The Metropolitician failed to see the humor in a cartoon to which I linked earlier. Anyway, he’s looking to illustrate — literally, in this case — a point, but needs the help of a cartoonist to do it:
I wrote a comment on his blog asking how Koreans would feel if American newspapers and bloggers started making cartoons based on sweeping generalizations of certain minority groups appearing in the news, as in the Koreans such as Cho Seung-hui or more recently, Choi Kang-hyuk.
A cartoon of say, a sweat-drenched, crazed Korean man clutching a knife dripping with blood in one hand, and a Tech-9mm in the other one outta do it. It would go in a mock post, and the point will be made that this is a shoe-on-the-other-foot kind of thought experiment, and not our actual opinion.
Of course, certain netizens would try to lie and say that we really believed in this, but those idiots would just spread the word, while hopefully the Korean press would get ahold of it. Who knows? The worst that’ll happen is that it’ll go unnoticed. The best is that it would be.
I’d do the illustration myself, but I can’t draw to save my life. Anyone care to collaborate and make a point with me? Rather than phone calls that go unreturned, or online petitions/protests that go unnoticed, let’s get creative.
If you’ve got the skills, Metro’s got the blog space.
111 Comments
So the idea is to match them, stereotype for stereotype? Do you really think that’s the worst that could happen?
I’ll see if I have time over the next few days.
- anyone who can’t think beyond a singular person like cho seung hui really isn’t thinking hard enough.
Wouldn’t this be the same as pouring oil on fire?
If you must go ahead, why don’t you give the guys at Occidentalism a call? I’m sure they’d love to help.
Somehow this needs to revolve around prostitution.
For men, I would take the soju/vomit/anma angle. For women the plastic surgery/prostitute would be possible.
And puddles of puke.
And sycophants, especially collaberating-with-Japs sycophants.
“Of course, certain netizens would try to lie and say that we really believed in this, but those idiots would just spread the word, while hopefully the Korean press would get ahold of it.”
Experience suggests there’s no guarantee the press will get the satire.
How about not resorting to the tactics of an insecure, infantile, mediocre-at-best Korean blogger/cartoonist? He would probably like nothing more to be the instigator a shitstorm that might ultimately end up making foreigners look even worse in the eyes of many Koreans.
I can understand Metro’s point, but this course of action isn’t likely to gain the sympathy/understanding of the average Korean. (And if that isn’t the purpose, what is?)
This is a good idea in my opinion. Globalvillageidiot says “He would probably like nothing more to be the instigator a shitstorm” but my guess is he wasn’t aware of how offensive and destructive such a drawing really is.
I suggest that the explanation be written INTO the comic, so that it’s harder for people to take the cartoon out of context, and if it is done so, the motivation for eliding the explanatory note will be more obvious.
#8 You make a good point. But maybe it is not about sympathy. Instead maybe something drastic or shocking, or realistic will open their eyes. Maturity never gets the US govt very far with Korea. But childish, reactionary shit from China always seems to win the day for the Chinese in their dealings with this country.
Why do I have a sinking feeling that this isn’t going to end well? Perhaps its due to the fact that, despite a popular Korean song mentioning it over and over again, strategy of “입장 바꿔 생각을 해봐” almost never works anywhere. Chances are, it’ll backfire, anti-Americanism (though not everyone participating would be Americans) will spike to an unknown extent, and whichever cartoon that were created out of this will be used as an ammunition for the argument that all (white) foreigners are racist f*cks who look down on Koreans.
Why? Because context is never, ever relevant on the internet regardless of how justified such sentiment is. (Al Gore’s “internet” quote comes to mind…) Take whatever cartoon is going to be made out of its context, and then mull over whether you want to create that kind of shitstorm.
I would like to go on record as saying this is a bad idea.
#’s 9, 10, 11
Agreed. Though I sympathize with those downtrodden on the past, it’s usually best not to provoke them when they act out.
#’s 8, 10, 11
Agreed. Though I sympathize with those downtrodden on the past, it’s usually best not to provoke them when they act out.
Especially considering that the blog in question is such a minor one (with a grand total lifetime hit of 2235… and considering 807 of them was accumulated today, I’m guessing MH traffic had to do with that piece) compared to MH or even Metro’s… not to mention that the blog seems to be a non-goth version of deviantart.com as opposed to anything even remotely relevant.
I’d say let’s not do something drastic that’ll probably be take out of context by population at large and definitely be petty, considering the blog in question’s level of influence.
Lol… and who wrote that long comment in awkward Korean? (with the sn appropriately enough as “Waegooknom”) It sounds similar to one of Metro’s letter to the reporter/newspaper, but I’m not too sure.
I want to go on record as the guy who says, “It’s time for him to leave Korea.”
Because it really, really is.
Contact Captain Corea. He’s a skilled cartoonist.
Oops, he might prefer to be referred to as a Comic Artist.
bum,
Well it’s cathartic for some to respond in kind in a pretty meaningless forum…There is really no purpose in taking action unless it was picked up and distributed by the mass media and the public accepted it en masse.
