Just got this from a tip in the Korean Media Watch mailbox. I tried to post the video here, but can’t do it, either directly, or adding through the “add video” function. Robert, if you could, please embed the video.
Interesting, no? Seems like foreigners are talking back in more ways than one. And I’m flattered in that the creator used two of my images in the movie. I’m happy to see some in the expat Korean blogosphere using their energy for something positive. I like the way the movie makes its final point, punctuated with an all-too-familiar shooter from Virginia Tech. Speaks in a direct way to the hypocrisy of vilifying “us,” since, on the cold-blooded murder front, Korea 32, USA 0. Not that I’d argue that the Koreans should be responsible for the shooter — in fact, I like the fact that the State Department turned down an official apology from the Korean government — but that doesn’t mean it’s still not an emotionally effective bomb to throw back in the other direction.
{ 76 comments… read them below or add one }
I was wondering when Metro would latch onto this vid. A commentator already posted this on Marmot’s Hole in the open thread. And naturally you are the perfect target audience. Interesting, yes. But I think its got a lot of problems in delivering the message. But maybe its only intended for the base audience. Maybe you can walk me thru it.
Great — more stuff to make English teachers feel like a persecuted minority.
I want the last 5 minutes and 50 seconds of my life back, Mike.
Wonder what people (particularly the English teachers) think of this film:
http://h21.hani.co.kr/arti/cul.....25292.html
Anyway, Metro,
if interested you can read my conversation with humdinger about this vid here
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I would like to add, regarding Cho, I never heard about the State Department turning down the apology. But if they did, we all know that it was the appropriate thing to do cause an apology was not necessary. It only illustrates the fanatic sense of ethnic identity that Koreans have. Added was the fact that Cho had a Korean passport. He was a resident alien in the US.
After the initial reporting of the massacres, which were ethno centric in nature, the US really showed its positive colors by toning down the ethnic side of the reporting. Although there were a few minor adolescent type backlashes reported around the country, the vast majority of Americans did not see this as a racial issue. Now, that says something really good about the US. But I don’t know why you would want to waste the positive legacy in such a petty and emotional fashion as you suggest. I don’t understand your motivations. What is the point? To lash back? Or to really improve things as you say? I don’t think lashing back is going to get you that far in a country where you are significantly outnumbered. Sure, we want the good things and not the bad things about America to be incorporated into our daily lives, no matter where we are. But trying to shove it in the face of a country that already has hang ups about colonial occupation might be difficult.
I’m sure you’ve already heard everything I said from others in one form or another but being new to the commenting on these expat blogs, I guess it was my turn.
Wow! Who is the hot chick in the short black dress? I wonder if I could get lucky if I flashed her my English teaching credentials and told her I’m an American.
Thanks for posting the video, Metro. What is that comic book at the first of the video all about? When did that come out?
Robert, why the fixation on English teachers? One person, whoever the hell it was put something on youtube. So what, it doesn’t mean an English teacher did it. Are you going to blame English teachers? It’s not MY fault? Personally, I don’t give a shit! Much like Koreans don’t care when their media gets the hate on almost daily.
Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I’m being repressed!
Jeez louise…..I was starting to get sucked into the whole “we are being unfairly oppressed” thing. Even had a bit of a spirited conversation with my girlfriend about it, and we never talk about that stuff. But come on….. it’s fun to be the underdog and all, but last time I checked I made a lot more money than my Korean coworkers (including my “boss”), and almost twice as much as my girlfriend. I have endless opportunities, plenty of friends, and am generally treated quite nicely, even if there is a LOT of jealousy (and rightfully so imho) about the good deal foreigners get here.
My point? Stop worrying so much about what people think. That’s no way to live your life.
more BS self-promotion….
If this is starting a dialogue (which I agree needs to happen), I hope this is a clearing of the throat, not a statement. What was with the Kim Phuc art and the stars and stripes taegukki anyway?
There are certainly was to go off on the cartoon/meme (god how I hate that neologism). How about Jerry being hired by an unscrupulous hagwon owner? Do the flip side and see Korean looser Kim immigrating to the US and living the good life by screwing over innocent poor people (a common story told during the LA riots), and sending his mentally deranged son to an American university? Sad-sack farmer Park who cannot find any local woman live in his dilapidated farmhouse, so he flies to the Philippines to buy a bride who he physically abuses and rapes regularly? How about crappy factory owner Lee, who cannot make profits no matter how poorly he treats his “3D” workers, moves to Vietnam, where he regularly abuses and exploits his new female labor force, destroys the local environment, and makes big profits al the while?
