Some amusing quotes from the latest Korean astronaut, Lee So-yeon:
“I will try and make peace between North and South Korea”
“I will make a big dinner for the foreigners. I hope they will enjoy the food”
“I hope all the Russian guys and the American guys will like my singing.”
“I think I will be okay in space because God will stare at me and help me.”
39 Comments
I’m sorry, Ms. Lee, but YOU’RE the foreigner in Russia… not them.
Link?
In space, aren’t we all ‘foreigners’ ?
Not if you are an American. ;^)
In never ceases to amaze me how incredibly smart people can be so f****** stupid.
Can’t wait for these upcoming stories:
Korean woman in space is an idealistic moron. (OK so they won’t say it this way)
Korean woman in space serves dinner at authentic International Space Korean restaurant (with Kimchi, no doubt, could get ugly if they open the window to get rid of the smoke from the taejigalbi, wonder if they’ll have soju too?).
Korean woman in space entertains male astronauts at the International Space Noribang (second round probably won’t make it to the news).
Korean woman in space preaches to captive audience at International Space Korean Church.
Well, it’s a guess, as there’s no link, but I’d say that she’s likely talking to a Korean audience through local media. And, in that case, right or wrong, her affiliation to Korea and Koreans has taken primacy. It would be interesting to how she phrases things when speaking in English to a non-Korean audience.
Merely trying to explain, folks, not trying to apologize.
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You know God can see you better when you’re in space. Maybe that’s why she’s gonna stare. . . or maybe it’s because the air pollution in Seoul has gotten worse, and it’s getting harder for God to see what’s going on down here in the capital.
In space, no one can hear you sing.
Except God.
(happy easter, everyone!)
Sorry, when is the dinner scheduled for ? I am getting a bit hungry. Will God be there, because I have a couple of things I’ld like to discuss before we head off to the noribong ?
“Goat”, the woman is very smart and charming. She is simply trying to be funny and indulge (poorly) in politics, though the last quote is undoubtedly a bad translation. I would not be surprised if the translation of the whole conference was just incredibly lousy.
The quips are from her press conference of the 19th, from AFP: http://www.breitbart.com/artic....._article=1
I’m the guy who didn’t see anything at all wrong with the “quotes.” Whether it’s making peace, making dinner, singing, or being a biosystems engineer, I would bet there are very few things this young lady doesn’t do extremely well.
Hey, when your govt spends $30 million to send you up into orbit as a bonafide ‘Space Tourist,’ I guess you can pretty much say whatever you damn please.
I just hope there’s ample boiling water up in orbit so that So-Yeon can make enough instant ramen for the ‘foreigners’ in attendance at her dinner party.
R. Elgin,
I am not doubting that she may indeed be those things. There is still the small issue that those are incredibly stupid things to say.
So in (my) summary, going up in space for a bit will solve all the problems between the two countries. Her concerns are if the ‘foreigners’ will like her cooking and singing. It will probably be ok though since this ‘god’ thing will be staring at her.
So instead of increasing awareness of women as serious scientists (in this country), we have a cook going to a norae bang in the sky trying to please opa through food and song. Oh yeah, one who also drank two flavors of kool-aid. Why? Pandering to the masses who demand it.
Space tourist indeed.
Ugh, I’m sure the context is responsible for the “awkwardness” of her quotes, but still, I’m with Goat on this issue…I can’t shake the feeling that she just made a step back in progress for female respectability. Considering there are many expat teachers around, I’m sure you can relate to those book smart kids with nice resumes being dafter than a Canadian pothead.
To be safe, I’ll pray she sends back another document by accident and SoKo’s gotta send their 3rd choice.
the quotes are awkward and a bit goofy, but hey, until word comes out that she faked the results on the application exams, she’s looking better than male Korean biologists.
ps: Korea really does need to invent a few more, nuanced words instead of using “foreigner” for any Notkorean, wherever they may be found.
Seems like some awfully lousy translation, and not a whole lot of context for the remarks, either, so it’s a bit silly to be criticizing anytone other than the author or the article.
Not that that ever has or ever will stop anyone here . . .
FTR: According to one of our bilingual copy editors, the rather inane comments she made were in response to the standard Korean reporters’ questions designed to dumb her down and make her look cute. So go easy on her guys ‘n gals.
OK, where’s Metro with his overpassionate defense of the astronaut in question?
OK, where’s Metro with his overpassionate defense of the astronaut in question?
Shsss, Andy. Do not invoke the devil for he shall surely appear.
These quotes sound goofy to us not because they are poor translations, but because of cultural differences. So-yeon’s remarks reflect the importance of being earnest. Give the woman a break. I bet her statements play very well with the Korean public.
Well, she was certainly way off the mark with this one:
“I will try and make peace between North and South Korea”
It can’t happen because they didn’t get the Winter Olympics in Yongpyong. Peace and Reunification was one of the biggest selling points for the olympic bid- if Yongpyong was awarded the Winter Olympics, then North-South could have peace & reunify, as was touted.
