sherrif, with the power to ban folks, then do it. Otherwise, I’ll wait for a real admin to do it. Who are you to tell me what to write and where to write it?
Why don’t you take your inanity to your own inane blog, “Whitey?”
And back to topic, as for Victor, I’ll let him skewer himself with his own words. His level of stupidity and lack of self-reflexivity needs no further elaboration from me, other than to say, in response to “Who the ‘fuck’ I am” to dare challenge his silly post?
I’m another commenter on this site, that’s who. Do you live in this delusion that you are above reproach? Or that you, as a Korean man, deserve accolades for admitting – oh, jeez, what a straight shooter – that you’re sexist?
Give me a break.
I’m calling you a sexist, chauvinist who would have, had you been in any voting position to affect her scores, been just the same guy who would have voted against her “just because there’s never been a first woman.”
That’s as dumb, arcane, blatantly sexist crap as I’ve ever heard. Am I somehow out of line for pointing that out?
You opened yourself up for it. Stop whining, Victor. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Victor,
Don’t listen to these guys. So what if you’re sexist. Most people are, to a degree.
I imagine you must have been educated in the U.S., due to your fluency in English. I guess you’re a case of “you can take the man out of Korea, but you can’t take the Korea out of the man”. You’re entitled to your views, even if they are different from most people’s here.
Don’t bother replying to fagbash and metropolitician, unless you’re really bored. They’re just taking a position, for the sake of being pugnacious, self-righteous jackasses.
Talk about closed minds. People like you give feminists a bad name. I’m not calling you a feminist because I don’t think you are, but trust me, in this country, they’ll be very quick to accuse of being one. And yeah, being a feminist is still an accusation in this ancient nation.
This is some funny shit!
I’m irked and also surprised that Korea chose, albeit not entirely in its own will, a woman to be the FIRST, the FIRST astronaut to go up there.
The FIRST! The FIRST! It should have been an Adjoshi! An Adjoshi I tell you!
Christ, just when you thought the Korean male was beggining to evolve…
I’d like to congratulate Soyeon who I think was the most qualified and, to all of us who watched her interviews on “SeoulGlow” which, by the way, you can link to from the right hand column of this very blog, the most dedicated and professional.
Welcome Victor and Figbash, you’ve already entertained with a nice little cage match. Victor, you are less sexist than many, not just here in Korea, but throughout the world. Sort of a hollow accolade though, isn’t it. It’ll be nice when a person is judged by the honest measure of their worth and not by their sex or race.
You should be proud if in fact Korea is the first country to make a female their first astronaut. It shows an enlightenment that is, let’s say, unexpected. I’m proud of the country which I’m presently calling home.
One thing I’d like to know. How much freaking training does she need before people start calling her an astronaut. I believe she’s getting to the point where she’s earned it. Will she finally get the title when she leaves earth’s orbit. I believe that’s what she’ll be. I realize that people are under the impression that you have to go through military flight school and all that. However, she’s not one of these rich leeches who’s just enjoying the ride. She will be performing important scientific functions for her country, in space which is the only place she can do these things otherwise why the investment?
I don’t have any idea about her qualifications, but I don’t believe the powers that be would let a moron be the #2 choice to be the first Korean in space. It is my understanding that she is finishing her doctorate. While that is not proof of her having maximum brain power (there are plenty of folks who are educated beyond their intelligence) it is certainly positive evidence.
In any case, I don’t see any reason not to take Metro’s word on it since he has had a chance to personally evaluate her.
BTW, Soyeon is cute. More importantly, she is cute in the short, thick way that is more typical of Korean womanhood than you would guess from watching Korean TV.
hoju_saram said:
“Christ, just when you thought the Korean male was beggining (sic) to evolve…”
Would you say that “evolve” bit about a black man, who wanted a black male president?
Or would just just say it to a Korean man, while berating him for sexism?
Here is some female astronaut training from Yonhap (via the Hanky): http://english.hani.co.kr/arti.....74847.html
Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Soyeon is a Payload Specialist, which would certainly make her a real astronaut and nothing even close to a space tourist.
“astronaut trivia”
The Korea Herald should have *this* headline:
“Ko San: Astro-not!”
Thanks Mr. Jackson. I also think she’s cute, intellegent and she’s going into space which is hot. Well, I meant more in her overall appeal rather than the temperature sense.
How ironic that Ko San, who no doubt spent many hours training for weightlessness, now realizes the gravity of the situation.
Ko San is one astronaut that will definitely NOT be having a blast.
If I were the sheriff, Metro, I’d pull down your pants in front of the whole class, bend you over my knee and administer a spanking that would keep you from sitting down for a week. That is no way to treat new guests to our little world.