I never really took the Metropo to be serious. Perhaps I misjudged.
Hmmmm. Do you REALLY think it is a good idea? With all due respect to people involved. Should we use bigotry and streotyping (even simulated streotyping) to counter bigotry and streotyping? My answer is “no”.
I’d draw an anma girl is on her back, with a drunken ajossi on top. She has a thought balloon of a new phone.
Well, my supposition is — can it really get any worse? And I think that since the shoe has never been put on the other foot in terms of foreigners firing back for being the whipping boy for just about everything in Korea, I think it’s worth a shot.
Sure, it may come off “petty”, but I think placed side-by-side with some of the Korean-drawn cartoons of foreigners doing what they think we do best, the point should be clear. And what’s the worst that can happen? Several news sources picked and chose quotes from my Cho-Seung-hui stuff to make it sound as bad as possible, and no one came to break my knees. And my thoughts on this are much more fully-formed than they were as the Cho Seung-hui scandal broke.
And no, Cho isn’t the most creative choice, but it’s the one that would hit in the gut, especially since there’s a second example of a “killer” to point to, even if it’s just to make a point.
And I would definitely ask the editor at OhMyNews to make a Korean translation to put up there, which I would also place on my blog. I’ve done that before, and it’s worked pretty well.
As for the comment in awkward Korean, yep, that’s me. Because my written Korean is, umm, awkward. What can I say? Perhaps I should have gotten it proofread, but I think the point was got.
And for those who think it’s a stupid idea, well, guess I won’t be hearing from you. From where I sit, I can’t see it being much worse than the rap foreigners already get. At least there’d be a counter-narrative out there. And the more the merrier, I say.
If you have drawing ability and a little insight into Korea and foreigner’s place in it, the Korea Times might be willing to pay you (a little) to build your portfolio. They currently use a guy living Thailand (which may explain all the toons on Burma they are running these days).
#9: ‘But childish, reactionary shit from China always seems to win the day for the Chinese in their dealings with this country.’
Or could it be that the Chinese are not hampered in their efforts by a self-imposed pc handicap? Koreans are like Greenpeace - they only protest against entities that have their hands tied behind their backs.
foreigners’
The Metropolitician has done some of these “how do YOU like it” posts before, the one that comes to mind now dealt with the hagwon advertising that it doesn’t hire foreigners bcause we’re junkies, we have AIDS, we’re unqualified, we’re lazy, etc. It’s an entertaining idea, but you KNOW nobody would get it. Remember how well that “satire” in Busan worked? Didn’t those guys get arrested and deported? Oh, wait, they “violated their visa.” I’m all for having a little fun, but it’s totally not going to sink in.
You know, I just typed out another suggestion for this cartoon/photoshop campaign, and while it’d be awesome in a tongue-in-cheek way, as I described it even I realized it sounded offensive. I think I’m going to have to keep my ideas to myself (and learn how to use Photoshop).
In the MBC headquarters, in the PD Diary offices:
Chul-soo: “Confucius be praised! Sometimes this show writes itself!”
Min-ho (on the phone to his secretary): “Quick! Take that picture out of context and get it into circulation! Call all our camera crews and get them and the anti-English Spectrum squads down to Hongdai, stat!”
Vern (token white guy who gives MBC Studios an ‘international look’): “Hey guys, isn’t it dishonest to take a picture out of context like this, and use it to demonize English teachers? I mean, aren’t journalists supposed to care about the facts?”
Min-ho: “Boneuh, talk like that again and you’re fired. What else would we do when one of our scapegoats hands us a story like this on a platter, stay true to the facts???”
Vern: “Uhh, yeah. Because we’re a news journal, not a tabloid show.”
Min-ho: “You’re fired, Boneuh! Get the fuck out of my office! We’ll warp this picture’s original intentions faster than you can count to 94%! Send the fact-checker on a weekend trip to Jeju-do. . . we have a show to produce!!!“
yip yip yip yip yip yip…
“And I think that since the shoe has never been put on the other foot in terms of foreigners firing back for being the whipping boy for just about everything in Korea, I think it’s worth a shot.”
Problem is, that purpose would only hold as true if it were even remotely possible that the cartoon would work in the way that you’re hoping to. Satire is a bit of a foreign concept in the Korean society (pun intended), and satire of this magnitude, I’m not sure if it’ll work even in the States (where, as we all know, have one of the most open attitude towards humor).
In addition, regardless of who is involved, the cartoon WILL be taken out of context. No Korean media is going to bother to look up that supposedly artsy Korean blog (did I mention that it has ~2000 lifetime hits? My inactive secondary Myspace account with absolutely nothing on got more hits than that, for christ’s sake), and no Korean reporter is going to do proper research to figure out just how the cartoon came to be. And no Korean media personnel is going to understand or try to explain the nuances involved behind such actions.
But as you know, this site is being watched by that translation website filled with rabid netizens appropriately named Gaesomoon. From what I’ve read from their comments, they basically represent the darkest aspects of Korean netizen population.