I can certainly agree we can play the game of let’s point fingers based on stereotypes and preconceived notions, if that is the weapon of choice. For god sakes though, make a clear argument.
I am having a very hard time understanding what this video is trying to convey. The stick people and the heavy metal music are cool and all, but… what’s the point?
Is it that foreign English teachers oppressed? Is it that Korea is oppressed by US influence? Is it anti-American? Is it anti-Korean? It seems to be both.
One thing I do know. I didn’t need to see those retched cartoons of Korean women and the foreign caricature in flagrante delicto again. I get that they are offensive. That’s why I don’t want to keep seeing them.
I’d also venture to say you are not doing Korean women any favors by showing them.
“Interesting, no? Seems like foreigners are talking back in more ways than one.”
Not Interesting. It’s a worthless pile of crap. How does that video constitute ‘talking back’? Who is going to see it that it’s going to make a difference too? It’s not in Korean and the links don’t make any sense to anyone but the most bitter ESL teacher (i.e not me). It looks like a 13 year olds temper tantrum. “There are Lessons to be learned from History” WTF??
I’m right on with Rob that it’s just more fodder to make ESL teachers feel like a persecuted minority. Whoever made it is foolish because they should be using their time to actually do something to help the situation. This stuff is just embarassing.
Metro, I like 90% of what you write on your blog but giving this any time of day, plus the interview you did with the poker players aren’t helping your case at the moment.
Speak with your feet…it ain’t gonna change.
Unfortunately there are too many stupid foreigners in Korea… They are not qualified as English teachers and many of them don’t have university, not even college degrees.
My two cents.
Tit for tat is not the right strategy when you are the perennial minority…
I liked it. It was much better than “Cats”
Whoo doggie! If you got any more of that cartoon porn – but unedited – keep it comin’. Especially if it has the MILF from ‘American Dad’.
You really should hire a lawyer and sue the Pentagon for deploying you there and stop-lossing you. I’ll bet Brendon is looking forward to your call.
puerile-not positive.
People, I’m not saying that the response is perfect, only that there is a RESPONSE. And it’s coming from more directions, and across more media, than before. It’s starting to be a dialogue, and not a monologue.
I remember when those cartoons came out, and I heard all these people saying, “Man, somebody should make a similar cartoon and turn the tables” or “we should send these to the MSM in America” or whatnot. I give anyone who takes the time to make a creative video like this a lot of credit just for finishing the exercise. And it’s a step in the right direction: a two-way conversation, instead of just being a punching bag.
And yes, this video has started a debate amongst ourselves, which I’m happy to see (although it often devolves into ad hominem attacks at the Hole). The important thing is that it seems that the foreign community has matured enough to start representing and defending itself in public. Yes, there’s a long way to go (getting out of the English-language ghetto is simply logistically difficult unless one is truly bilingual or has a translation staff), but as crude as the video is, it’s one kind of start.
That’s the point.
More than you guys, I could easily have complained about two of my photos being nicked without my permission and without credit, but I decided to take it as a compliment, since I get what they were trying to do, even if its execution was far from perfect.
“mature”? “defending itself in public”? Did we watch the same video?
For some reason that video reminded me of this Onion article:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28491
That ghetto is self-imposed. I’m surprised that you, being bilingual, are not picking up on this. If Hispanics in America couch all their appeals for (fill in the blank) in Spanish only, how far will that get them?
Metro Checklist
1. A long, breathless, unedited post … followed by his own comments that are longer than anyone else’s. And not making any friends in the comments section. Not bad … yet.
2. Use of paranoid hyperbole. The theme is one of paranoia, but the post is restrained, thankfully.
3. Use of capital letters to express EMPHASIS. Check.
4. Use of the faux-folksy “folks.” No.
5. Use of the royal “we.” Does “has a translation staff” count? I think so. Check.
6. Use of profanity. Missing, blessedly.
7. Dismissive name calling of those with whom he disagrees. Not yet, at least.
8. Mention of his book. Check.
9. Mention of his Fulbright. Nope.
10. Mention of his Korean language skills. Check. Implied by “…unless one is truly bilingual”
11. Mention of something “positive” that he is doing, implying that others are somehow “negative.” Check.
12. Shameless self-promotion. Check. (“More than you guys …”)
13. Use of at least one buzzword. Check. (e.g. conversation, dialogue)
14. Willingness to use this site for his own ends, but quick to criticize the comments section. Check. (“…although it often devolves into ad hominem attacks at the Hole…”)
whitey,
I looked at your blog and ran across the letter written by the 4th generation cattle rancher to the Korean newspaper. I agree with you that it was a brilliant letter. Written with sensitivity and respect while keeping the focus on what is important. I’m glad I ran across it and thanks for posting.