The washing of your foul mouth with soap I might forego, in recognition of the good work on the SeoulGlow interviews with the lady in question.
Thanks Michael for introducing Miss Lee to us. She sure came across as both a smart cookie and a fine person (unlike the image I get from some of the posters above). I have no doubt that she is qualified and I do envy those Russians who get “stuck” with her in a cramped spacecraft. All Koreans should be proud. I wish her a safe return and hope we can see another video interview down the road.
Yeaayyy, So-Yeon!! You go, girl!!
I agree that Korea and Koreans should be proud that their first astronaut in space will be a woman. As a friend of Korea (but not an uncritical one) for four decades, I’m certainly pleased that another Korean woman is getting the chance to show what she can do, to the world and to her fellow countrymen and women. And for those Korean males who may feel chagrined or less than totally vindicated… get used to it, you guys! It’s a globalized world, and that means more and more a meritocracy, and more and more women doing whatever they desire and are capable of… and from your perspective, it’s only going to get worse and worse! The sooner you change your minds and see this as positive, the better for all of us!
So, Yeaayy, So-Yeon! 많이 기대 하고 있어요!
So Yeon was clearly more qualified from the outset. A mechanical engineer vs. a Samsung researcher? Who made that choice? Some adeshi that still thinks Korean men are more qualified based on gender? If the shit hit the fan, would you want an engineer on board or a Samsung PR guy?
The fact that Ko San was doing amateur spying (probably for his Samsung Over Lords) proves that he was a horrible choice and couldn’t be trusted. When you’re on a mission where any moment could be a life or death situation, you don’t want some asshole with ulterior motives.
Curious as to how various Korean outlets were playin this (or burying Ko San’s reported offenses) I found this gem of a headline on the Korea Times web site:
“First Korean Astronaut Switched to Woman”
Safe journey, Soyeon!
Excellent interview, Metro.
irrespective of all the weird debating about sexism above….
Soyeon was always the official choice of this blog. She has to go because it was preordained.
Safe Travels!
She should’ve been the first choice in the first place!
Females in Korea are still seen as, and still treated like second class citizens here in Korea.
According to a Yonhap article, 8 out of 10 foreign wives would never marry a Korean again. You can guess why.
Not to mention the Korea Times article, “Korean Women Feel Least Empowered in Asian Nations”.
Both of these stories by-the-way were written by Koreans just in case anyone wants to play the racist of victims cards.
So congrats So Yeon, you should’ve been the first choice to begin with!
that is- racist or victim cards…
@50 better hope pawi doesn’t read that one
Ko is lucky he wasn’t arrested for spying. Chalk up one more PR disaster for Samsung.
Soyeon always did deserve to go.
Uh, no, she should not have been the first to go to Russia, otherwise it’d be her having been sent back. Most likely the Korean heads already decided Soyeon would be more qualified and so had Ko go and spy till he got caught. Since SoKo announced they’d be beefing up their space program, I’m guessing the manuals will help with any training or reverse engineer some useful features.
Well, they did nominate Chung Dong-young as ruling party candidate…
Congratulations to Soyeon. While I think this whole putting a Korean into space is all for national pride than anything else (maybe there was something else now that Ko was taken off), it’s a good news for Soyeon. I personally think Korea should take pride in that they’ve got such an integlligent woman up in space, not take her down or feel disappointed that it wasn’t man. She got there fair and square.
Ko also violated the rule last month by acquiring a spacecraft pilot’s instructions that he was not authorized to look at.
My guess is this has NIS written all over it. They “asked,” he complied.
@46;
Reminds me of… someone I saw in the elevator today.
Great interview. I’m looking forward to the third installment.
And to Soyeon: congratulations and safe travels. Let us know how the space kimchi tastes.
The Russians said that they thought “Ko just made an innocent mistake”. For those of you not familiar with the language, this is “diplomese” for “we don’t think he was spying, we just think he’s an idiot”.
Trust me, probably no country in the world has better counter-intelligence than the Russians. If they thought this amateur was playing cloak and daggers they would’ve arrested him months ago. I’m sure they did a thorough background check on him and felt that while he may be competent in the corporate world, that does not mean he would be a competent spy. Therefore, they probably felt they didn’t have much to worry about with him. Then he does this, which means the Russians were either wrong about him (kinda doubt it) or he is an idiot. I go with idiot.
We’ll see. Perhaps Ko will find himself dying of radiation poisoning sometime in the near future.