So, you have the following:
A: Cartoon that, when taken out of context, is immensely offensive
B: News media that will absolutely and without question ignore the context and nuances of the said cartoon
C: General population who are still unfamiliar with the concept of satire and still possessing restrictive views on humor.
D: Batshit insane netizens just looking for excuses to bash (white) foreigners in any way possible.
A+B+C+D = Fuck-all.
Or what roboseyo said. Lol… why “Vern” of all names?
I also would like to go on record as saying this is a bad idea.
Although I’m sure it’s not his intention, the Metro’s actual offer is to provide the stick for somebody else’s head.
All of it will just get twisted and backfire.
Well said yourself, BFK. Total clusterfuck in five. . . four. . . three. . .
re: Vern: I guess I just always liked it.
I’ve been collecting names that are nigh-impossible for Koreans to pronounce, just for fun.
so far:
Vern, Charlie, Valerie, Lilith, Vivian, Elizabeth, Fergie, Fritz
but the two funniest are Harmony, because it’s such a wonderful name, but sounds too much like halmoni (grandmother) for anybody to ever take it on, and Venus, which my student wanted as her name, but her Korean co-teacher couldn’t help but call her “Penis”
(Jesus. If I’d known all this was going to happen this month, I’d've bought stocks in candles.)
#28 — My chance to quote Han Solo:
“Never tell me the odds.”
Hehe.
“Venus, which my student wanted as her name, but her Korean co-teacher couldn’t help but call her “Penis””
X-D!!!
#@32
I need to watch that movie more often… Wouldn’t be the first time I got lost on a Star Wars quote/reference.
caption it “Don’t be one of the 94%”, and make sure you have some good old US beef in the background of the photo!!! Could then be satire as well as “proof”.
I have been wishing I could draw, too. I would like to draw a cartoon of a truckload of American cows been hualed down Sejong-ro with Yi Sun-sin’s statue in the background. “US Beef” would be written on the side of the truck. Koreans would be scrambling over each other in a panic to escape from the area while screaming and flailing their arms in the air. Some would also be covering their mouths in an attempt to protect themselves from some unseen virus.
Then one cow in the truck looking out on the scene turns to another and says, “And they call us mad?”
Of course it can. And that’s what so great about the netizens - the aspiration for new lows.
As I often said before, if you want more civil behavior hit ‘em (and the gyopos) in the pocketbook.
Don’t buy their stuff, debunk their (flimsy) claims of technological excellence, and undermine their hub and sparkling campaigns.
The strategy here ought to be to help Korea develop its conscience, not its complex. Two things for which Korean society is not widely admired are its tendency toward introspection and its sophisticated appreciation of satire. This will end badly, and the point that will be made will not be the one that is intended. The best that could happen is that no one will notice this.
What is far more likely to make the intended point than seeking parity in stupidity would be to publicize the offending cartoons abroad (which would be easier if I could get the link to work). Might American civil rights groups take an interest in this? After the Monnara and Coreana blunders, Korea probably doesn’t need this kind of publicity.
This is a briliant idea. Satire can be a very effective weapon in these kinds of situations and the sooner a cartoonist can be found to make satirical cartoons the sooner South Korea will become a foreigner friendly environment. We should enlist the major corporations as this cartoon project will surely have a positive effect on FDI inflows. Afterward Michael could turn his hand to doing cartoons to alleviate suffering in the Darfur, and perhaps cartoons in waterproof ink to prevent the killing of whales. I truly belief satire can also increase global gas reserves, if only we drew satirical cartoons of rising oil reserves and scattered them over the oil fields.
Your model is not Han Solo, but Don Quixote.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the offensive cartoon in question simply the work of just another sexually insecure Korean male with too much time on his hands? Or was this published somewhere beside a blog few people (including the long-winded one) would have seen had this site not popularized it? Just laugh at the fool and move on.
Or are you thinking you’ll gain some fame a la the Danish cartoonists lampooning Mewhamm-ed?
Bro, don’t waste your time. You’ll show your cartoon to a few big noses and they’ll giggle. For the Koreans , you’ll just add fuel to the fire for their overt or latent hatred for everything non-Korean.
Wanna be funny…write a piece why more Koreans die of fan death than CJD, aka “Mad Cow Disease”. [Isn't funny how people get CJD and Koreans seemingly get Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy?]
This scares me because Koreans cars have Koreans fans. It’s been proven by Korean scientists that fan death is a reality. Koreans can drive Hyundais and Kias because they have different genes. The rest of us cromagnons cannot tolerate these killer fans. We can’t even tolerate dwaengjjang jjee gae, aka, toe cheese soup.
It’s about to we get off our big fat cocaine snortin, crack smokin’ , pedaphile asses and start writing to our government officials who haven’t been bought off by John McCain’s lobbyist friends.
Re: #31
“I’ve been collecting names that are nigh-impossible for Koreans to pronounce, just for fun.
So far:
Vern, Charlie, Valerie, Lilith, Vivian, Elizabeth, Fergie, Fritz”
Good. I like that. I’ll add Seth and Nancy to that list. “Ri-chard” has often grated on my ear, too.
