Korea: Is it really that bad?

[General_Admission]

For anyone who has lived or lives, or at least visited S. Korea, I have 2 videos I found on it. I assume they were taken by an English teacher teaching middle school kids in SK.

Questions to students & asks what they think of Korea being 98th best place to live:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3608398902809074806&q=korean

Mean kids:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8228535913271041614&q=korean

Is this accurate of S. Korea or is it just a poorer part of Korea?

Makes S. Korea seem like a really depressing and nasty place to live. What are your thoughts/impressions? Is S. Korea a dump to avoid or actually a nice place?

[Angelyne]

Honestly, this looks similar to what I experienced in my middle school--which was in a middle to upper class area outside of Washington DC. Looks like that age is rough for everyone, no matter where you live.

To be fair, at that age, I would have tried to hide and shy away from the video camera, too. I had enough self-esteem problems at that age--if I knew some foreigner was going to film me and show it to other people (or worse, post it on the internet for anyone to watch and critique), I would have been mortified and upset. Hell, even as a college student now, the thought of being in this situation makes me uncomfortable. I don't look down on those students at all, especially the ones trying to avoid the camera.

[King Kong]

Korean people have no souls.

[stillbornsinger]

I apologize for this post in advance, I'm a little bit drunk :D

I've been to South Korea about 4 times... not quite sure, lost count but anyway...

There are a few nice things about it, like I really enjoy the food, and there is a lot of really cheap stuff you can get there. Especially mink blankets and leather goods. The countryside areas are quite beautiful and its an interesting experience to go there.

But overall my opinion about Korea really isn't that great. First off, it smells bad. I'm not sure exactly why, but Korea really does smell bad, at least several of the cities that I've been to do. Koreans seem pretty rude in general to Americans. I've met a lot of nice Koreans but I've gotten a lot of dirty looks there for just walking through town minding my own business. Its pretty dirty in a lot of areas, but yeah the food is good =)

And damnit, they don't speak english! ;) most other places I've been to I can at least find the occasional person who speaks english to help me get unlost or whatever. (not enough time to learn like 14 languages)

uh, its pretty cheap to go out and have fun there though. games in arcades cost like 100 wan, which equals less than 10 cents... I think it was like 1,140wan to the dollar the last time I went. Its pretty cool to get a receipt from an ATM with your account balance in wan, it makes you feel rich.

Of all the countries I've been to Korea has been one of my least favorites, its often referred to as the "armpit of asia". If I never went back again it wouldn't bother me at all. I could go for some Christmas shopping though, for that reason alone I'm a little pissed my trip to Korea got cancled.

oh yeah, and Korean food is good...

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/stillbornsinger/Korea1.jpg

[Henjin]

Well, just going off the music videos I've seen, guys get beatup by groups of thugs on a regular basis... And the women always seem to get tumors and then get hit by cars... in slow motion. So there you go.

[Boner]

what did the kid say in the second video that was so mean. I couldn't understand what they said.

[Lea]

I have a Korean friend who was born and raised here in the States. She’s visited Korea a few times and is extremely nationalistic. She hasn’t been back there since elementary school and she’s a junior in high school right now. She loves Korea so much and talks about it like it’s one of the best places to live in the world. I can’t stand it sometimes. I personally think that she’s starry-eyed. She told me that when she last went, it was a bad experience, but she still raves about it. Her pride is blinding her.

I even heard a story about a Korean man who jumped off a building when his visa was denied and he couldn’t move to the United States. If my friend does move there someday, I can guarantee she would come back home really soon. I’m not saying it’s the worst, but I’m in no rush to visit.

[paul]

Hm maybe its due to the fact that they do nothing all day but make online games and then own the rest of the world at them :P

[fa11en87]

I visited S. Korea over 10 years ago. I went there for about 2 months during summer( a lot of things probably have changed since then, I'm not sure). I think I do remember it being stinky and dirty bt it was interesting to walk around. I couldn't wait to go back home ><. If I never went there again I wouldn't care, but then again I'm extremely not nationalistic.

[Shnur]

Ah, those kids are no worse than any 7th graders here in Australia. I think it's just the whole "wow, we're highschoolers now, and that makes us cool and tough" mentality they all seem to have :D.

I've been to Korea. And I loved every minute of it. The food is awesome and the people love you if you can speak the language (in my experience anyway). Although it's true- the place smells. Seoul, in particular has it's own special smell of car exhaust, dirt, and rotting garbage. You get used to it pretty quickly though.

The reason some Koreans (especially the older ones) have a dislike of Americans is because of the whole reunification thing- there's no way North Korea will listen take the South Koreans seriously until the Americans have withdrawn all their bases in Korea, and that hasn't happened yet. For most Koreans, it's not really an issue though, and you shouldn't have any troubles at all from the younger generation.

