On March 23 2012 13:18 Turbovolver wrote: The response to this wondrous post has been mostly pathetic, and disheartening.
All the replies are either "hey how would I fit in with these standards lolol gonna get me some Korean girlz" or "Wow Korea is fucked up".
All the OP has done is distill a subset of the idiosyncracies of a country's culture into an easily digested package. That's an awesome thing, but you could do it for any country. There's probably the same thing written in Korean somewhere with a whole lot of Koreans getting all shocked about certain facts of America, or wherever. And "lolol how do I get a white girl" too I'm sure.
OP, well done. Greatest majority of the rest of TL, have a good hard look at yourselves.
I feel like you don't understand the reason for the negative as well as more constructive responses. Not gonna generalise for everybody here, but I think many may unconsciously have the same in mind that I have: I can neither find a historical reason nor a rational reasoning working in modern times to explain the validity or even support this kind of an attitude that the OP has portrayed.
Whereas I can explain logically where the central european cultural beliefs come from and how they would apply to modern times, I cannot do the same for this aspect of Korean culture because the OP did only list a number of issues, but he did not try to explain where they come from or what the underlining beliefs are (once again, working for modern times) that these issues are originating from and there is not nearly enough info in the internet. The closest one that I have found is this article: http://nanoramo.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/korean-style-ee-–-western-essentialism-and-asian-kitsch/
On March 23 2012 02:04 babylon wrote: I guess that would depend on what you think the face of a nation is. I would probably say some bad things about the Afghan gvmt and I may even generalize and say, "Afghanistan" instead of pointing out that it is just the gvmt and supporters of Bin Laden I'm mad at, but I certainly wouldn't say anything about Afghans (as a people), if that makes sense.
What about the people who just don't care then? or don't bother to express their discontent with the government's action? in a way, that would be condoning the government's action because the government is elected by the people and if they do not approve of a certain action, the government won't behave in such a way. If a politician says something inappropriate to offend people of other countries and no reprehension is given within the politician's country, guess how the offended people will react not just to that politician but to that silent majority.
That was an incredibly interesting read... I mean, I figured that a lot of things were more strict in South Korea, but I had no idea it had become a "You MUST have this or this and get this or that surgery even to just fit in" mentality.
No wonder the Koreans look so damn good all the time - Worth it? Not sure, but it definitely pays off.
On March 23 2012 02:04 babylon wrote: I guess that would depend on what you think the face of a nation is. I would probably say some bad things about the Afghan gvmt and I may even generalize and say, "Afghanistan" instead of pointing out that it is just the gvmt and supporters of Bin Laden I'm mad at, but I certainly wouldn't say anything about Afghans (as a people), if that makes sense.
What about the people who just don't care then? or don't bother to express their discontent with the government's action? in a way, that would be condoning the government's action because the government is elected by the people and if they do not approve of a certain action, the government won't behave in such a way. If a politician says something inappropriate to offend people of other countries and no reprehension is given within the politician's country, guess how the offended people will react not just to that politician but to that silent majority.
Lol, the rest of the world doesn't quite operate like that. Just because America does doesn't mean anything, and especially if we're talking about the Afghan "democratic elections." The one in 2004 had enough controversy surrounding it, and the election of 2009 managed to be even worse. Can we say election fraud?
Besides, even in America, have you never voted for someone and then had them do something you don't approve of, and yet the most you can do is send letters to your rep and, of course, your rep does nothing? Good times, good times. Much worse to condemn an entire people for the actions of a few. A lot of the times, the "silent majority" will still be "silent" even if the complete opposite actions are taken by the government, esp. in countries like Afghanistan.
Hi there OP, good that you share this with all of us. One small thing I'd like to point out is that my gf mentioned to me BB cream stands for "blemish balm" and not bobbi brown haha. Small nitpicking, but thought I'd just mention it to help clear it up. Apparently it's some sort of foundation (make up) which fills your pores and makes your skin look smooth.