I imagine “Faith” would be tough, too. It’s my niece’s name. I guess it would come out as “페이스.” Might as well just be “face.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the offensive cartoon in question simply the work of just another sexually insecure Korean male with too much time on his hands?”
Yes, but it speaks volumes and represents the thoughts of many. I think Metro has a good idea and is on the right track. He seems to be a guy that loves Korea but isn’t afraid to call it out at times. Sometimes that satire is needed.
I agree with Joshua. Koreans are not known either for introspection or appreciation of satire. There is zero possibility of success. Have we forgotten the kerfluffle caused by his meddling in the affairs of that poor girl space tourist?
bumfromkorea makes a good point. Satire is so immature here it’s not funny!!!!
(Hahahah I kill me, I really do!)
This is an attempt by the “Happy People Dreaming” blogger to poke a bit of fun at a reasonably current (well, always current) issue from his perspective. It’s lame, and with all the comments it’s probably attracting more attention than it would otherwise get.
I call over reaction on Mike’s part.
I think #39 makes a good point.
Koreans do seem to have a special gene, or something, that makes them more susceptible to fan death than other nationalities.
Metro is playing a dangerous game… Chicken w/a Yugo.
There’s some major schtoopidity going on here. It was one thing for RALF to parody the mascot kiddies for Visit Korea Year 1994 on a T-Shirt (they were looking up in fright at an NK Scud about to land on them) that had limited distribution before the Internet, but it’s quite another thing to put something like this out for instant potentially infinite dissemination.
That said, #22 is one hella good idea.
Well, if it comes together, and we have a cartoon, we’ll just have to wait and see.
And for those who point to the English Spectrum, yeah, that was “taken out of context” somewhat, but come on — it was tasteless and hence, easy to do so.
And as for the “kerfuffle” with Yi Soyeon, the only place where a firestorm burned up and out was here. I wrote that extended article about Ppulbbang and others’ distortions on OhMyNews and the response was quite positive, and I heard from many friends and acquaintances (some I’d lost touch with for a while) who said they were glad I wrote it. Got a lot of emails, calls, and texts about that one, all of them pretty good.
What with all the BS out there, the word I got back was that they were happy to at least see an opposing word out there.
You say kerfaffle, I say kerfuffle.
And since it’d be translated and presented on OhMyNews, which gets much Naver love, it’d be far more difficult to distort out of the clear context of an all-Korean article read my many, many Netizens.
This wouldn’t be an English-language message board (mis)translated for the benefit of rabid Korean netizens chomping at the bit for some red meat.
To give the Korean net some credit, tastes and points-of-view have greatly changed and diversified since the days of English Spectrum and Dog Poop Girl, and I think there is a very silent majority out there who are perfectly reasonable, and yes, DO get satire.
That old trope of “Koreans don’t get satire” is about as true as Koreans who tell me that “Americans don’t like fish.” There’s some “truth” to it, especially the further back you go and the older the people you talk to get, but my younger students, colleagues, and friends get satire pretty darn well, I’d say.
It’s all about presentation.
Sort of like the people who tell me “Don’t talk about Tokdo in your class, man!” I do, all the time, and play devil’s advocate, too. The Man hasn’t come to drag me off to Namsan yet.
I’d love to see an example of Koreans grokking satire that lampoons their race or their country. Do you have one?
Satire is not just about the (in)ability of the readers to “get it”, it is also about the talent of the satirist and also about the significance of the object being satirized. All of which I question.
#27 — As for the hagwon listing all the reasons they didn’t hire foreigners, after both one of my readers called them, and then I called them and told them the web address to the post calling them out, they took the page down. It went up again, and down again, and up. But they were definitely thinking about it. Perhaps you define that as a waste of time, but rather than deriding those who actually write a post, or pick up the phone to do something, imagine if more than just a couple of us did it. Imagine if reporters could actually expect a few phone calls to his or her editor, or even formal complaints/letters threatening action, or CC-ed copies of emails written to the NYT proposing Korean XYZ-ism as a cool new topic. Doesn’t matter if it gets picked up or not — there IS an effect, no matter how small. And if enough people WERE pitching emails to the NYT or something, I wonder if certain things might not get picked up, simply by virtue of it appearing as if there was simply something interesting going on over thar in Asia.
Takes 5 minutes to send off an email, or leave a comment on a Korean blog. And rather than jab and poke about how awkward one’s Korean is, or how fighting the system is hopeless and is an obvious sign of a psychological disorder, or even a sign that I “should leave Korea,” ask yourself how helpful it is to the situation to just sit and take it, while throwing stones at those who actually care enough to continue to try and do something, no matter how misguided/stupid/pointless you think the efforts to be?
To me, it’ll be time to leave Korea when I give up, when I finally throw my hands in resignation and say, “Fuck it. Let the idiots define the debate, let them have their fucking country.” That’s when I’ll be packing my bags. Otherwise, I’ll keep writing my emails, blogging it out, and trying to make what little difference I can.