I am the only British person reading this blog or does nobody else know that the first Briton into space was a woman? Helen Sharman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Sharman
Now I know that Britain is not the kind of developed country that Korea should be comparing itself with…
I’m proud to be living in Korea at a time when its first astronaut to go to space will be a woman, not merely for the fact of being a woman, but for the fact that she earned it. The real triumph was her being the best candidate. Being moved into the #1 slot is merely the recognition of her hard work and achievement.
The irony of it is that many Koreans will view this as at least somewhat shameful since it’s not a Korean man to be the first into space, yet Korean culture will earn accolades among the international community for being gender-enlightened.
Ah, the irony. Kind of like trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Word of advice to chauvinistic Koreans : shut your traps and let this one slide. You’ll have a MUCH easier time carrying forth in the future with your sexist behavior if you let others think you’re gender-enlightened.
While I’m on this rant, here a couple of more gems:
1) If you (some Korean males) complain about foreigners stealing “your women”, why don’t you up your game and figure out why Korean women are choosing to be with foreign men versus Korean men ? Hint : it’s not penis size and it’s certainly not because it’s easier for the parents and grandparents to accept a son-in-law of a difference race and culture.
(for the record, I’m happily married to a fellow whitey and have never dated a Korean woman - the above statement is based upon my observations of living in Korea for 2+ years)
2) Increase your GDP by letting the other half of your workforce do the jobs they were trained to do rather than keeping them down. For instance, women with Master’s and PhD’s should not be spending their time fetching coffee and tea and washing mugs afterwards. Rather, let them do their jobs and increase the value of the company. Heck, it even forces the Korean males to work harder since they may not get the automatic penis-nod when competing against a women for a promotion, salary increase, etc.,.
Some Korean companies do understand this and typically do better than the ones that don’t.
This yet again proves my belief that chauvinism and stupidity have much in common.
A typo in my first comment. Great.
Another pedantic point from a physics geek (much less important than the first one). People who get sent into space by Russia have, in the past, been called cosmonauts, not astronauts. Just like people who are sent into space by the Chinese should arguably be taikonauts.
‘According to a Yonhap article, 8 out of 10 foreign wives would never marry a Korean again. You can guess why.’
‘@50 better hope pawi doesn’t read that one.’
the expat loves to show us korean guys that all korean women want to be with him. so, where’s the link? i’ll just bet he’s misrepresenting the article or he’s outright lying. where’s the link?
波 兮 君 干
ps cmm, you love me.
If many were that chauvinistic, they’d not have had her as a candidate to begin with. It’s baffling that people are getting a perception of people by their internet postings, and one of my pet peeves is when some Western nations criticize say, countries in Asia (and I don’t simply mean East Asia :P), when the overall amount of rights and job possibilities for woman have been higher for a long time in those places. If I were to extrapolate say, the type of men from the USA by viewing youtube posts, I’d consider them to be the most primitive people ever, but that’s unreasonable judgment drawn from the bottom of the barrel.
Congrats to Soyeon!
But my opinion is that Korea’s first astronaut should be a dog. Perhaps a Jindo-gae. That’s just me.
Couldn’t agree more #44. It gives me great pleasure to know that (some)Korean men are(forced)one step closer to facing the fact that Korean women do exist and do deserve the chance to make their country strong and proud. By and large, Korea has neglected it’s greatest national treasure… Korean women…and in my less than humble opinion, the more Korean men that step out of their way, the better off Korea will be.
Congrats and good luck Soyeon
I’m not surprised by the revelations about Astro-Not Ko.
When I actually cared about it, and worked the late shift, as a SIGNINT guy, ROK recruits would routinely swipe manuals from their US counterparts’ desks and sit all night copying them. My first night, I actually was concerned about these recruits, and about the manuals, too. I was told by a supevisor not to notice, even about the manuals that weren’t worthless. So, I asked the NCOIC, who wasn’t SIGNINT, but pure infantry and sane (I respected him more than my company commander). He joked for a few minutes, telling me to “break fingers”, poison the pages, etc. But then, he just bowed his head and plead guilty to being the worthless stooge of a worthless alliance where the US Army looked the other way as dodgy Korean contractors with no clearances fixed equipment in secure areas, teenagers with acne copied manuals and other paperwork, and ROK intel went through barracks compiling lists of American billets.
The worst part of this is, that the manuals copied I never used or even knew what they would be used for. As far as I know, they could have been instructions from 1988 about equipment long since superseded!
Maybe Ko mistook Russians for generous Americans! Maybe, too, the Russians forgot to exchange the good stuff with the crap, and never suspected Ko would be a paper spy!
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[...] to Metro’s post concerning Korea’s first astronaut, Seoul Buffoon — whose blog I like, actually (Metro, [...]