[FireWolf238]

frakly i feel sorry for south korea if the north takes over. there is NOTHING worse than such communist goverment, hell even in somalia i think less people die of starvation. oh and i was born in ussr, so my parents know what communism is....

[Shnur]

Yeah, during 1995-1997 North Korea had a famine that would put the Ethiopians to shame. They didn't tell anyone about it until about 2001 though, which meant that they didn't get any foreign aid until about early 2002, by which time millions of people had starved to death (the red cross just says 'millions'- I haven't actually heard about just how many millions, though).
Things have apparently improved a little, though. Although there's still food shortages, the Red Cross thinks that the worst of the famine is over. The US has given 200,000 tons of food to N.Korea since 2003, which as you can probably imagine has helped a lot. And Kim Jong-il has allowed South Korean businesses to start trading in Kaesong (which is the North Korean major industrial area), so now they've got a constant stream of pretty good income.

USSR? I've been there too, although it was after 1991. St Petersburg in winter is beautiful.

[FireWolf238]

i heard the number 10 million, not sure what it refers to tough

[Shnur]

hmm...that sounds like a lot, considering that the population of North Korea is only like 22 million. Then again, that could be WHY the population of North Korea is only 22 million.

[General_Admission]

If your bored and want to read about a trip an English professor in S. Korea and his friends took to North Korea here's a link:

http://1stopkorea.com/index.htm?nk-trip1.htm~mainframe

The style is somewhat cheesy at times as he tries to create drama, but still pretty cool especially the video section of the arts production or whatever it was. Pretty sad to see how ignorant and far behind N. Korea and it's people are. The schooling looks pretty cruddy.

[eyez0nme]

Yep, it's really that bad. No, I retract that statement. It's worse than bad. Korea is 1/3 of the size of California--N. and S. attached--and there are around 60 million Koreans. You literally cannot walk without bumping into each other. This is one of the chief reasons why Koreans are pissed off and rude. Japan is 1/2 of California, and there is around 80 million people living there. North Korea is the worst (Asian Country) then China, then Korea, then Japan, etc. etc.

[Shnur]

Yep, it's really that bad. No, I retract that statement. It's worse than bad. Korea is 1/3 of the size of California--N. and S. attached--and there are around 60 million Koreans. You literally cannot walk without bumping into each other. This is one of the chief reasons why Koreans are pissed off and rude. Japan is 1/2 of California, and there is around 80 million people living there. North Korea is the worst (Asian Country) then China, then Korea, then Japan, etc. etc.

Might just be me, but i find a lot of other people much ruder than Koreans (I'm thinking along the lines of Japanese and New Yorkers. Note- i've never been to japan, but living and working in a costal resort town i deal with a lot of japanese tourists, and some of them are right bastards.)

[stillbornsinger]

Shnur- If you ever go to Japan, you'll find Japanese people are some of the nicest most accomodating people you'll ever meet. Even if that person despises you and all Americans they will still smile and bow for you.

eyez0nme- just stop posting... you have no idea what you are talking about. I don't think I've ever bumped into a Korean, almost been run over and shot at but thats a seperate subject entirely.

[paul]

eyez0nme- just stop posting... you have no idea what you are talking about. I don't think I've ever bumped into a Korean, almost been run over and shot at but thats a seperate subject entirely.

I totally agree.

[Ichisan]

Bad points about Korea:

Koreans are extremely nationalistic, which gets pretty wearing after a while. It's always Korea this and Koreans that and Korean culture the other. It's good to be proud of your country but not to anxiously obsess over it.

There is a sour smell from I-don't-know-what, probably badly made drains combined with rotting food. Don't think it's anything to compare with the streets of Bombay, but it's there.

People are generally pushy and rude in public, like everything's a fight for survival, but this is less true of the young, maybe because life really isn't such a fight for survival with them. Their parents were born poor but a lot of kids now are rich and spoilt. I don't think high population density is the real explanation. Japan and Taiwan and plenty of other places have high population densities too but a different attitude.

It's true they generally suck at English, but the same is true of the Japanese. I don't know for sure, but a big part of that is, for one thing, both Japanese and Korean are as different from English as you can get and, for another thing, they both have very little exposure to foreigners of any kind. They are both also have totally different cultures to the West so there's not much common ground. Oh, and another reason they suck at English is because they don't study and they don't listen. I'm serious. They think they do but they don't. Another way to put that is their method of study sucks, for languages at any rate - seems to work very well for math.

The alcohol. They love to drink here but they don't care what it tastes like and it shows. Horrible beer, and horrible liquor. I mean it's not that they never invented any good stuff but they've never got around to mass-producing it.

Good points about Korea:

Cheap.

Shopping.

Food.

24 hour everything.

Fast-paced, never sleeps.