Didn’t get the video myself, but, Metro, when people like whitey start stereotyping you, you can be be certain you’re onto something.
That was a limp gesture to the cult of victimhood. The world doesn’t owe whingeing English teachers anything. Either make the best of it (like #7 above, who seems to be doing quite well) or go to Taiwan and teach.
Another windy, non-cogent Metro defense in 3… 2…. 1…
Give me windy and non-cogent over terse and strawman.
I love your checklist, Whitey. Just made up of random items that don’t mean much (other than to Whitey), aren’t even true, and what’s more, demonstrate how dumb you are. If I’m not guilty of half the shit on your own list, how is it anything other than stupid? And a few things that you seem to have misunderstood, because you’re plain stupid:
1. The post was actually pretty short, actually.
10. Mention of his Korean language skills. Check. Implied by “…unless one is truly bilingual” Umm, no, actually. I’m including myself in this because I am NOT bilingual, although I would like my sites to be. Reading comprehension?
12. “More than you guys …” came up as a reference to actually having more reason to be offended by the video (but wasn’t) than others, not as a form of self-promotion. READ.
13. Wait — “conversation” and “dialogue” are new “buzzwords” and aren’t standard usage in the English language? News to me
Whitey — you are so intellectually dim (which is probably why you gave up on trying to be a blogger — I remember that lame excuse for a site you had, and which you caught crap for before) that you are limited to making lame criticisms as a comment lurker on someone else’s blog, e.g. “Metro uses capital letters for emphasis” or the fact that this is the 4th consecutive time you’ve mentioned my Fulbright. You’re doing a better job at promoting me than you claim I do. I could make a checklist of your comments, such as “Displays being intellectually threatened by obscure academic credentials that he alone keeps bringing up from trolling my background on my web site — CHECK!” but that’d be too much of a waste of time. Even though I like getting into verbal wrestling matches sometimes, Whitey, you’re frankly just too simple and slow to do it with. Well, maybe I’ll do a short one, anyway. Not just a “checklist,” but a list of facts:
1. Is a failed blogger who projects the frustration with the fact no one read his blog, which had nothing to say anyway, onto a blogger who actually got readers and has a point, and when that was pointed out a little more than a year ago by ExpatJane and Gomushin Girl, has been obssessed with attacking me in comments ever since — CHECK!
2. Can’t write to save his life, as evidenced by same said failed blog, a post from which was actually brought to my attention by a friend showing me just how bad and pointless k-blogs could be — CHECK!
3. Is obviously threatened by my academic bio, which I probably mentioned in passing a couple times on my own blog, but which obviously has been branded into his forebrain for some inexplicable reason — CHECK!
4. Is also obviously frustrated by the fact that I don’t actively hide the fact that I speak Korean…of all places…in Korea! — CHECK!
Whitey — get a life! You may not like me, and I certainly don’t like your dim ass, but I at least have a few hobbies and web sites to occupy my days, not sit around an obsess over the academic background or the minutiae of some other dude’s curriculum vitae.
Wait — does the word “minutiae” piss you off, too? Add that one, too:
#15 — Use of the word “minutiae” as a reference to the passage of time, when he could have just said “time.” CHECK!
Dang, Whitey, you got me on the ropes!
The blogger is supposed to sit above the commenters, not deigning anything they say to be worthy of a reply. Instead you’re getting trolled into writing 1000-word replies.
And that response is, “We’re a bunch of whiny, self-obsessed bitches.”
No, it hasn’t. Four (or is it five?) straight pieces in Ye Olde Chosun bashing English teachers in questionable journalistic fashion, and not one response from an English teacher in said paper. And excuse me, but the video doesn’t represent “the foreign community” — it represents Westerners at the most, and more specifically English teachers. I wonder how deeply the bulk of the “foreign community” — i.e., Chinese and South, Southeast and Central Asian guest workers, as well as foreign wives — feel the plight of the maligned English teacher. I image they’d watch that video and laugh their asses off.
I sweat a lot. CHECK!
MetroP, I second what KrZ writes in#28 above and will go one step further.