I think the culture of superficiality has its own pros and cons. In my opinion I don't really approve of it, and would like my children to love and accept themselves and not strive to try to fix something that isn't broken (though I guess vanity is human nature). I suppose it helps a lot of industry where it matters, but sometimes my heart breaks for singers like k.will who won't show his own face in his own MV when there's honestly nothing wrong with the way he looks. That's just my opinion though.
On March 23 2012 02:07 TheKwas wrote: Something else that I feel is relevant to the Korea-Japanese (and, to a lesser extent, even the Chinese-Japanese) conflict is that unlike many of the western powers, Korea never really got the pleasure or national pride of "winning" in the end. America defeated Japan, not Korea, and America called all the shots in Japan after the war, not Korea. There wasn't the same sort of closure for Koreans as there were for many Europeans with the Numerberg trails, or for Americans with the Japanese occupation.
Instead, Korea jumped out of one war and into another war, and remained a dirt-poor country for years after Japan already started it's own economic miracle. This is all pretty hurtful for national pride.
This doesn't justify a lot of the hate directed towards Japan these days (and the hate, although directly more at the government than its citizens, is fairly universal and deep-rooted. I often have young korean children tell me how much they hate Japan), however it does help explain why there's such a huge difference between attitudes towards Germany and attitudes towards Japan.
It's more to it than that. The biggest difference between those two countries is that one to this day is deeply ashamed of its atrocities, while the other openly worships its war heroes and sponsors school textbooks glorifying/justifying its deeds. It also doesn't help that it constantly claims the island of Dokdo to be its territory.
Try to imagine if Merckel went to the burial sites of nazi war criminals who killed millions of innocents and started bowing and putting down flowers in an official event.
Statements by Japanese politicians on colonial rule
Since the 1950s, many prominent politicians and officials in Japan have made statements on Japanese colonial rule in Korea which created outrage and led to diplomatic scandals in Korean-Japanese relations. The statements have led to anti-Japanese sentiments among Koreans, and a widespread perception that Japanese apologies for colonial rules have been insincere.[16][17][18][19]
During the talks between Japan and Korea in 1953, Kubota Kanichiro (久保田貫一郞), one of Japanese representatives, stated that "Japanese colonial rule was beneficial to Korea...Korea would have been colonized by other countries anyway, which would have led to harsher rules than Japanese rules." This remark is considered by Koreans as the first reckless statement by Japanese politicians on colonial rules on Korea.[20]
In 1997, Abe Shinzo (安倍晋三), an ex-Prime Minister of Japan, stated that "Many so-called victims of comfort women system are liars...prostitution was ordinary behavior in Korea because the country had many brothels." [21]
On May 31, 2003, Aso Taro (麻生太郎), another ex-Prime Minister of Japan, stated that "the change to Japanese name (創氏改名) during Japanese colonial rule was what Koreans wanted." [22]
On October 28, 2003, Ishihara Shintaro (石原愼太郞), Governor of Tokyo stated that "The annexation of Korea and Japan was Koreans' choice...the ones to be blamed are the ancestors of Koreans".[16]
In 2007, Shimomura Hakubun (下村博文), Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japanese government, stated that "The comfort women system existed, but I believe it was because Korean parents sold their daughters at that time." [17]
On March 27, 2010, in the centennial of Japan-Korean annexation, Edano Yukio (枝野幸男), Japanese Minister of State for Government Revitalization, stated that "The invasion and colonization and China and Korea was historically inevitable...since China and Korea could not modernize themselves."[18]
Back to the topic though, I've been out of touch with Korean culture for a full decade and it's been very informative of what has (and mostly has not) changed in terms of fashion/looks.
This article is partially true and partially false. Everything you mentioned does exist, but the examples you use are obviously meant for shock-and-awe purposes and are not true to the average. The global statements you make about Korean culture are borderline racist - you cannot encompass an entire race in such a way, even if you are a member of that race. Virtually everything you mentioned exists in every culture in one way or another - stating them in such a polarizing fashion is magnifying flaws, which can be done with any culture.
You had a lot of potential to make this article fair and unbiased, but to me it sounds like the complaining of someone who was butthurt by society. I would expect something like this from an emo high-school girl talking about the Plastics in "Mean Girls".
