Actually there are very few ambassadors that speak Korean, The Australian one does and he gets props for that. No other Western ones do (I believe but maybe wrong).

Ambassadors tend to be high ranking Government officials from within the ruling party at the time of change over. How many do you think have actually bothered to learn Korean?

Unlike India, Greece, China, Italy, Japan, Egypt or Israel, Korean history goes back thousands of years.

Unlike Thailand, Cambodia, or the Inuit lands, Korea has a unique alphabet exclusively belonging to its own language.

Unlike the EU, Japan, Australia, Canada, Russia, China, India or Brazil, Korea has a heavily industrialized society with a large economy.

And of course, Korea is totally untainted by inferior foreign cultures, peoples and influences. That’s what this beef issue is really about, dammit!

I don’t know much about Mr. Sohn, and I have no reason to disagree with you. But I had good reason to be skeptical. I’ve personally seena few Asian students or even faculty in UC campuses who could hardly speak Engish. If you’re knowledgeable in a certain field universaties will sometimes hire / accept you even if half of what comes from their mouth is sheer gibberish.

Korean international students (from my own experience) speak just enough decent English to get by. They have to write reports and read textbooks in English, after all. But they don’t understand it intituitely. They tend to literally translate their korean thoughts / expressions into English (verbally or on writing) and generally struggle with nuances found in the language. Drop a pun on them sometimes and you get a blank stare in return because their English never went beyond the barest of fundamentals.

I was told that Kim Dae Jung attended an American Univerasity during his exile. I’m not sure for how long or at what capacity, but his English wasn’t that great. Fobbish almost. I think it’s quite possible for a Korean to spend 8 years at Oxford, Harvard or UCLA without comfortably mastering English, much less adapt to a foreign culture.

But if Mr. Sohn was actually published in a British scholarly journal, then he knows English. So he deliberately chose to spin a statement that he was able to place in proper context.

The fact is that the Korean public, media, and opposition politicians are regularly citing wild rumors, verifiably false information, and straight bullshit regarding US beef, BSE, vCJD, American consumption habits, and a whole host of other issues.

They have demonstrated overwhelming ignorance of the science involved in BSE and the actual risk to humans. And given that fact, it was entirely reasonable for Vershbow to make the comments he did. In fact, it would have been entirely reasonable for him to go several steps further and criticize the media and opposition directly for intentionally spreading lies to financially harm an ally.

His restraint was admirable in how little he did say, as he would’ve been justified in opening both barrels given the bullshit involved and potential consequences on American business in Korea as a result.

You guys are missing the point here.

No, I’m afraid you are.

What Vershbow has said about how Koreans should learn a little more about the science and facts of American beef is nonetheless rude. It is certainly a form of political intervention which lacks respect for South Korea and its people.

It’s not rude, especially coming after the foreign ministry telling him he was going to break an already concluded bilateral agreement. It’s the official US position, and as US ambassador, it’s his job to make that clear. It certainly isn’t “political intervention” — say, like the Korean ambassador to Washington asking Korean-Americans (US citizens) to reflect after the Virgina Tech shooting — and it certainly isn’t “disrespect for Korea and its people.”

Sure, misinterpretation is a silly mistake and you can laugh at it, but the most important issue here is Vershbow undermining the candle rally as a mop hypocracy without science facts that support their arguement, which is not true by all means.

Firstly, nobody’s laughing — Vershbow’s statement was misinterpreted, and one suspects intentionally for political reasons.

Secondly, regardless of what Pressian (hint: if you want to be a bit more persuasive, try linking to something other than the most left-wing and anti-American Internet paper in Korea. It’s like me going onto one of your favored forum — the Jin Jung-gwon forum at DC Inside, perhaps? — and linking to the Chosun Ilbo) thinks, the US government thinks differently. And while, considering the much criticized performance of the Korean Foreign Ministry, you may find it strange to see diplomats vigorously representing the official views of their nation, Americans expect their diplomats to do their job.

Fact is that the attitude the US is showing is as “reasonable” as it’s going to be. YOU just broke a trade agreement considered to be of vital importance to the United States. If the US were more “reasonable” like China, we’d be talking about slapping import bans on Korean cell phones. I’m being extremely reasonable — if this mess continues, I want to see only punitive tariffs, not full bans. That’s being “reasonable” — a country targets one of your major exports for trumped up safety/cultural/등등 reasons, you target back. And just as the Hankyoreh tells Americans to accept the situation on the ground:

http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/opi.....91559.html

I ask that you, too, accept the situation on the ground. The Democrats have Congress and will likely soon have the White House. Do you think they will be as “reasonable” as the US is being now?