Would you mind not posting on this blog anymore? I hope you don’t feel too bad about the request. But I do think your own blog is a perfectly fine venue for your thoughts. And you seem to have a talent for bringing about these flame-filled vitriolic rants, first from people who hate you and then from you in return. Post #27 above was a particularly over-the-top ad hominem argument.
“Whitey, you’re plain stupid” ?
Aren’t you better than that?
Heh. You can tell that Metro’s starting to get ticked when he drops the d-bomb: “dumb.” I love it when he does it because it’s such a little-kid insult. My favorite is when he has dumb and stupid in the same post, as above. My posts on the other thread were an overly transparent (and fairly lame) attempt to troll Metro into some of that. Once he embarrassed himself so much that RJK deleted the entire thread in an almost unheard-of gesture of mercy.
@ Robert Kohler
…not one response that got printed. There’s a big difference. And why would they? Why should they help someone point out how piss-poor their original reporting was?
Lame.
Mashing together avatars from Dave’s, posts debated years ago on blogs, and images out of context in a five-minute video is not a “response” anybody should be proud of. There are more healthy, constructive ways to approach issues than to throw something on youtube that didn’t have more than a few views until picked up by KMW.
There is no “foreign community” in Korea. If anything we should talk about an English-teaching community, but even they aren’t on the same page. Hell, how many English teachers have even met a foreigner not from the “big 7″?
God, my brain hurts.
My guess? Because nobody wrote one to them. And if someone did, he or she wrote it in English. But like I said, that’s just my guess.
Fine. I haven’t seen any letters in the Hankyoreh, Kyunghyang, Seoul Shinmun or Media Today, either. And they love trashing the Chosun.
Whitey (#21) sounds jealous, and Robert Koehler lately seemed bothered by the Metropolitician for some reason.
Anyway, I think the Metropolitician (#27) is being modest. I have watched his videos where he spoke Korean and consider him to be bilingual. At any rate, he seems to communicate his message quite well in Korean.
I thought the video was very artsy and communicated the message well. I especially liked the part at 4:33.
I think foreigners ARE waking up and speaking out more against the unfair depictions of foreigners in the Korean media, and the voices of these foreigners are helping to change Korea for the better. Koreans’ attitude toward foreigners has improved a lot in the past few years, and I think Korea is moving quickly in the right direction.
Some may not like that the Metropolitician is bringing up these topics, but it is people like the Metropolitician who are helping to change attitudes in Korean society. I see Korea transforming into a very nice place to live for all nationalities and ethnicities, but people need to keep Koreans moving in the right direction by continuing to point out falsehoods, half-truths, and instances of discrimination.
I think within the next ten years Korea will become a social paradise if things continue as they are. South Korean society already has a lot going for it.
It’s difficult to extrapolate “community” from a transient population of people who are wasting time in a nation they can’t wait to leave.
You’re getting more bizarrely out of touch by the moment gerry. Korea if anything has become increasingly xenophobic, chaotic, polluted, paranoic and hostile to outsiders.
Mizar5 (#39) wrote:
I disagree. I have been watching the changes for a while, and this is a relatively great time to be in Korea. Were you not here in the early 80s or even in the early 2000s?
The foreign population has grown a lot in the last few years, and I think Koreans have handled it pretty well. Many Koreans are learning to accept foreigners and many are even coming to the foreigner’s defense when he or she is discriminated against or treated badly.
There is xenophobia in Korea, but there is xenophobia everywhere, including the United States. I think Korea is doing a relatively good job of reducing it.
Mizar–Do you even live here any more? This place is a lot better than it was in the 90s in all areas you mention in #39. Jesus, a relatively minor subway incident involving innocent MPs in the subway in ‘95 resulted in all sorts of Miguk bashing that I have yet to experience since (although I wasn’t here for the early ’00s Ohno/armored vehicle incident crap). Driving, although in need of improvement, is far less chaotic. Pollution? If it weren’t for yellow dust, the air in Seoul would be far better. Eighth Army used to ban jogging in ‘94-95 due to the poor air quality.
I told you once LMB becomes the president Koreans’ attitude toward foreigners will radically change.
Korean pop songs are half-English now but I predict soon it will be 80% English.
Korean youths want to join the rest of the world.
And, they have to. LG, SamSung and Hyundai sell more stuff outside Korea. Korean youths cannot sell the stuff speaking Korean. They have to speak English.
I like the video because it bluntly but truthfully shows Korean hypocrisy- It FORCES Koreans to look in the mirror.