And for #40 — Yeah, I’m not thinking a cartoon is going to help anyone in Darfur, but where do you draw the line? At someone who “just” writes about it? Or the photojournalist who “just” takes pictures of it? Yeah, because that doesn’t help. And my question is, then, what are you doing for the people in Darfur, or barring that, right here?
I’m not saying I’ve got all the answers, or I’m Mother Teresa. I’ve just got a blog. Some people read it. Some Koreans translate it. I get more positive feedback on it than I thought, and more Koreans than I thought have come across it once or twice.
So I am motivated to try more stuff, see what works. Whether or not one thinks it will work, all the naysaying certainly isn’t going to do anything. I may be running with my football totally in the wrong direction and maybe will get reamed by the other team, but at least I’m not just warming the bench, talking a lot but too scared to get in the game.
That’s the way I see it.
#52 — The assertions all had to do with “Koreans don’t get satire.” Period. You add the caveat of about their “race” (don’t know about that) or country.
Well, yeah, it’s not been done. But it’s also been not done WELL. If the English Spectrum (tasteless and embarrassing to even defend AS satire, which it still was) or the Pusan spoofers (the absence of documentation let anyone say anything they wanted about what went down) are the examples, I’ll give it the old college try, thanks very much.
I think a sex manual a “satirical” sex manual that includes tips on how to molest underage children, or a performance teasing Korea with foreigners taking money at the door aren’t the best precedents to pull out, either, is what I’m saying.
My point is that not only have few people tried, to my knowledge, no one has, really, in a smart and savvy way. So to your challenge to name a successful example of using satire to criticize Korean society by a foreigner, I’ll challenge you to name one that could be called even a serious attempt to do so.
Mike Breen has done some wonderful things with mad cow madness of late — albeit in English.
how do you guys feel about the negative portrayals of koreans in american film? doesn’t quite measure up to some k girl drawing pictures, eh?
you know, there is a saying in china:
dau fa gong fong, ching shing ping ding fan!
translation:
hypocrisy knows no color.
again, i would like to ask:
how do all of you feel when koreans protest negative portrayals of koreans in american film?
that’s what i thought.
btw, how do you guys feel about my gravatar? the (racist) picture is from a company in britain that sells ‘chinamen’ costumes.
how do you guys feel about THAT cartoon?
that’s what i thought.
@54: As stated in comment #55, Michael Breen has already made the attempt. Whether he’s limited his efforts to English or not, I don’t know. Why don’t you try something clever along those lines?
@57: I wouldn’t buy the shirt.
Do you remember the Abercrombie + Fitch brouhaha about their racist t-shirts? Outraged Asian Americans shut them down. Mike Hunt is trying to do something similar - so what is your point?
gbevers wrote in #47:
“Koreans do seem to have a special gene, or something, that makes them more susceptible to fan death than other nationalities.”
Yeah, like many white western expats living in Korea seem to have a special gene, or something, that makes them makes them blame all their problems in their bitter lives on their host country. Just ask dogbert.
Babopalooza in Pusan was HILARIOUS and it was satire directed at Koreans AND foreigners. I was at the show and wrote up a review of it that got picked up here when all that stuff went down. It’s what brought me to the hole <3.
I would think the best way to “put the shoe on the other foot” would be to write a post saying how “I don’t understand why they do this/that. I thought Korea had the fastest broadband speeds, but it can’t bring them the real information.” *wipes tear* “I wanted to understand more about Korea and it’s wonderful history and culture, but now I think that Koreans don’t like foreigners. I should just go home.”
Make sure it’s done by a very attractive female. I have a feeling that would garner the most positive attention. The sad/confused angle works in my experience.
The fan death in Korean car thing is even better though.
@59: I don’t have a “bitter life” and I don’t live in Korea.
Why do you remain so intent on proving what a douchebag you are? Get a life, loser.
Something ain’t right about that moustache.
Pawi, you spray paint that on him w/ MS Paint?
it’s a costume for holloween. it’s a moustache over a cartoon. if you don’t believe me, go to google images and type in ‘chinaman’.
* Producing and comprehending satire requires thought, the ability to empathize with and understand the target, and most importantly…the ability to laugh at yourself. All qualities severely lacking in the Korean populace.
* Take a look at which “advanced” country’s media regularly falls for April Fools Day media stories because they’re gullible idiots incapable of understanding the concept of April Fools. Bill Gates shot dead! KOSPI dumps based on Korean media reporting the joke as fact. Gorbachev and Thatcher to join Japan’s cabinet! Breaking news on KBS.
* Korean media and public reaction to Stephen Colbert’s brilliant satire of Rain? Outrage at the insult to their precious World Star! Fucking clueless.
* If your audience is incapable of comprehending anything beyond rubber-hammer and funny faces humor, and your satire requires an accompanying explanation that it’s satire, you’d be better off teaching quantum physics to squirrels.
