What the ... Era Error?!?!?!

An article in the Korea Times, Worst in the Nation, brought up the whole "Sea of Japan" versus "East Sea" bugaboo again. "Korea protests US agency’s support for 'Sea of Japan'" read the headline. (Is it just me or does the use of "agency" seem to be used to imply some sort of sinister intent? Like spy agency?)

A U.S. maritime boundary group told the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) that they supported the use of "Sea of Japan". The British also agreed with using this term. Thus ignoring the Korean desire for "East Sea" to be used.

There was really nothing new in the article but one statement made me wonder just who Korea is blaming for the Western use of "Sea of Japan".

"This is the latest setback to the Korean government’s long-time efforts to replace the appellation with “East Sea” in the guideline in what appears to be a campaign to root out one of the longest surviving legacies of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945."

How is it a legacy of that Era if a) Western countries coined the term not Japan, and b) it was used well before the Colonial Era, possibly as far back as the 17th century?

The Top Ten Ways To Amuse Yourself In Korea

Korean Adventurer (May 3, 2002 Chautauqua)

The Top 10 Ways to Amuse Yourself In Korea

This list was sent to me by my friend, Blondie. It provides some insights about what life in general is like over here.

10.) Play chicken with cars on the sidewalk. This is a fairly common occurrence. Koreans park just about anywhere they damn well please. Cars, motorcycles, and bikes take advantage of any opening anywhere, road or sidewalk, to beat the traffic. I remember walking home from the store the other night, and I heard an engine behind me. I was almost up to a space between two other parked vehicles, and I didn't bother moving aside, as I thought the space was too small for the following vehicle to pass through. I was startled to hear the motor continue close behind me. I looked, and was confronted with the smallest car I have ever seen. It gave new meaning to the word "compact".

9.)Order Steak and Potato with Fiddleheads at EVERY Korean restaurant. I'm not exactly sure what this means, as I've not had this particular delicacy. I think it makes reference to the fact that "fiddleheads" can make you sick if you're not careful. It's not really funny, as there was a story in the "Korean Herald" last week, saying that the food in six different fast food chains (KFC and McDonald's among them) had tested positive for staph infections in the foods. Bad news for westerners who do not like Korean food.

8.) While sitting in a public spot, pretend to catch a fly with chopsticks. Celebrate loudly. Koreans are intensely interested in everything we westerners do, and do not hesitate to stare when they so you. They also like to examine the contents of your shopping basket. It's nothing hostile, just innocent curiosity.

7.) When something is said by one Korean to another that is slightly amusing, laugh hysterically. Don't stop. Well, this is just plain mean. Hee hee hee.

6.) Stand outside a Korean electronics store where the TVs are playing. Pretend to understand every word. Again, just mean. The kids in my school get very excited when I display any knowledge of their language, and it is difficult to stop them from testing me, and turn the lesson back to learning English.

5.) Remind a Korean man that he is short. Do this repeatedly. Be prepared for an a** kicking. It's true that there are a lot of short people here, but they are also very thin. One of the first things that struck me when I returned home last year was how many obese people there were, myself included. Most Koreans like to get out and do some regular physical activity, for which they should be commended. Also, there are quite a few who are as tall, if not taller than some westerners.

4. Convince them that both of your parents are Korean (oh yes, it can be done). The trick to arguing with Koreans is to remain calm at all times. Once you lose your temper, you've lost the argument.

3.) Wear Japanese flags. The Koreans really are very touchy when it comes to anything Japanese. A person who makes a reference to the "Sea of Japan" will be provided with the correct title, the "East Sea". There has always been some tension in their relations. Last year it was some textbooks, approved for use in Japanese schools, that did not deal adequately with Japan's conquests and behaviour during it's Imperial phase. It only just got smoothed over when the Japanese premier paid a visit to the shrine for Japanese war dead. Some of those memorialized are considered war criminals over here, and the visit has cast a pall over the upcoming joint Japanese/Korean hosting of the World Cup.

2.) Go to the cinema. After the preview for a Korean film, pump your fists in the air and yell, "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT!". Actually, there have been some very good films made here recently. A few years back, a film called "JSA" won an Academy Award for best foreign film. It was a tense thriller about a South Korean soldier accused of murdering some North Korean counterparts. Another film, called "Friends", dealt with four rookie firemen that featured some thrilling firefighting scenes.

1.) Fix something. It always seems like there is something to be done when foreigners move into their (school-supplied) apartment. Usually, it's fairly simple to make it seem homey. My friends and I have managed to make our places comfy enough to be a close substitute for "home". We are convinced that we are the only ones to take the time and trouble. Some of the people we've had as room-mates have been less than...clean. Oh well, it takes all kinds, I guess.

Anyway, there is a lot more to tell about life in Korea. I hope I have not rambled on too long, and I hope you look forward to the next installment. Until then, anyong assayo (Peace be with you).
________________________________________

Ask Flint about the shopping basket thing, and then duck.
My description of the movie "Friends" is erroneous. It's actually about four Koreans who grew up in Busan. One became a cop and another became a criminal, with tragic results.
I remember helping Mick and Jane clean an apartment after another teacher had left. The filth was indescribable. I remember scrubbing layers of grime off of the tile in the bathroom and wondering how anyone could stand it.

What the ... spell check?

I had planned on staying away from the Dokdo issue. I knew there was an article out in the craptastic Korea Times about it but stayed away. Then I was at Korean Rum Diary and read his post about the article. There isn't much more to say that he didn't cover.

The thing that sticks in my mind the most is the poor English used on the bracelets. They all say

"Dokdo is Korean Territory" and "East Sea is Korea". The East Sea is Korea? What the kimchi?!?!? And here I thought Korea was a landmass, a peninsula in Asia. It turns out is a body of water! Wow! What the kimchi are these morons doing building stuff on the peninsula if Korea is the East Sea? They are stealing someones land! Morons!

