The White House isn’t happy, but it’s willing to work with Korea to get have their concerns addressed:
The White House on Tuesday expressed “concerns” about South Korea’s plans to turn away US beef imports from cattle more than 30 months old and said it would work with Seoul on the issue.
“We’re in communication with the Korean government to try to understand their plan. We’ll continue to work with US industry and our Korean counterparts to ensure that our concerns are addressed,” said spokesman Tony Fratto.
His comments came after South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak announced that South Korea will not accept imports of US beef from cattle more than 30 months old, as he negotiated his biggest test yet since taking office 100 days ago.
Beef quote of the day, from the WaPo (HT to Blueballs):
Cha Yoon-min, 13, marched on City Hall on Saturday night with his mother, a lawyer in Seoul. “I am afraid of American beef,” he said. “I could study hard in school. I could get a good job and then I could eat beef and just die.”
The horror! The horror! BTW, does anyone else smell Minbyun?
On Google, I noticed a Agweb.com blog post that I found kind of interesting, if for no other reason than it draws comparisons between the beef situation and bass fishing:
This Korean beef trade thing—see the Tuesday morning AP dispatch — is like watching your bobber while a turtle eats your bait. Yes, it’s a bite! No, it’s not a bite! No wait, maybe it is a bite.
[...]
Should we give Mr. Lee a break? He signed the paper, after all. A deal is a deal. If he was a guy who’d bought a bass boat and now wants to back out because his wife is mad, should the boat dealer and lending agent just say “ok, no harm done?” He wants to be our friend, but if he’s going to kowtow to demonstrators flying in the face of science and reason, should we acquiesce?
The Lost Nomad should get a chuckle out of that.
The blogger does say in the end that the White House should give a little now, lest the situation wait until Obama takes over, in which case the FTA is truly dead. Just a little correction, though — what we have in Korea is not a trading partner backing out of a deal because of a “vocal minority,” it’s a trading partner backing out of a deal because of a vocal majority.
Oh, and needless to say, the protests are continuing. Beef Quote of the Day II:
Still, protesters said the government compromise fell far short of their demands.
“All Koreans have become Ph.D.s in mad cow disease over the past month, and the government cannot persuade the people with only this,” said Jang Dae-hyun, a spokesman for the civic group that organizes the vigils.
As we’ve said before, sometimes, this blog just writes itself.
Anyway, it’s a shame said Koreans hadn’t become Ph.Ds in economics, because Korea is about to become the only country that I know that’s gone from FTA to Super 301 in a month.
74 Comments
It’s been said before but I think it bears repeating: The symptom is opposition to US beef. The disease is anti-Americanism.
And these mothers protesting with their children simply make me laugh. These women who are so concerned about safety are the same women who let their children run around in the street unattended at 11 pm.
I’m afraid of Korean drivers. I could study hard in school. I could get a good job and then I could walk to school and just die.
“The symptom is opposition to US beef. The disease is anti-Americanism.”
I’m begining to think the same thing. Just like St. Patrick’s Day is an excuse for everyone to get drunk on a work day, so is mad cow. It’s just an excuse to be anti-American under the pretense of “public health.”
How did it get this way? Did it really get started by the teacher’s union filling kids with stupid ideas? 10 years of liberal administrations?
The people of South Korea, pining for the Sunshine Policy that LMB has shut down, are taking unification policy into their own hands and dumbing themselves down to match North Korean levels of education and knowledge.
If this goes on much longer, Korea may become the laughing stock of the developed world.
Science considered faulty by pretty much everyone with A REAL SCIENCE PHD is manipulated by people who like to say they have a “mad cow” PhD to affect government policy. A step back not only for Korea, but for the idea of government for the people and by the people.
그는 무식한다 참 슬프 일이다.
Hey kids! Don’t eat American beef, eat Korean chicken instead! Bird flu, you say? What bird flu? No, no it’s only foreign animals that get sick. As you know, kimchi stops all viruses from infecting Korean animals and Korean people.
I would advise the US government to hire Apolo Anton Ohno as its Special Trade Representative to South Korea.