* All that being said, I’d like to see the effort made. Mike Hurt is knowledgeable enough about Korean culture to know which buttons to push, and outside of a couple irregular sources (Party Pooper, The Yangpa), there’s a pronounced dearth of good satire about Korean society and culture available.
You should have gone with the first result. Far more offensive.
btw, i just want to point out that i used that gravatar to demonstrate these things happen here too. it’s just so racist! lol.
the guy at chosun ilbo does one of the best political cartoons. He draws well, and he’s got a good head.
maybe he’ll help you out.
ha ha ha ha ha.
I personally thought the cartoon was funny.
It was pretty good, that’s why you’re all upset.
welcome back, Pawi.
@66: So “here” is England? A lot of things happen there that I would not approve of.
As far as your cleverness in pointing something like that out, you are strictly bush league. One of your co-ethnics, the “Angry Asian Man”, has made a cottage industry of victimization by searching for slights on a daily basis. I wonder what JK would say about him, if JK weren’t such a hypocrite.
A voice of reason from an expected source.
That was funny, Bevers. Did you think that one up yourself?
好象Rosie O’Donnell是我们网际朋友Pawi的汉语老师.
Since when do Americans “take the piss out of” anything?
Since when do Americans “take the piss out of” anything?
This will amount to a few snickers among native English speakers over a short period of time and that will be that. Nothing more accomplished.
Knock yourself out, but I’d recommend that you simply respond, “I know you are, but what am I?” whenever some obscure blogger pokes fun at us.
“I’d love to see an example of Koreans grokking satire that lampoons their race or their country. Do you have one?”
Not in the mainstream culture, I admit (which is why I’m with you that this is not a good idea), but there are several out there with quite a bite. Dasepo Girl webcomic comes to mind.
By discussing the cartoon you’re giving relevance to a rather irrelevant person.
Metro,
Just so you know about that whole Jong-ee Jo Hogwon in Mokdong regarding the reasons why they didn’t hire foreigners, last year I personally went into that building and spoke with one of the teachers in front of boss regarding why they put that on their website (I brought along a printout of it and found them to be quite embarrassed about it). The next week my friend, also an American chap, politely went in there and did the same with the boss. Then that week one of our Korean friends called them and spoke to them to show her disapproval, too. We really tried to get the ball rolling and have them take down the post, but it was only slightly changed. It looks like they consulted a lawyer about it, though. Maybe some would call it a waste of time, but at least we let them know that we are aware of their ridiculous behavior. It might not change anything immediately, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done.
53 - I didn’t say it was a bad post, a bad idea, or a waste of time (the one about the hagwon that wouldn’t hire foreigners). And I wasn’t deriding you. I was responding to a post before mine and was putting this latest effort into context. Besides, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree on the topic of foreigners trying to make a difference.
Big plans here, but like I’ve said before, aren’t there bigger issues facing the foreign “community” here that merit attention in the Korean press besides availability of Phillies Blunts? I mean, to go all out and translate stuff for OhMyNews, wouldn’t that effort be better spent on Michael White, on banking laws, on mistreatment by police, on the inability for foreigners to use Korean websites (still), or even on an intelligent look at how foreigners are portryayed in the media? I do wish more people would write to their newspapers—and make use of their Korean skills if possible—and I think that would make a difference. I’m just saying we ought to pick our battles, and rather than doing a satire that, regardless of what you say, few people will appreciate and enjoy, perhaps it’d be better to pick something bigger than a cartoon on a blog nobody has seen. But, this is your campaign, and it’s not our place to tell you how to run it.
Hey Metro, here’s a suggestion:
Why not try to out-do the Korean cartoonists and make your own foreigner parody? You could do a split screen picture. On one side, have a picture of a foreigner teaching, with the caption “A foreigner.” On the other side, an exaggerated cartoon taken to absurdity, complete with pot, tainted hamburgers, booze, a harem of Korean women, a big nose, kicking an ajumma, etc. with the caption, “How Koreans See Foreigners.”
I think your point would have a better chance of sinking in. You could do a whole series, entitled “How Koreans See Us.”
They’re just cartoons.
The same anal retentive behavior from the liberals are now popping up in Americans.
@pawi,
For every issue, there is always an example of something that is the same or worse in some other place. It has no relevance to this issue.
I was sure there is a lot of other racist tripe on the Internet when I read the post, but thanks for pointing it out anyways.
I stand by my point that unless shit like that is accepted mainstream, there is really nothing to get worked up about. Make a few jokes, blah blah life goes on.
ps. your delivery still sucks which diminishes any point you may have.
Since many foreigners in Korea are teachers of some sort I would think talking about the “facts” behind mad cow disease in their classes would have a bigger impact on Korean public opinion in the long term. I mean where does a Korean elementary school student get this propaganda in the first place? Fight fire with fire where the war is being fought. In the classroom.
For draft dodgers like pawi I just want to say that I saw a Korean wearing a Tshirt with a black man on it and written on the shirt were names for black people. All the names were crossed out. The last name, n****r was not. So much for the claim that there is no racism in Korea.
Although I think the nation deserves some nasty cartoons to be drawn about them, I don’t think it’s a good idea.