Because of the media and other xenophobic organizations in Korea, too many of my conversations with Koreans are about ‘bad foreigners, drugs, Korean girls and English. I am tired of it.
Why so much focus on male English teachers in Korea – they make up such a small portion of everything that goes on here, a drop in the bucket. Hmm?
The foreigners who are bashing this video are simply trying to justify their own existence. They have lived here forever and feel the need to justify Korea, so they use words like “oppress” and “persecuted” to conjure images of slavery and Jim Crow laws, which in no way refer to an English teacher’s experience in Korea, but has the effect of making a foreigner feel bad for questioning. Metro uses the word ‘vilify.’ And, if you don’t see that the Korean press is working very hard to vilify, there is no arguing with you.
A well-needed video, thank you to the producers.
Well I liked it, and the more I listen to the tune and think about it the more I think it works on a lot of levels. It seems most are upset about the chaotic arrangement of images, and the inclusion of Cho Seung Hui in particular, and the lack of Korean script, but . . .
What I find interesting is that it seems the videographer took most of the images from expat blogs across the Kblogosphere, including The Grand Narrative, Gusts of Popular Feeling, Dave’s ESL, The Metropolitician, this site (that I’ve found so far). . . but no one complained about the pics when they were first put up. Really the video is essentially a compilation or ‘best of’ rant from all these blogs. Maybe some envy from those complainers who wish they could have done something as creative . . .? Also, you have to consider that since the images came from these blogs, didn’t you guys make this person. . .? Seem highly ironic to complain about how much it sucks in that light.
I get it; you “think” Korea is doing a relatively good job. That’s because you’ve overstayed and have no valid frame of reference. It is easy to say there is xenophobia everywhere, but an accurate comparision is as follows: Korea – ubiquitous; US – virtually nonexistent. You call that “relatively good?” A better measure is whether things have actually improved over the course of the past 30 years. But one never saw anything remotely approaching the current level of anti-foreign sentiment back then.
I only left 2 years ago, and conditions had deteriorated considerably since the 197os. Pollution? My wife would keep our apt window closed and still the mop would come up black every day. Traffic? Anti-Americanism? No comparison to the 1970s. And through it all, the same annoying me-first, push, push and superiority/inferiority complex has not diminished.
Fact: these things have worsened over the past 30 years. Back then, there was hope. Today, there is complacency and arrogance. Back then people were more innocent than ignorant. Back then there was insecurity. Today, a palpable anger has been added to it. Back then, people were merely innocent. Today they are ignorant
Let me illustrate the difference: one Kyopo on this site stated that he was offended that an American looked surprised to find that he was American rather than foreign. That isn’t racism – it’s an innocent mistake. A well-meaning person who is genuinely interested may ask your nationality and this may be annoying, but it is innocent. By contrast when someone curses you out for your race, that’s ignorance. See the difference?
In the 1970s curious Koreans might ask all sorts of embarrassing and intrusive questions, but most of the time they were doing it in innocence. Today, people will try to confront you with disdainful attitudes and deliberately provocative questions (see # 44 above.)
There may have been prejudice before, but it was simply misinformed. Today, it is downright hostile. Korea has gone backwards.
Perhaps it is a stage Korea needs to go through and everybody should be a bit understanding. But to pretend it away with optimistic statements like yours, gerry, is to cling to a fiction.
Mizar has a valid point: there was far less pollution in the 70s than today. Of course there were just slightly less motor vehicles then too.
Mizar #40
Are they really more “hostile to outsiders” or just foreign English teachers? Reading ex-pat blogs has made me more hostile towards English teachers.
Exercise some restraint, behave with respect, advise your colleagues to do the same when they get out of line, realize that you didn’t pack your god given rights in your suitcase and enjoy the benefits of living and working in a remarkable/frustrating foreign country. And if it doesn’t suit you, by all means, please leave or, at the very least, man up and keep it to yourself. (Oh, and stop writing in all caps and dump the exclamation points – they do nothing to buttress your argument.)
The video was juvenile horseshit.
I liked Sulperman’s attitude in #7, btw.
Mizar #46
I always enjoy your posts, but I have to ask – I didn’t live in Seoul for long, and I’ll grant you that the pollution was awful, but wtf? The locals we encountered would best be characterized as amiable. We received a far worse reception in Austria and Hungary.
We will have to return to Seoul for a longer stay, possibly a few years, in the near future so I am interested – how many of you foreigners (slow down, English teachers…not you) have suffered the kind of prejudice Mizar describes?