His primary responsibility would be to glide around Seoul dressed in his USA Olympic skating outift on a pair of roller blades, tossing out steaks and rump roasts to the crowds of protestards. He could even feign like he was being obstructed just before each toss, and yell out “HOLLYWOOD BEEF!” as each slab of meat smacked another retarded Korean protester upside the noggin.
And the coup de grace…he would be accompanied by a team of eight roller-skating Korean-American bimbos in bikinis, who would all skate suggestively in circles around Ohno, stroking his chest and buttocks while singing “We’ll take a hot beef injection from Ohno anytime!”
”’I'm a Korean. This articl is not correct. It’s not xenophobia that drive us on streets. US government bans feeding certain parts from cows to US pets. Koean government allows to import those parts from cows.
We Koreans just think we are more valuabie than US pets.
Han , Seoul, Korea”’
of course the exee don’t wanna talk about how the us thinks their pets are better than a human being we’d call korean.
pawi,
Is this Korean mass hysteria getting to you? Are you really starting to believe some of their arguements?
#8,
Oh, please.
“South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak announced that South Korea will not accept imports of US beef from cattle more than 30 months old”
Should be the end of discussion, don’t you think. After all, that’s why people were protesting, right?
PhD’s in mad cow disease? I guess appeals to authority aren’t what they used to be…or is he just trying to cajole his audience (the protestors)? After all, people like to think that they are smarter than the government.
i believe the us wants to sell korea beef that it wouldn’t have it’s own citizens eat. the us wants to treat korea like the jap fm office ie third world. the koreans don’t want beef unfit for american pets. i understand that. again, i’ll ask:
where is the catering to your customers idea in all this? you mean, because america dictates korea gotta give?
“i believe the us wants to sell korea beef that it wouldn’t have it’s own citizens eat.”
Well then you sir, are a fucking moron.
I keep telling everyone Pawi is our barometer of Korean sentiment, especially valuable in cases like these when feelings well up and take over, crowding out thought.
“i believe the us wants to sell korea beef that it wouldn’t have it’s own citizens eat.”
That doesn’t make any sense. It’s just economics. If U.S. beef sold to Korea is of inferior quality, it will affect taste and health. Not just mad cow disease, but bacteria and other infections. If U.S. beef is in fact “stuff that Americans don’t eat” then Koreans will just eat subsitutes such as pork, chicken and fish. U.S. beef has to at least be equal to Korean beef and acceptable vs. Australian beef, otherwise Koreans just won’t buy it.
It makes zero economic sense. Besides, beef imported have to at least pass USDA inspection and be graded I believe. Anybody have more info on that?
It’s really really sad to see this country self destruct. But that’s what we’re seeing here, and what’s most maddening about it is that not too many people in Korea know what’s really going on here.
Education, this is what happens when all you can do is maths and science but you can’t do any analyzing. And it doesn’t take that much to do some analyzing in this case.
It doesn’t matter if the US agrees to label the meat’s age. Even if they annonunced that President Bush himself would supervise the inspection and labeling. It would do no good because, as has been said, this protest is not really about the ’safety’ of beef, safety is a pretense. It’s about where it comes from. It is xenophobia at its worst.
LMB has to convince the Korean people that he is not, as they believe he is, kowtowing to the US government and embarassing Korean people with his ability to bend over and take some beef from them.
Perception of US beef being what it is means that nothing can be done until somehow the protestors are convinced that Korea is getting the upper hand over the US by forcing them to negotiate after the deal has already been done. Does anyone else see the parallel to the NORKS method of making deals, reneging on them and forcing another deal to prop up their own sense of self-importance?
It feels like we are dealing with a nation-sized case of ‘little big man’s syndrome’ combined with an inferiority complex.
and the bass analogy is exquisite.
# 16,
Great comment! I agree.
Koreans know a = b = c.
They don’t know a + c = b + a.
Re: #9
Pawi: God Bless your pointed little head, but it seems that you fail to understand that the parts we wouldn’t feed to our pets are the very same parts that Korean folks love to snarf up at the local restaurants. Are you putting yourself and Koreans on a par with pets? We wouldn’t sell those parts here if there wasn’t a demand for the product in the local diet and taste buds! If you don’t want to eat the beef, simply let your mouth do the voting and close it! Pawi, I bet you’ve snorkled a few dogs in your time, also. Were you ever concerned about the origin of the meat you eat at the local Boshintang or ever thought about how old it was? What parts of the cow do Aussies or Kiwis feed to their pets, Pawi? You’ve got a fixation on American beef that borders on outright imbecility. Hell, you crossed the border a long time ago!