Cultural mind-warp. I don't care what you say about your precious mind-broadening cultural experience in France or even in India. Korea or Japan have got to be the most radically different cultures you can experience. Everywhere else is tainted with Western ideas. Hmm, not sure about China though, so take what I say with a pinch of salt. Anyway, it's good to see something so different.

Kindness. People will go out of their way to help you without expecting anything in return. Yes, that contrasts with the rudeness. This is a country of clashes, contrasts, and contradictions. See the 'cultural mind-warp' thing above.

There's more to add to both lists but I'm out of time right now.

[Shnur]

Shnur- If you ever go to Japan, you'll find Japanese people are some of the nicest most accomodating people you'll ever meet. Even if that person despises you and all Americans they will still smile and bow for you.

I guess I should catch the ferry over there next time I go to Korea, then. :D

On that note about Korea having terrible liquor- Soju tastes like shit, it's true. But that stuff hits like a fucking sledgehammer, so you don't have to drink a lot of it anyway :p

[stillbornsinger]

Ichisan - on the cultural difference thing, I've been to India, South Korea, Japan and a lot of other countries and by far India has had the least western influence. I don't think many of the Indians we encountered there had even seen an American before. Korea is little America in comparison.

Shnur- Please do, Japan is worth seeing. Much more expensive than what you're used to in Korea but well worth the experience.

I've developed a little bit of a taste for Soju, not all of the brands taste quite the same so there are some that are better than others. They do generally taste like strait fucking rubbing alcohol though.

After you drink a few they taste like water :eek:

[Shnur]

After you drink a few they taste like water :eek:

Only because you've temporarily killed all your taste buds :D
Same eating radish kimchi (i think it's called kkatugi kimchi, but i can't remember). That stuff is so spicy it made me want to cry...not really, but it IS really spicy.

[stillbornsinger]

kimchi can be yummy, but it smells so horrible...

There are so many great foods in Korea but I really have no idea how to order Korean food, every time I've been to a Korean restraunt I'd usually just pick something at random from the menue or point at something that someone else is eating.

I've really got no idea 75% of the time what I'm eating there but its all so good.

I wish Korea had plastic food & pictures like Japan does at every restraunt... that makes it easy to order =)

[NERD]

I'll say this much: General Admission, it's dangerous to form a opinion about Korea based upon those two videos. I mean, that's even worse than stereotypes. I can't even think of the audacity of generalizing the opinion of a country based on video clips found on the internet.

That said, I'm trying not to enter the discussion that is taking place in this thread. I'm afraid if any pro-Korean statements may be interpreted as being nationalistic, and any anti-Korean statements to be interpreted as turning my back against my cultural background.

And about Korea smelling funneh- it does, but if you can handle New York, you can handle it. I don't know which smells worse, NYC or Seoul. Besides, with the fast pace of life around you, you don't really get that much time to spend on your olfactory organs.

[Ichisan]

Ichisan - on the cultural difference thing, I've been to India, South Korea, Japan and a lot of other countries and by far India has had the least western influence. I don't think many of the Indians we encountered there had even seen an American before. Korea is little America in comparison.

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't say anything since I've never been there and people I know who've been generally come back saying it was a life changing experience. On the other hand, a lot of people speak English, right? The British influence. And I at least know partly what to expect because of all the films, books, pictures, not to mention Indian and Pakistani people living over here.

I've developed a little bit of a taste for Soju, not all of the brands taste quite the same so there are some that are better than others. They do generally taste like strait fucking rubbing alcohol though.

After you drink a few they taste like water :eek:

The good stuff is traditional Andong soju. It burns your nostrils just to take a sniff. The average bottle you get everywhere isn't so far from rubbing alcohol in truth. Rumour has it they put ethanol in the mix in the factories.

[Ichisan]

Note- i've never been to japan, but living and working in a costal resort town i deal with a lot of japanese tourists, and some of them are right bastards.)

People act different when they're abroad though. It's an excuse to cut loose and behave like an asshole. That goes for Japanese, Koreans, and lord knows it goes for plenty of westerners. Particularly for men in groups of course. See the thread with that Ozzie idiot on here a short while back.

[stillbornsinger]

goddamnit... grr, I've written a long ass post twice and its gotten deleted...!!! :mad: alright, one more time and I'm going to give up.

Alright...

English- some people did speak English, but it was mostly in or around the hotels that we stayed at which catered to forigners. When we ventured more than a few minutes away from the hotel areas we had difficulty communicating, and when we traveled to other cities people downright stared at us. I think we were the first westerners they had ever seen in many cases. People were pointing and wispering and staring.

We rented a car at the hotel we were staying at, my buddy has a full sleeve of tattoos on one arm. One of the women working there asked me about it.

her- What are those paintings on his arm?
me- tattoos
her- does it wash off?
me- no, its perminant.
her- how is it perminant?
me- its ink that is put into the skin with a needle
her- that sounds like it hurts
me- not really to bad. You have never seen a tattoo before?
her- we do not have such a thing here, except some people who living in villages in the mountains have a kind of mark but it is different.