Statements by Japanese politicians on colonial rule
Since the 1950s, many prominent politicians and officials in Japan have made statements on Japanese colonial rule in Korea which created outrage and led to diplomatic scandals in Korean-Japanese relations. The statements have led to anti-Japanese sentiments among Koreans, and a widespread perception that Japanese apologies for colonial rules have been insincere.[16][17][18][19]
During the talks between Japan and Korea in 1953, Kubota Kanichiro (久保田貫一郞), one of Japanese representatives, stated that "Japanese colonial rule was beneficial to Korea...Korea would have been colonized by other countries anyway, which would have led to harsher rules than Japanese rules." This remark is considered by Koreans as the first reckless statement by Japanese politicians on colonial rules on Korea.[20]
In 1997, Abe Shinzo (安倍晋三), an ex-Prime Minister of Japan, stated that "Many so-called victims of comfort women system are liars...prostitution was ordinary behavior in Korea because the country had many brothels." [21]
On May 31, 2003, Aso Taro (麻生太郎), another ex-Prime Minister of Japan, stated that "the change to Japanese name (創氏改名) during Japanese colonial rule was what Koreans wanted." [22]
On October 28, 2003, Ishihara Shintaro (石原愼太郞), Governor of Tokyo stated that "The annexation of Korea and Japan was Koreans' choice...the ones to be blamed are the ancestors of Koreans".[16]
In 2007, Shimomura Hakubun (下村博文), Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japanese government, stated that "The comfort women system existed, but I believe it was because Korean parents sold their daughters at that time." [17]
On March 27, 2010, in the centennial of Japan-Korean annexation, Edano Yukio (枝野幸男), Japanese Minister of State for Government Revitalization, stated that "The invasion and colonization and China and Korea was historically inevitable...since China and Korea could not modernize themselves."[18]
Wow that sounds so fucked up. I'm not gonna judge until I know enough, this has really got me motivated to learn more about the history of the countries.
On March 24 2012 05:20 Sowexly wrote: I keep quite; mind myself and dress casual as fuck, how would I fair on my visit?
There is only one way to know & that would be to visit.
You could be the most handsome, sleek & clean cut individual in the world and have a terrible time, bumping into the wrong people, going into the wrong places at the wrong times etc. or you could be an overweight, don't care about my looks at all guy, meet the most amazing people ever & have an amazing time. This post is great but honestly it does not apply to anyone who is just visiting because why would Koreans ever expect tourists and visitors to conform to every detail of Korean culture especially something as shallow as your appearance. Just shower and put on a smile and you will have a good time. Don't worry, be happy.
damn that made me uncomfortable. the obsession with surgery...really feel sorry for korean kids having to live up to expectations. add that to the crazy school hours, and im glad i wasnt born there
I was literally dancing to the Day9 trumpets just to scrub away my imagination about that jaw line surgery that required sawing it off... Ok there it goes again!! TE TE NE NET TEN!!
On March 23 2012 21:50 AimlessAmoeba wrote: That was an incredibly interesting read... I mean, I figured that a lot of things were more strict in South Korea, but I had no idea it had become a "You MUST have this or this and get this or that surgery even to just fit in" mentality.
No wonder the Koreans look so damn good all the time - Worth it? Not sure, but it definitely pays off.
I don't think so, given that they have to suffer first, and have such low self-confidence to go to a surgeon. It's awesome that someone took his time to write such an article. It's very interesting and jaw-dropping. Humans really are crazy.
I cannot help but wonder if I would be hot in Korea :p 2m tall and a head:body ratio of cirka 1 to 7,5.
Naw all jokes aside, this is a very exciting read. I of course realised to some extent how big of a deal looks really and truly are, even though nobody says it out loud without sounding like a jerk. But wow. The whole sneekers with high heels built in makes so much more sense now that its not "only about the height", but about your actual ratio too... And this explains why not-so-tall people frequently weird me out with their giant heads. o.O
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/OneWP.jpg)