I’m afraid of Korean university students. I could do well on the SAT, get into a good school, and then I could step into a classroom and just die.
MADE IN USA
OOps, double post
MADE IN USA
This is a country that has no qualms about defending and eating dogs slaughtered in filthy conditions and filled with steroids (leading to false belief that dog meat is good for sexual strength). Yet, US beef is somehow unsafe. This is a country that over-drinks itself to death, smokes like chimney, and drive like maniacs. Yet all of a sudden, US beef is the deadliest thing there is - so deadly that they’re willing to bring down a government and risk a trade war with one of their biggest and important trading partners just at a time when they’re facing an economic crisis. Common sense? What is that?
The longer this goes on the less I think that this has to do with anti americanism. I would not be the least bit surprised if North Korea is behind this in an attempt to discredit 2MB. This would help account for some of the more outrageous rumours, such as 2MB wants to sell Dokdo to Japan. So far this appears to be working. 2MBs approval rating is down to 22% and is being threatened with impeachment.
Congratulations on overtaking 13-year old Cha Yoon-min as the biggest dupe in this thread. You’ve long been full of shit pawi, but at least it was your own distinctive brand of shit and seemed to come from your own nutball convictions, however misplaced.
You’ve now sunk to regurgitating the ignorant ravings of middle school tools. What you’re saying is verifiably false, and you’re really setting yourself up with a permanent reputation even worse than the one you currently retain.
Few thought that was even possible.
I agree. The protesters have a long list of grievances, including privatization and the canal project, and the protests are well-coordinated with rally participants and netizens spouting the same illogical talking points. I think somebodies are out to sabotage the first conservative president in ten years before his ideas get off the ground.
It is only a matter of time before this country becomes the sick man of Asia. It’s citizens are not only anti-american and dysfunctional but also foam-at-the-mouth irrational. Think about it. These are the same people who believe that if you sleep in an enclosed room with a fan on, you will die.
Koreans are also mean spirited. I still remember being at the US-Mexico World Cup Game when a Mexican player delibertly committed a foul and seriously injured an American player. Koreans in the stand went wild with joy! The stadium officials had to plead with people to quite down. And of course, the Korean media never showed the crowd’s reaction.
Korean internet is the biggest breeding ground for anything. It’s a perfectly useful tool to use. The Youtubes are filled with South Korean government supposedly “trampling on democracy and violating human rights”. The mainstream media are picking up on that and making things even worse.
Nice one, but not as funny as what’s going on in this country right now. When you’ve been here a while, you keep thinking “Now I’ve seen it all and it can’t possibly get any more ludicrous (1995 subway incident, Han river dumping, Ohno and 2002, just to name a few) but yet, here we are once again. Sparkling, indeed.
# 26,
Then now it’s time for LMB’s supports to hit the streets. Shit, didnt’ 70% of the country vote for this man? Where are the other 70%? Hell, where are the rest of the conservatives for that matter? At home watching their president get reamed? Immobilized by the phenomenally compelling science of mad cow? Get your asses out there people! The president needs you.
The Hanky has an interesting bit on the violence of the police in stopping the protests. Not surprisingly, there is no mention of the illegal and violent actions of the protesters.
I guess the violence and lack of accountability has been going on for so long (in reference to the protesters) that they figure it is their right to conduct illegal and violent gatherings without retribution.
RE: HEARTBALLS RANT
“Congratulations on overtaking 13-year old Cha Yoon-min as the biggest dupe in this thread. You’ve long been full of shit pawi, but at least it was your own distinctive brand of shit and seemed to come from your own nutball convictions, however misplaced.
You’ve now sunk to regurgitating the ignorant ravings of middle school tools. What you’re saying is verifiably false, and you’re really setting yourself up with a permanent reputation even worse than the one you currently retain.
Few thought that was even possible.”
While your comments are generally humorous, do you really need to single out individual commenters for such broadsides? When you first came onto this blog your criticism was not limited to Koreans, but now you seem to merely tow the expat line. Your apparent antagonism towards our country is not endearing.