For foreigners, Korea is growing better and worse simultaneously.
I like the fact that I can now get good coffee, fine wine, and foreign beer. Also, a significant percentage of the population is now cosmopolitan . . . in the universities, anyway. Perhaps only in Seoul. And one sees a lot of foreigners these days.
The downside is that xenophobia has increased — among those Koreans who are not cosmopolitan. I expect extreme nationalists among Koreans to react with violence as the foreign population grows . . . especially if any foreigners commit some shockingly violent crimes.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
john galt, yes I agree with you about the video being childish. And, yes, you naturally need to exercise restraint, behave with respect – those are principles that apply everywhere you live and work, not just Korea, but you must be all the more so in a foreign country.
Everything you wrote bears repeating. I especially liked:
Now, you ask:
Which came first, the chicken or the egg, you mean?
I know little about the dynamics involving foreign English teachers, and am unqualified to address that. However, there has generally been a tendency to express the inferiority/superiority complex toward foreigners long before there were very many English teachers here. Back then, I used to cringe at the behavior of the GIs because, being steeped in Korean culture, their behavior just looked so weird.
There was always an element of jealousy and resentment toward Americans, who comprised the vast majority of foreigners at the time. This has festered and grown over the years to the point that it became much more focused, intense, and hateful, as shown in numerous anti-American demonstrations and displays.
This was fueled by false reporting, peer pressure, and later, internet.
One day not long after we had returned to Korean in 2003, My wife was in Myeong Dong came across some college kids who were displaying paintings of Americans being decapitated, dismembered and disemboweled. Being that we had just arrived back in Korea, she was shocked and stepped forward and questioned why they were doing such irresponsible things. An older gentlemen, who she said may have been a professor, began to accuse her of being a spy. The crowd closed in. Fortunately, some people in the crowd exhorted her to flee, and she got out.
No such thing ever happened before. As I say, the jealousy has led to a palpable anger. I fear that the hapless young English teachers have little idea of the general environment they are walking into. The air is poisoned, and they will be under scrutiny (which was always true) and tested more than ever before.
While in Korea, they should comport themselves with dignity and sensitivity, and I trust the vast majority of them do.
In any group there are a certain number of ignoramouses. But that does not change the fact that the dynamic has changed for the worse over the years.
Mizar (#46),
Yes, I remember Seoul being relatively quiet and having blue skies in the 1970s, but then Korea did not have 17 million registered cars on the road. However, it did have rat-infested houses, open sewers, muddy alleys, overcrowded buses, and yeontan pollution.
Outside Camp Humphey’s in the 1970s, American soldiers could not walk with a Korean girl unless she was a registered prostitute and had an up-to-date VD card. Women who walked with Americans in Seoul were regularly and openly cursed by Korean men. You do not remember that? Were we not in the same Korea?
The 1970s was the Pak Cheong-hee years, which was a time when Koreans could not openly express their anti-American feelings for fear of being labeled a communist. Yes, Mr. Lee, the bartender, may have said “Annyeonghasimniga” to you when you walked into his bar, but that does not mean he liked you? Your houseboy may have smiled at you when he brought you your newly polished shoes, but that does not mean he did not go home and curse you in front of his wife and kids. I think you were very naive.
Were you here in the early 1980s, after Pak Cheong-hee was gone? I don’t think you were because things were much different then. Koreans were openly anti-American and were regularly calling us names as we walked down the street or on campus. College students hated us and little kids used to yell, “Mr. Monkey.” Back then Koreans may have been more innocent, but they were also much more xenophobic and more openly hostile.
In regard to cultural understanding and xenophobia, Koreans are a hundred times better today than they were in the 1980s.
Granted. a bit more of the tastes of home. But may I respectful submit that you can get a lot more of this a lot cheaper and at better quality outside of Korea?
For me the advantage of being in Korea is fresh seafood. I eat Korean most of the time and where I currently live in Western PA, while it is beautiful country, I have to go out of my way for fresh seafood. When in Korea, do it the Korean way. That only makes sense.
I was here until 1986. I remember the “Mr. Monkey” phase.
However, I will respectfully disagree with you without being disagreeable. And I will hope that I am wrong and you are right.
This still is bugging me from way back in post #28
Better check up on that definition of “minutiae”….
Mizar relented . . . a bit: “Granted. a bit more of the tastes of home.”
Actually, I have great difficulty obtaining good Ozark moonshine, and that’s a great disappointment, but I’m hoping that soon . . . .