Bum and Lankov make some good points.
At least Americans know and acknowledge that racism exists in the US (hell that’s what the KKK is all about), Korea denies such problems exist and believe Korea to be “white man’s heaven” etc…
White supremacists should be shot and pissed on. Thing is, you’d never hear a Korean national here say that about one of their own because they are “patriots” or so they say.
It would be safe to say that the majority of Americans (including minority groups like Korean-Americans) aren’t racist or at least indifferent to it.
In Korea, the majority of Koreans believe they are of “pure blood” and we know what the means.
Don’t believe me? Explain the tolerence of Nazi bars and the handful of kids I’ve seen wearing SS uniforms decorated Totenkopf style.
Let’s not forget the wall of Jews thing either.
See also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rFs3M5Xfyk
@#83
Speaking of Psy, I had a rather awkward moment once when I sang along (mildly, with iPod on) without thinking Psy’s Champion. If you are familiar with the lyrics, I’m sure you’ll know which part of the song resulted in people looking at me all funny.
챔피온! 소리 질르는 **!
챔피온! 음악에 미치는 **!
챔피온! 인생 즐기는 **!
챔피온! **! 챔피온 **!
I agree with Granfalloon’s suggestion. It’s much more in sync with the styles Korean political cartoons employ. I’d draw that, but my artistic talent peaked at 3rd grade…
#55 — True. And one of the reasons his commentary isn’t attacked is because he’s got clout, and Korean journalists, at the very least, probably don’t want to attack him. And trying to distort his words will be less successful than if it were some other guy with no clout or people to back him up. That being said, since I don’t have Michael Breen clout, doing it under the cover of OhMyNews has been incredibly positive, since I get their shield, so many Koreans read it and have ready access to it from Naver. And it being in Korean allows anyone to see it for themselves, rather than be mistranslated in parts. Also, the editor made a little byline in which school names are mentioned, along with the fact I am working on a doctorate. He agreed that it would greatly add to the efficacy of my critiques, since Koreans respect that sort of thing. I get crap for it from foreigners when I drop creds in the lines of arguments, but for better or worse, it works. This is Korea.
#77 — OK, and myself, I was partially responding to others, not just your comments. Sorry if they sounded like they were all leveled at you.
#78 — That actually sounds nifty.
Perhaps being so over the top isn’t necessary. Make it more benign. Something along the lines of a bespectacled white guy with a loosened tie in his study grading papers. Have a little girl in the doorway asking, “Daddy, are you a carousing, drunken, leacherous, crack and pot-smoking paedophile?” Have the man respond, “No, Honey. I don’t have the time and your mother would kill me.”
I still think Metro needs a bigger target than an obscure blog. The anti-beef moovement is the kind of fat, juicy target that only comes along once in a while. (Well, actually, they come with distressing regularity, but..)
Contrary to what some people think (this has been linked in and commented on from the Marmot), I didn’t write this in a fit of white-hot rage, nor is this merely a petty effort to “get back at” all “Koreans.” Done properly, it could be a direct way of showing, without the need for lengthy explanations, just how ridiculous some of these cartoons are. Done within the context of say, an OhMyNews article, it could be a very effective tool.
I don’t know what “kind of person” I would be becoming, but I think turnabout is fair play, especially on issues so obvious, and in situations when Koreans have behaved “badly” as foreigners or immigrants (something Koreans tend to be very sensitive about), yet when the shoe is on the other foot, it’s open season. And given the fact that many Koreans themselves have commented on the irony of Cho Seung-hui not leading to the vilification of an entire minority group in the US, knowing full well what would have happened here had some foreigner committed such crimes, I think it’s an effective dig.
I think there’s a time and place for being polite and talking things out. I also think there’s a time and place for saying, “You know what? This is fucked up. You’re wrong.” Some people don’t like it when one does that, or think foreigners should be perpetual guests here, but we’re 2% of the population, we pay taxes, and some of us have put in our dues enough to say something back regarding this society in which WE ALL live, not just Korean nationals. And in my experience, I’ve found that a lot of Koreans can respect that when you put it in these terms.
Which I will. So I’m not worried. If this were just a petty dig, I wouldn’t be doing it. So I’m not at all concerned about who I am, since I am exactly “who I want to be.”
Sorry about the previous comment — it was meant for MY blog, and I had both windows open, and pasted from HTML to the wrong box in a fit of absent-mindedness. I can’t see how to erase it in the admin section of the Hole, so if it could be nixed, I’d be happy. Or if it isn’t nixed in time, just know the reason it sounds so random and out-of-the-blue is because it’s not supposed to be here. Sorry ’bout that.
The possibilities for the split-screen described in 78 are endless, and I think it’s an excellent format.
Show what you see as the Korean view on one side, and the foreign view on the other. The contrast can work both ways as well…highlighting what can be seen as foreign distortions just as easily.
There are a million topics ripe for this…and the visual comparison may make the satire a bit easier to understand for the rubber-hammer crowd.