It would have been nice if your mind was broader than that.
#12,
Do you have any idea how wholesale orders are placed and processed? Apparently not.
Demands that America sell Korea only that beef which Americans would eat are ridiculously misplaced anyway — Americans eat the parts which Koreans would throw away, and vice versa.
Look at the humble chicken: Koreans love, love, love the thigh and drumstick, while American consumers seek out “the original white meat” of the chicken breast. Local consumers here eschew that portion of the bird in favor of those darker cuts — they don’t like to eat that dry, flavorless white meat. Consumer preferences drive what kind of meat is delivered.
When Russia opened up to trade, there was a brisk chicken-leg arbitrage going on where Americans were able to “dump” so-called “Bush legs” in Russia where the preference for dark meat meant that unsaleable chicken legs could be devoured by eager consumers.
Americans grind up the bones and tripe, while Koreans eat it. That’s not some Yankee plot.
RE: Sonagi’s comment
“I agree. The protesters have a long list of grievances, including privatization and the canal project, and the protests are well-coordinated with rally participants and netizens spouting the same illogical talking points. I think somebodies are out to sabotage the first conservative president in ten years before his ideas get off the ground.”
I for one don’t like the guy and think its great that he is teetering already. Hopefully we succeed. The man is a dog.
‘Congratulations on overtaking 13-year old Cha Yoon-min as the biggest dupe in this thread. You’ve long been full of shit pawi, but at least it was your own distinctive brand of shit and seemed to come from your own nutball convictions, however misplaced.’
lol.
#33: Sadly, knowledge of the economics of world trade and comparative advantage is scant not just in Korea, but also in the Democratic Party.
Wangkon, you haven’t been following the polls have you?
Lee’s approval rating is down to 20%, lower than Roh’s ever was.
Sixty six percent of Koreans think the beef agreement with the US is a bad ideal.
Majority of Koreans who are against the beef trade thinks it’s a bad ideal only because that’s what everyone says so and that’s what the media says so, and they reason that “all those people can’t be wrong, can they?”. It’s the old follow the crowd mentality.
#34 I mean. Did the time-space fabric get ripped again?
i think it doesn’t help to understand the situation if one chooses to base their understanding upon handpicked quotes made by children and other less than representative samples of supposed demonstrators. rather than getting our facts from blogs that scrape quotes to match their views why not go speak to an actual protester and try to understand their perspective. when i say protester i don’t mean the late straggler (i.e equivalent to a “demo-groupie”) who has come to the join the party, i mean the organizers, the passionate core of opinionated citizens who actually raised this issue. i recommend doing this in a non-combative manner and you may be surprised to find out what the concerns of these demonstrators are really focused on?
i suspect it may open the eyes of some folks to a bigger world, one not so easily dismissed with racist colored comments about intelligence, logic and the lack there of…
“Then now it’s time for LMB’s supports to hit the streets. Shit, didnt’ 70% of the country vote for this man? Where are the other 70%? Hell, where are the rest of the conservatives for that matter? At home watching their president get reamed? Immobilized by the phenomenally compelling science of mad cow? Get your asses out there people! The president needs you.”
Well, I think it would be more accurate to say that after 10 years of KDJ and RMH, 70% of Koreans voted against the UDP. My dog could have beaten Chung Dong-young last December.
I seem to remember a lot of people - based on the results of the last election - talking about Korea’s shift to the right. I wasn’t too convinced at the time and I’m definitely not buying it now, at least in terms of it being a long-term thing.
A well-handled Japan fishing/history text crisis or a West Sea naval skirmish with the North might help revive his fortunes a little. Maybe the pardons for 2.8 million Koreans will also translate into some added popularity.
“Lee’s approval rating is down to 20%, lower than Roh’s ever was.
Sixty six percent of Koreans think the beef agreement with the US is a bad ideal.”
I know that. But now it’s bigger then beef. It’s a direct attack on LMB and the Grand National Party. The GNP has to close ranks and defend LMB. It should do so through various angles. I’m saying why not counter demonstrations? There were counter demonstrations, pro american ones in 2003.
#40: Are you going to enlighten us ignoramuses or leave us hanging?