Media- We watched quite a bit of India's equivilant to MTV in the evenings because there really wasn't much else to do. Their music is by far the least influenced by western music of any country I have ever been to. Their popular music sounds more like traditional Indian music than western pop. If you ever listen to Japanese or Korean music it sounds just like American pop music in another language.

Food- Indian food is uniquely Indian, the only American restraunts that we saw were right around the hotels, if you ventured any further you wouldn't find anything that resembled western food. Not that its a bad thing at all though, Indian food is awesome. Its my favorite type of food actually, when I went on deployment me and my friends ended up eating Indian food in about 8 different countries.

Overall opinion on India- Its a cool place to see at least once in your life, but overall its dirty and extremely poor. Everything including the people smell far worse than any other country I've ever been to. The shopping and the food are the best part about the country. You can find some downright cool stuff there, but I wouldn't suggest going on a shopping trip unless you have a lot of money to spend because the best stuff can still be pretty expensive and extremely expensive to ship. There are some badass statues and beautiful rugs there.

Food is so awesome and insanely cheap, you can have a whole feast made for 3 people for like 6$

The best way to get around is to charter a car for the day, we would charter SUV's or sedans to take us around on tours and shopping, it would include a nice Indian guide in uniform who would carry our bags for us. I think the most we ever spent on one for an entire day was 16$

You can also get around by Tuk-Tuk's (little covered trikes) but make sure they either run the meter or you know how much you should be paying because they will rip you off in a heartbeat (by Indian standards)

[Arctic_Slicer]

Yep, it's really that bad. No, I retract that statement. It's worse than bad. Korea is 1/3 of the size of California--N. and S. attached--and there are around 60 million Koreans. You literally cannot walk without bumping into each other. This is one of the chief reasons why Koreans are pissed off and rude. Japan is 1/2 of California, and there is around 80 million people living there. North Korea is the worst (Asian Country) then China, then Korea, then Japan, etc. etc.

Japan actually has closer to 130,000,000 people living there.

http://www.aneki.com/populated.html

[whispering]

her- What are those paintings on his arm?
me- tattoos
her- does it wash off?
me- no, its perminant.
her- how is it perminant?
me- its ink that is put into the skin with a needle
her- that sounds like it hurts
me- not really to bad. You have never seen a tattoo before?
her- we do not have such a thing here, except some people who living in villages in the mountains have a kind of mark but it is different.
I remember reading that the Tattoo scene in Jopog Manura (My Wife is a Gangster) was ment to have a diffrent impact in Korea cause of that. I thought it was similar as in Japan, where only "gangsters" have tattoos?

Theres a pic of the scene (same girl as in my avatar :p)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5659/pdvd0068zj.jpg

[jindojim]

Yep, it's really that bad. No, I retract that statement. It's worse than bad. Korea is 1/3 of the size of California--N. and S. attached--and there are around 60 million Koreans. You literally cannot walk without bumping into each other. This is one of the chief reasons why Koreans are pissed off and rude. Japan is 1/2 of California, and there is around 80 million people living there. North Korea is the worst (Asian Country) then China, then Korea, then Japan, etc. etc.

Korean people have no souls.

Wow...I have no comment for such ignorance. That being said, I think Korea has both its positive sides and negative sides just like every other nation. But, General Admission, posting 2 videos of Korean kids just being...kids and then asking what people think of Korea is like someone posting videos of American kids joking around in class and saying all Americans suck or something. In other words, it's something only a complete idiot would do.

I do agree though that Koreans can be rude sometimes and pretty mercurial. And at times they can be really xenophobic too. So it's not exactly a great place to visit for foreigners. But let's see...food there is really really good (in my totally nationalistic and biased opinion :D). Oh, and also, for people who haven't been there in like a decade or something, you should go back again cuz I think Seoul has really changed. Korea isn't that cheap I'd say though. Compared to Japan it is, but any place is a bargain after shopping in Tokyo.

Oh, and soju is my drink of choice :)

[King Kong]

I was just joking when I said Korean people have no souls. However if they don't take up the word of Jesus Christ then unfortunately it will be proof that they were not born with souls.

..jk.

[jindojim]

Look at my face. Do you see me laughing? :p Anyway, considering that Koreans have the 2nd most Christians outta any East Asian country (behind Phillippines) with about 1/3 of the population acceptin the word of Jesus, I would imagine that according to you, yes, a lot of Koreans do have souls. Or at least more than most Asian countries. I would at least like to think I have a soul :D

[stillbornsinger]

I believe most Phillipinos are Catholic actually... (for those who make the distinction)

But even though so many are, there is a whole lot of "immorality" going on in that part of the world... anyone ever played smiles? :D