They did not get the Olympics, so North-South Korea can’t have peace and it’s all the fault of the “foreigners”!
Wow. You guys need to lighten up a bit.
Did you even see the press conference ?
I’m betting most of us here would pee in our pants and hardly say anything intelligible in a situation like that. She’s not an actress or a politician, but a pretty ordinary woman who’s achieved somethings extraordinary and has recently been shoved into the public spotlight.
If that line of reasoning doesn’t sit well, then try this one on: I’m pretty sure most of you making disparaging remarks about her quotes, her intelligence, or just her in general are the same people who give G.W. Bush a pass on his clumsy quotes as “just being folksy for political reasons”.
Lighten up.
Amongs hacks worldwide, Korean media have a reputation for asking infantile questions designed to elicit remarks on Korea. Hell we’ve seen tons of it with celebs visiting Korea.
I’m definitely on the side of cutting her some slack and looking to context for an explanation.
I still vote for this being largely a bad translation because I’ve seen what a bad translator can do to a seemingly intelligent commentary or an article. This came from the French press agency as well. Consider a crazy closing line I once read in Tchaikovsky’s published diaries (written in French) that read “stifle the children with my love” because the word “stifle” was étouffe, which should have been translated as “smother”, not stifle.
The questions — if they came from Korean media — were probably bad as well.
I originally thought that it was just too surreal a thing to read, especially about God “staring” at her. It sounds almost as if God were a peeping tom!
Without knowing the context, I’m inclined to think it’s a translation issue deflating her humor. There’s some pretty corny, geeky humor among astronauts.
The University of Washington undergrad physics society’s greatest treasure is the “moo-on” detector, space-tested and donated by astronaut Michael Anderson (may he rest in peace).
Kum bi ya my Lord,
Kum bi ya,
Kumbi Ya my Lord,
Kumbi ya,
Oh Lord,
Kumbi ya ,
A-ju-ma.
I-go-ya, my lord
Kumbi ya,
I-go-ya, my Lord
Kumbi ya,
Oh Lord, I-go-ya,
Kimchi-ji ga for my Lord,
Up in Space.
Kimchi-ji ga for my Lord,
Up in Space.
Kimchi-ji ga for my Lord,
ma-shi-sa-oh
A-ju-ma ..
Up in Space.
Couple of things.
What she says (or what the translator purported that she said) certainly can sound funny to a non-Korean audience. Heck, I even chuckled a bit.
Regarding what some may determine as the most problematic phrase, “God will stare at me…” I think what that is based on is when it says in the Bible (Old Testement):
“The Lord SHINE HIS FACE UPON THEE..”
Or
“May the Lord WATCH OVER THEE…”
Both of which can be oddly translated as “stare.”
The aforementioned phrases are given as the benediction at the end of a lot of Korean church services, where the pastor blesses the congregation.
It’s hard to compare the English translations with Korean because the quotes appear to be a compilation from several news stories. The word “stare” is probably a poor choice, but otherwise, I think the translations are likely accurate.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Lee, but YOU’RE the foreigner in Russia… not them.”
“ps: Korea really does need to invent a few more, nuanced words instead of using “foreigner” for any Notkorean, wherever they may be found.”
She almost certainly did not use the English word ‘foreigner’. The default meaning of the Korean word 외국인 is someone from outside Korea, even when the speaker is outside Korea.
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The above comment is a pretty good reason for tighter mod of comments.
@#30:
You are correct. The problem is that Koreans use the English word “foreigner” in the same way. In a number of conversations, Koreans have described experiences in foreign countries, referring to locals as “foreigners.” Koreans will identify non-Koreans as 외국인 or foreigners even when the nationality is known. For example:
Korean: While in Australia, I traded music with a foreigner.
Me: What country was the foreigner from?
Korean: He was Australian.
Me: Well, why didn’t you call him an Australian instead of a foreigner?
Korean: (blank look)
It’s isn’t just a difference in usage, but a whole mindset and worldview behind that usage, which Koreans usually carry over into English.
And I would agree with #32 that #31 ought to be pruned if there is any moderation policy in force.
In the states, a lot of Koreans still use the term “waegook” to refer to non-Koreans. I think that’s weird, considering that it’s Koreans who are the waegooks in the U.S. I typically use the term “bae-geen” for whites and mi-guk sa-ram for everyone else.
Korean just doesn’t have a generic word to refer to non-Koreans yet, although it should.
I have no problems with what she said except the “foreigner” part.
She should have been taught better by someone in-the-know. Why not call them “colleagues?” Would that be so hard?
It seems Korean nationals always have to make the distinction.
It really wouldn’t be that hard for these people to not say foreigner all the either.
They could say, “the person in the red shirt” or something else.
I’m mean if I go back home and start calling Koreans “immigrants” what would people think?
So we European-Americans aren’t American?
It doesn’t need one. Koreans can do as English speakers do and refer to people by their nationaliies if known.
@24 wow, miguknamja finally said something that wasn’t critical of Korean culture or Koreans. Bravo you.