@ jhaelin,
youd be wasting your time explaining anything to this bunch of white bread fools. Many here have spent years in Korea, married into Korean families, learned the language, but have yet to make an attempt to understand the people from their perspective. Its easier to hang out in a white cyber ghetto like this.
“”i suspect it may open the eyes of some folks to a bigger world, one not so easily dismissed with racist colored comments about intelligence, logic and the lack there of…”"
Well written
the koreans don’t want us beef that no other industrialized country accepts. tell me, why should korea be the lone country to accept beef that old? i haven’t seen anybody tell us why that should be.
of course, you simply dismiss the concerns of koreans out of hand which is really your contempt for the people you live amongst. this is a common tactic when the west deals with asians; treat them as if they are uninformed automatrons in need of savior from a guy who gets up after noon.
why should korea accept beef that no other developed nation accepts?
“why not go speak to an actual protester and try to understand their perspective.”
Who is in charge of purchasing and distributing hundreds of thousands of candles? Who’s in charge of getting out thousands of rally posters? Where are they getting all this money and support to do all this?
#45
No, you keep asking the same question and it keeps getting answered.
http://www.antimadcow.org/
I should also probably include a link to MBC.
I assume when you say “their” perspective, you mean the 민노당/전교조/프레시안 perspective, right? Thank God for right-thinking sons of the minjok such as yourself who can educate us poor white bread fools.
dear uncle toms,
South Koreans have been greatly annoyed or distrustful of food safety for a long time coming.
Fake tofu, parasite laden kimchi, suraegi mandoo, AI chicken, pesticide laden grapefruit, Ramen made with inedible oil, etc. I remember the Ramen made with inedible oil.
They could blame foreigners, immoral industries, bad merchants.
but, this time, they can blame one person. Lee Myung Bak.
People voted for Lee Myung Bak, but I bet you there won’t be much turn out for a support rally.
Why? Lee Myung Bak dropped the ball early. It’s like Chan Ho Park giving up 2 grand slams in one inning. A Major League Record. Lee Myung Bak’s rating slip. A South Korean political record. However, note that I support both with all my heart.
Anyway, this has been brewing like kimchi.
Gangbooja, Gosoyong naegak, NamDaeMoon, Grand Canal, intents to privitize and cut gongmoowons, rising fuel and food. For fuel, let’s imagine you driving from Fullerton to Los Angeles, with a gasoline budget of $500 a month. I’d imagine that’s the bill from one of the Kyongi cities to Seoul. I’d imagine you pay maybe $200 a month.
See? They feel more pain.
Now, just like George Bush I, Lee Myung Bak is a target. He’s on eggshells.
Korean students “analyze” fine. They do well on American tests, and if you talked to one lately, they think fine, too.
I think Lee Myung Bak will pull off the beef deal, and barring evil US expats in Korea, and the Democrats of the US, the KORUS FTA will pass and benefit BOTH US and South Korea.
Ganchups are indeed probably in the fun, but most of the demonstrators are not liberal. They are just convinced the beef is bad. They actually want the FTA.
Follow the money..where is it going? candles, transportation…follow it to the source, arrest arrest arrest and destroy the people who are running the whole thing behind the scenes. Charge them with treason, charge them under security laws, convict, imprison, take away their money and assets and destroy their familes. 2MB is not a dictator but if they want to say he is and bring him down, then he might as well play the role vis a vis these people. Destroy them so bad their grandchildren’s children will feel the pain. This means go directly after the leaders of these civic groups, these rabid trade unions, etc. DESTROY!
to the same hitter in the same inning.
anyone with a computer and an internet can make a website and with time make it seem quite legitimate; which is not to dismiss them either.
rather, in my limited experience most of my lasting moments of clarity and more balanced understanding of this country has come through human interactions and actual communication with individuals that represent the issue or perspective i wanted to know about.
i am not doubting the existence of korean xenophobia, racism and other less than desirable characteristics, i am merely suggesting there is more than the negatives and it behooves the foreigner in a foreign land to seek the positives and find a fuller balanced perspective otherwise they may be accused of masochism…
America has built its empire on forcing inferior countries to eat inferior quality food, yes. This is our grand plan, see? Our cattle industry evilly allows cows to live for TWO AND A HALF YEARS before killing them! And then we FORCE other countries to import these TWO AND A HALF YEAR OLD cows. This is bad because TWO AND A HALF YEAR OLD cows have POISON DEATH bubbling within their brains. Then, when all the citizens of these inferior countries are dead… we have no one left to trade with for affordable and convenient LCD displays and mobile handsets.