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Baduk – I loved your post today but could make no sense of it. Where are we going? Where have we been? In the peoples key of G, please…
#55 — No need to be bothered, since I was teasing Whitey about being dumb (not as a mere ad hominem attack, but as a person who is quite simply dumb) and adding that definition to his little list, i.e. he would misuse the word that way. A reasonable assumption coming from someone who thinks “conversation” is a “buzzword.”
I’ll continue to post here as long as I think it relevant to the interests of the foreign community, and as long as Robert will allow it. I don’t share politics with most of the most vocal of you, obviously, but I only post occasionally, and only information that some members of the foreign community could potentially find useful or interesting.
And the video HAS sparked debate here amongst some of the more reasonable of you, especially in the more recent comments, so, mission accomplished.
I thought the video was dull and whiney. Not interesting at all really, and the production sucked big time. I’ve made much better videos myself, and I’m certainly no expert.
I make good money here, pay little tax, happily married to a native, enjoy 3 months holiday a year, work hard (and am good at my job) things in Korea are just peachy. I treat others with respect and usually receive the same treatment back. Obviously some Koreans are jealous that many English teachers here make considerably more money and work a lot less than they do. It’s called supply and demand, we’re in demand and there is a limited supply therefore we’re renumerated handsomely. Sucks to be them, I earn an above average income here, but have Korean friends and non Korean friends who make loads more than I do, the jealousy is real from some Koreans who have crappy jobs.
Of course Korea has many faults, but no country is perfect. Greater variety of foodstuffs (I don’t like most Korean food, though enjoy some) would be better, ajummas ceasing and desisting on their annoying pushing into people rudeness, ajeoshis stopping gobbing everywhere, kids screaming less for starters, would all make Korea a more pleasant environment. The Anti English Spectrum brigade and idiot protestors liven the place up a little with their idiocy. No sensible Korean takes their drivel seriously anyway, just a few ‘nutizens’. There are idiots in every country, at least here they don’t have guns, few drug addicts and the streets are generally safer than most western countries.
I think some English teachers here (the minority) are just weak minded individuals with no backbone. I had an OK job back home, but prefer to work less and make more money (after tax) here. Who wouldn’t? the only negative is missing my family and friends (and quality real ale on draft) back in the UK. I’ve lived for over 7 years now, and I’m generally quite content with my life. I’m saving a lot more money than many people I’ve met with so-called ‘real jobs in London’, a lot of those folks are lucky to save 100 pounds a month, my wife and I save ten times that and have a better lifestyle! I love London, but you need to be seriously wealthy to enjoy the place properly.
For those of you that read Korean and believe the press is not completely set on vilifying Western men (English teachers), below you’ll find another lovely article in the news today about the MISUDA in a recent episode ragging on Western men and Korean women. Basically, Western men are indecent in Korea, none of them learn Korean while pretending to want to learn to get play, Korean girls date loser Westerners, Western men call them sex toys on websites, etc.
http://economy.hankooki.com/lp.....894220.htm
Considering the many creative expats I’ve met in Korea, I just gotta say…that video was fucking awful. If this video is one of the better creations done by an average English teachers in Korea atm, then standards have really fallen, because a blind high school kid sniffing tar all day could piece together a set of more coherent images and mumble along a better tune. Bloody awful.
Just in case there are some youngins’ out there who may not fully appreciate the “Mr. Monkey” mentioned above by Gerry and Mizar.
And that concert by Arabesque was the the only concert by a foreign act in the ’80s. Korea wasn’t yet cool enough to get Baccara.
Has much changed?
Wow, I can’t believe you actually found that clip, seouldout.
When I look at the variety shows of the past with the kitzy sets and croaner male ballad singers, and reflect on how all Korean music now sounds like the same shit, I reflect that some things have changed, but an underlying mediocrity still prevails.
Coming from the girls of MISUDA, I find that deliciously ironic.
@jim, RK
Again, why Korean women get this dignified status is beyond me! Are most Korean women dating these “자국에서는 인기 없는 외국남자들이,” or translated as losers in their home country, on the contrary…winners?
This comes from a friend who taught in China but the rule applies in Korea as well. Most Korean women who date Westerners in Korea are “too” something. They’re too old, too fat, too ugly, too educated, too Westernized, etc. (And not all of these “too’s” are bad things, like too smart).
I’ve watched MISUDA and I don’t know how many beauty queen competitions those women won in their home countries. Puhhh-leeze.