You know, I’ve never had a problem with them, though (knock on wood). I’m just honored they find this blog amusing/offensive enough to spend the time translating, especially the comment section.
The problem with this whole “Foreigners as Koreans see them” vs. “Foreigners as they really are” idea is that it would be the same picture.
I kid! I kid!
OK, we’ve got 89 comments TALKING about drawing a cartoon. I say, enough talk and DRAW the damn thing already. Sure, it’s probably a waste of time and an overreaction to a cartoon posted on a blog insignificant even by blog standards that I found during my daily morning “English teacher police blotter” searches and linked to simply because I find stupid shit amusing, but hey, could be fun, especially if it starts a shit storm.
“OK, we’ve got 89 comments TALKING about drawing a cartoon. I say, enough talk and DRAW the damn thing already. ”
I think the biggest roadblock to that is…
None of us know how to actually draw anything :*(
dogbert wrote: “I wonder what JK would say about him, if JK weren’t such a hypocrite.”
Hah! And this coming from a guy who has never once gotten on gbevers for his gross negative generalizations of Koreans. If you wanna see a hypocrite, pal, just look in the mirror.
“To me, it’ll be time to leave Korea when I give up, when I finally throw my hands in resignation and say, “Fuck it. Let the idiots define the debate, let them have their fucking country.” That’s when I’ll be packing my bags. Otherwise, I’ll keep writing my emails, blogging it out, and trying to make what little difference I can.”
The chances of an obese black man making a difference in Korea are absolutely nil. I think it’s time for you to consider leaving but I also think you’re a glutton for punishment so I say, “Carry on!”
And no soju-swilling, dog-eating, fan-death-believing, we’re-more-genetically-susceptible-to-vCJD Korean will understand the satire.
Fucking incredible….
#59: JK, I just thought that since Koreans supposedly have a special gene that makes them more susceptible to “Mad Cow” disease than other nationalities that maybe that same gene is the reason Koreans are more susceptible to “fan death” than other nationalities, as well.
#70: Yeah, Sonagi, I have a million of ‘em. By the way, I am the well-spring of reason.
Metropolitician, I think cartoons are a great way to “remove urine from Korean bladders,” but they should to be subtle, possibly with double entendres, yet not so subtle that Koreans do not recognize that they are being mocked for their silliness.
81: “Fight fire with fire where the war is being fought. In the classroom.”
This is exactly why I signed up with GEPIK. I debated whether to rake in the cash at a hogwan or try to do my part and fix the problems with the Korean Education system. I work in a High School in Gyeonggi, as the only foreign teacher in a sea of ignorance. In my office also works our union local leader, who is active in pushing our students to go to demonstrations.
I put up with “Kill Lee Myoungbak” and “Fuck America” for weeks. I educated myself on Mad Cowand dispelled the rumours as quickly as I heard them, and showed the Stephen Colbert-Rain rivalry to ease the tension… most students laughed at the parody, especially during the DDR “Dance-off.”
The scary part was how few students could logically explain WHY they said what they said. Almost every student was just regurgitating the propaganda fed to them by certain teachers…
I say certain teachers because it is the vocal minority that feed these unthinking children lies. The vast majority of my co-workers have the usual Korean/Confucian problem with speaking out or standing up…
The most you can do is encourage every Korean you know to think for themselves and question authority. And, of course, to call Bullshit out when they see it.
I, for one, support the idea of parody cartoons, but they better spoon-feed the sarcasm carefully and with a healthy dose humour. That was how Oscar Wilde could sell out his shows to the upper-class while poking at them the whole time…
If the press gets a hold of it, you best have a collection of examples that you’ve ripped off the internet to refer to
“If you have drawing ability and a little insight into Korea and foreigner’s place in it, the Korea Times might be willing to pay you (a little) to build your portfolio. They currently use a guy living Thailand (which may explain all the toons on Burma they are running these days).”
That’s interesting to know.
This is great idea however Mike Hunt and many other expat-bloggers/commenters have themselves been engaging in racial/ethnically based generalizations of Korean people for a number of years.
Prejudices against Koreans, racist attitudes, reflect the cultural arrogance of the mainly US (WASPs include coconuts)commenters. The irony is that the imagined Korea prevalent on blogs such as this (admittedly Robert himself appears to be getting a handle on this kind of problem) has long been a caricature of the real and the only possible satirical product at play here is the current proposal itself.
I can help you with your problem. You don’t need a cartoonist. Hook me up with a fine spliffy as big as the one in the original cartoon, and you can take photos or film the whole thing as I smoke it down to nothing. (It could take days for a spliffy that size.)
I will also hook you up with one of my blonde-headed female alkie friends. Cost to you is only a bottle of Sailor Jerry Rum. (U.S.$17)
Anton, are you attempting to define sophomoric? Bringing up any references to Mike’s appearance is absolutely annoying. I’m an ugly guy, are you going to dismiss me? Einstein certainly wasn’t within the normal aesthetic, do you discount him as well?
If you are saying it was an attempt to preempt any efforts by him out of compassion because a ma