As you can see, our plan is foolproof! Not even Pawi can stop us!
Well, who wouldn’t want a free trade agreement that allows you to continue protecting your rice and beef producers?
mateomiguel — Rumor has it, the CIA has already introduced US-bred 35 month-old cows into Sadr City. Victory will soon be ours.
“arrest arrest arrest”
Contrary. I think LMB should just give a short speech and give the public what they want. No US beef into Korea. Then sit back and see this thing back fire on the lefties. Once the Korean public starts to lose jobs left, right, and center, then see their country go from 13th biggest in the world to 20th, competing with Mexico for per capita income, getting laughed off the face of the planet, then maybe just maybe, the roots of leftism and anti-Americanism would be uprooted once and for all. Only then, can we start to progress again from scratch.
@#40
I haven’t talked to any of the passionate protest leaders, but I know a passionate protestard. She was trying to convince me of how dangerous US beef was by showing me very professionally produced (propaganda) information pamphlets, which were full of lies and scary (untrue) facts. One section was devoted to how putting on makeup after the imports start coming in will give girls Mad Cow. She got this crap from the protest leaders. So, I don’t know that I have much to gain talking to them as you recommend, except a desire to punch them in the face.
Also interesting was that she showed me this material over a month ago, when the protests had just started, which impressed upon me that the protest leaders are both very organized and were preparing to spread their (shit) lies well in advance.
And why would you simplify Koreans to the point that they can only have one perspective? That’s less forgivable, considering your claim on Korean heritage.
That’s exactly what they should do, cm. The protesters got what they wanted in 2002 when Roh got elected, and they spent the next five years regretting it. Lessons like that are valuable. The US electorate got it with Bush, and the Korean electorate will get it when they see the business end of Super 301.*
*That is, assuming the US doesn’t just cave, which is what I think it will do — the KORUS FTA is one of Bush’s few positive legacies, so I think he’ll accept any agreement that gives the FTA even a fighting chance in Congress.
i have been in korea for a long time and will never understand their perspective because normally its driven by nationalistic bull-headed ignorance
to mr. pawi:
where are you getting your sources? what other “developed countries” are you talking about? currently the US has two multilateral trade agreements and maybe 9~10 bilateral trade agreements, and almost all its free trade agreements are with nations from africa and latin america. korea is the maybe 9th or 10th biggest importer of US goods, but the 2nd or 3rd importer of US beef. from the US whities perspective, it makes economic sense to have lower barriers in trading beef then any other commodity, since there has been a growing imbalance of trade between US and Korea, with Korea enjoying more and more trade surpluses. US also wanted to slap a PFC on Korea a while back because of so many barriers Koreans put up to US goods. if memory serves me right, US PFC was slapped on countries like Ukraine and Nigeria.
to mr.s expat whities:
in any trade agreement, or in any international economic forum, agricultural products are the source of much dispute, and always militant. while the latest Korean “please, looke at me! i want to be respected by the US, and i got a fucking candle lit to prove it!” ruse by Koreans is another marker on our long list of embarrising moments in world history, it sure beats people/monks setting themselves on fire and trashing the local mcdonalds. at most, it’s only gonna fuck up traffic for people living/working in the 시청/광화문 area. people get emotional when it comes to the food they put in their mouths. and though the moral and intellectual high ground on this beef issue was practically handed over ass-cheeks spread wide by Koreans to the US, US does not have a real good track record in this area either, since US agri-subsidies are one of the most bloated in the world, and your gov’ment have fucked up quite a few trade talks because they won’t reduce them. while i agree with you expat whities POV that generally us Koreans can be real dipshits sometimes, what good will it do write to your congressmen to fuck up the FTA? you are living in this country, too. it’s your money you gotta pay when you go buy shit here.
Mr. RJKoehler,
I don’t think the Koreans necessarily care about protecting the Hanwoo dudes.