Dialogue?? Euphemism or Metropoliticianese? Comments go as follows,
1. …problems delivering the message…
2. I want the last 5 minutes and 50 seconds of my life back…
3. Whats the point
4. Who is the hot chick in the short black dress?
5. Personally, I don’t give a shit!
6. Help! Help! I’m being repressed!
7. Stop worrying so much about what people think.
8. more BS self-promotion….
9. what’s the point?
10. Not Interesting. It’s a worthless pile of crap.
on and on including
16. Whoo doggie! If you got any more of that cartoon porn
Inexplicably, Metro chooses to chime in at
19. It’s starting to be a dialogue, and not a monologue.
Are you reading the same comments, Metro? More like a dialogue of the deaf, a discussion in which each party is unresponsive to what the others say. Or your congregation has not shown up yet.
Yes, and so is e Western boyfriend “too” something – too goofy, too dumb, too much of a loser. That kind of racism used to be prevalent in the US as well. White women who date black men, black men who date white women, white men who date black women, it was all disparaged.
People were just unable to see past their social conditioning back then.
Nowadays there’s no excuse.
Like I said, deliciously ironic.
Eva is pretty cute, though.
Hi long time lurker, first time poster.
Wow, some of you sure know how to get your hate on. Not bad for a bunch of deadwood.
Does the video have problems? Sure. I did slap it together under severe time constraints using only Windows Movie Maker. Does it accurately represent what I was trying to get across? Some got it, some did not. But I’ve listened to the criticisms and will endeavor to make the next one better, which will hopefully be out this weekend.
I’ve made a short post on youtube about it. The images were chosen for their emotional potency alone.
You could chalk it up as a bad week: crazy spat of reporting, heavy workload, my kid who joins in with the freak chorus from children in the playground. You know the one I’m talking about, when all the little rugrats go off about the foreigner in their midst. After that little episode, well something died.
Or you could chalk it up as someone at least willing to do something other than sit on the sidelines deriding those who dare speak up, whatever works for you.
Anyway, stay tuned for the next installment!
Between Krz’s jar video, and the video of the three women (Arabesque) directly responsible for my being tortured in the ’80s, I have seen enough for one day. Only one thing could have been more disgusting–the video clip that M/P posted. It represents in one short clip everything that sucks about the Internet.
Ah, the daily refrain of “monkey’ and don’t forget ‘Mikuk SaLAM ( not saram and said mockingly) ah, good times..good times…
I was there 1971-1975 and did a lot of travel and really found very little hostility EXCEPT in Kwangju…
Could not walk with a Korean girl, even in Myeoungdong, without her being hassled.
The last time I was in Korea was in 1997 and had a nice time, especially in Chinju.
By the way..a question to those of you in Korea,
I was told by my friends in Cheoungju to avoid the Chollas.. Only “kangpay” (thugs) etc etc lived there. Is there STILL regional animus?
“Is there STILL regional animus?”
yes.
edit: this one was definitely my favorite:
“Considering the many creative expats I’ve met in Korea, I just gotta say…that video was fucking awful. If this video is one of the better creations done by an average English teachers in Korea atm, then standards have really fallen, because a blind high school kid sniffing tar all day could piece together a set of more coherent images and mumble along a better tune. Bloody awful.”
#58
MetroP, I’ll certainly concede that you’ve sparked a debate. But you’ve debased yourself in the process. Ironic that, because many of your posts smack of self-promotion.
I’m sure in your own mind you think that you are doing a public service here in your posts, in your own small way doing something to chaneg this society or at least bring attention to problems that need to be dragged to the surface. And to be honest, I have no tangible reason to doubt your sincerity. And, I don’t even think it has anything to do with your “politics,” whatever those are.
Yet, the sense seems to be that your posts, ultimately, are about you while dressed up to be about something else.
Instead of fighting back, as you do in each of these flame fests, why don’t you listen to what other people are saying, and concede a bit.
the video sucks. it’s stupid, boring, juvenile, and my third grade korean kids could make a better one using Flash animation in their sleep. Most koreans would just laugh if they saw this, as it does indeed look like it was made by a grade 10 metal head.
The message gets lost, and merely continues the cycle. Rather than taking action (positive) it is a reaction (negative). I had to reread Metro’s intro to see if he was seriously digging it or being ironic sarcastic.
The music was terrible and annoying, and the two stick figures idiotic – why repeat that so much?
lovin’ the hate, let’s up the ante
English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXfCrrjUdc8
Korean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIni_7VSwuY
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