It REALLY makes the Korean American groups Korean American Leaders Association (KALA) and BYON International look like ricetards. They couldn't find someone to proof read what they wanted to say properly in America? It is bad enough when this crap happens in Korea and there is no excuse for it. But to have such crappy English in the US? It makes you wonder if they can find their own ass without a road map.

It is hard to take people who are either so lazy or stupid, or both, seriously. Add to that the fact that their newspaper campaigns made the Americans who noticed them think the islands are disputed.

I have a hard time believing they will ever learn.

Year 1 - Korea vs Japan

Hi

I realized that I was remiss in my last update. For some reason I forgot to tell you exactly what the holiday was on friday.

On March 1st Koreans celebrate Samil-jeol (Independence Movement Day). The Korea Independence Movement was born on March 1, 1919. Thirty-three Korean patriots gathered in Pagoda Park, in Seoul to protest the Japanese occupation of Korea. They read the charter of the movement. The protestors were beaten and put in jail. This sparked a nationwide uprising against the Japanese, and thus the Independence Movement was born.

The independence movement spread to other cities and towns in Korea. During the followoing year more than 1,500 demonstrations, attended by about 2 million people, were held throughout the country. Although the demonstrations were peaceful, the Japanese police and military reacted with harshly. Nearly 23,000 Koreans were killed or wounded. Of approximately 47,000 who were arrested, around 5,000 were sent to prison. Today March 1 is celebrated in both North and South Korea as a national holiday in honor of the demonstrators' patriotism.

There is a HUGE museum in Cheonan called Independence Hall. It is the largest museum in Korea, consisting of seven buildings, and presents Korea's history from ancient time to today. The Japanese feature prominently in the museum in light of their colonial occupation of Korea, and earlier attacks on Korea. According to one of my students the site of Chonan was chosen because it is close to the hometown of a 16 year old girl who was one of the first to rise up and complain about the Japanese occupation. She was brutalized and murdered for speaking up. In honour of her the Independence Hall was built in Chonan.

One of my friends here, a teacher from Scotland who works at another Hogwon, called it the "We Hate Japan" museum. He couldn't understand why the Koreans HATE the Japanese so much. Many westerners wonder why the Koreans dislike the Japanese so much. If you look at historical facts, it is easy to see. The Japanese shipped off tens of thousands of Korean men into forced labour for Japanese industry. Women didn't fare any better, as the Japanese forced them to become "comfort women" for Japanese troops. To this day there has been no real apology by the Japanese, and no compensation. Even Korean artwork and relics that were stolen by the Japanese remain in Japan. If a person wanted to do a proper study of Korean history they would have to go to Japan because that is where most of the old books (most of those that were not destroyed by the Japanese occupation forces) and artifacts are today. They were never returned.

The Japanese tried to systemically destroy the Korean culture. They did this through various means, such as outlawing the language and anything to do with the Korean culture. They destroyed hundreds of thousands of books on Korean history, culture, and geography. They closed schools and denied an education to most Koreans, unless it was a Japanese education. Anyone who dissented was jailed or killed. Tens of thousands were sent off into slavery. If that happened to your country would you EVER forgive those who did it? Especially if there was no apology, restoration of what was stolen, or even an attempt at compensation? I wouldn't.

Add to that the recent attempts by Japan to rewrite history and you not only have old wounds that are still bleeding, but some new ones. The Japanese have decided to rewrite history. They downplay or ignore most of the atrocities they committed. Take the "Rape of Nanking" in China as an example. According to the new Japanese history textbooks for their school it wasn't that serious. They ignore the fact that the Japanese pretty much executed every man, woman, and child in the city. The women being killed after being raped. Little things like that just keep the anger alive in Korea, and the rest of Asia. Japan has angered most Asian countries, including China, the Phillipines, and Vietnam. Attempting to rewrite history just pisses me off in general.

Hmmm, this turned into another rant didn't it? :)

Take care

Flint

******

This was from the start of my 5th month in South Korea.

I almost didn't post this because my defense of Korea seemed so ... rabid. However, it is what I said and thought at the time. Although some of the information it was based on was faulty a lot of my reasoning stands. (I was still drinking kool-aid. Cherry flavour.)

When I look at the issue of Japan and the rest of Asia, not JUST Korea, I can understand the anger. A couple of years ago Japanese film makers, endorsed by members of the government, released a movie saying the Rape of Nanking never happened. The Japanese do have a tendency to rewrite history and that is something I don't like. At least when the revision is so blatantly wrong.

Look at the Chinese reactions to the Japanese in recent years. Riots in the streets. Japanese cars being trashed. And knowing how strict the Chinese government is about controlling things the fact it was allowed to happen tells you a lot about what the government was thinking.

I also understand the anger from another viewpoint. Insert the words Nazi and German instead of Japan. IF a German Chancellor EVER went to a memorial honouring the SS in ANY way there would be HELL to pay. That is basically what Koizumi was doing. That puts the lie, in my view, to any apology the Japanese may have made.

My father fought in WW2. I know what he would think if he saw anyone let alone the leader of Germany basically honouring the Nazis or if someone said the Holocaust never happened. Dad got to see one of the death camps and those who survived. The images of horror were burned into his mind. He would be angry and disgusted. I can understand the anger of Korea and other Asian countries when Koizumi or any Japanese leader visits the Yakasuni shrine. Or when they try to rewrite history.

Yes, the rabid hatred needs to end. It just isn't healthy. But Japan needs to remember that it's actions can make people wonder if they have really changed. If they were really contrite. While people can forgive they should never forget.