They’d probably rather eat cheaper beef.
Most will. When was the last time you saw a real Korean buy something Korean, so that a gooksan factory will benefit the most?
Mucho rarely.
Go to Busan port, you’ll see people of all ages adoring and whoring over the freshest Japanese imports, be it a mechanical pencil, an eraser, or whatever.
Gyopos can chime in, too. When was the last time you bought a Korean car, so that…
That’s true.
Also true, which is why I thank God for my iPod. Nothing worse on the ride home than looking outside the bus window and going, “Look, it’s 동십자각,” and looking out 10 minutes later and going, “Look, it 동십자각.”
pawakirogi’s and swlee’s posts are perfect examples for showcasing many of the failings of the Korean educational system. They keep establishing false premises and using them to establish untrue conclusions. pawakirogi keeps regurgitating baseless rumors such as the lie that beef to be imported to Korea is not distributed to any other developed country. And if you ask him to verify his claim, he will simply go into another polemical rant to take attention away from his using lies to forward more lies about the US. The more they post messages, the more apparant it becomes that Koreans in general lack critical thinking skills.
@ thedearleader
It’s citizens are not only anti-american and dysfunctional but also foam-at-the-mouth irrational. Think about it (sic). These are the same people who believe that if you sleep in an enclosed room with a fan on, you will die.
Koreans are also mean spirited. I still remember being at the US-Mexico World Cup Game when a Mexican player delibertly committed a foul and seriously injured an American player. Koreans in the stand went wild with joy! The stadium officials had to plead with people to quite down. And of course, the Korean media never showed the crowd’s reaction.
Show me a link where I called your mother a whore and/or suggested you were a male prostitute. No. You can’t. Because I didn’t.
swlee–You’ve just proved my point.
#62 - “동십자각.” Haha.
I spit up on my table. So fuckin’ true.
#55 has got it….let 2mb sit back and say “i told you so” to the idiots in UPD (or whatever those morons are calling themselves these days, i really couldn’t care less bunch of Upity Paraniod Dicks as far as I’m concerned) Better yet, he can just offer up his resignation over the beef issue, sit back on his millions earned from years with the chaebols, and watch his replacement deal with the ensuing chaos.
Learning Korean or marrying a Korean does not mean one has to give up one’s faculty for critical thinking, appreciation of logic, or approval of rational behavior.
It also doesn’t mean one has to take seriously the ramblings of a horde of insecure and classless bitter male kyopos who resent one’s having learned Korean and having married a Korean woman.
“While your comments are generally humorous, do you really need to single out individual commenters for such broadsides? When you first came onto this blog your criticism was not limited to Koreans, but now you seem to merely tow the expat line. Your apparent antagonism towards our country is not endearing.
It would have been nice if your mind was broader than that.”
ROTFLMFAO!!!
Who in the hell should he feel compelled to endear himself to? The dumb fucks melting wax in the street?
I meant not endearing in a general sense, not just to us, but that his malicious attitiude is not endearing to himself as a person. In the sense that he should not do unto others as he would not like done unto himself. kind of basic ethics, but then, americans have few concepts of this.
Why do you say Americans “have few concepts of this”? The Golden Rule is a concept of Western philosophy that is practically unknown in Korea.
Maybe it would behoove you Koreans/kyopos to tone down the arrogance and hypocrisy for a change.
The golden rule?
Western philosophy?
Care to re-read what I wrote?
Perhaps a little Confucian in your diet?
My understanding is that even pre-Socratic philosophers such as Heraclitis were late in coming to understand The Golden Rule™ as compared with their Asian teachers.
a PhD in mad cow disease?
Like you said, Koreans ought to think about getting a PhD in economics instead.
Then again, with all the academic dishonesty that goes on in Korea (lying about graduate degrees to get university teaching jobs… nepotism at its best!), I would assume that the standards for getting one of those PhD’s in mad cow disease are pretty low.
I am surprised that no one has seen or comented on the real source of information for these protest. Who has the most to gain from this
Hysteria? Certainly not the beef consumers in Korea. The opposition parties
benefit inderectly but it is the Beef and agriculture lobby, notorious for its defence of and promotion of high priced and (allegedly)higher quality beef that has started all these rumors.
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