Comments on: East & West http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/ A different look at Asia, China and Taiwan Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:20:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Tengri http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/#comment-81752 Tengri Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:25:49 +0000 http://filination.com/blog/?p=159#comment-81752 Dear fiLi: just wanted to let you know I really appreciate your writings. You obviously have a very good mind. Only problem, most of the stuff I find is a couple of years old. Will try going back to your homepage. Will be going to China as soon as I learn Mandarin,mostly to visit women. Will probably go the teaching english/backpacking route. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, and keep up the great work. Dear fiLi: just wanted to let you know I really appreciate your writings. You obviously have a very good mind. Only problem, most of the stuff I find is a couple of years old. Will try going back to your homepage. Will be going to China as soon as I learn Mandarin,mostly to visit women. Will probably go the teaching english/backpacking route. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, and keep up the great work.

]]> By: Yuri http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/#comment-16715 Yuri Tue, 08 May 2007 17:41:40 +0000 http://filination.com/blog/?p=159#comment-16715 thanks for sharing your thoughts. i agree with you in part. in my opinion, however, the "attitude" you elaborate is much more complicated and I believe cannot be simplified as "inferiority" or "arrogance". korea seems to have fought against geography for long long time. simply put, koreans are distictive people yet had to "survive" between giants like china, russia, and imperial japan. people somehow have devoloped a sort of ressentiment, which is passing on to the next generation and is commonly found among other minority peoples too. chinese-connection is totally undeniable, historically speaking. japanese imperial rule has left lots of scars, debris, and a bitter "legacy of hatred". sometimes, by some people, it's manifested in a twisted form. i'm surely aware of that, so trying to get more infos. "against all most all the foreign things to protect themselves". this, i'm totally disagree. i was born and have grown up in seoul for 26 years, and now am in canada. when i visited seoul last year (it'd been 3 years), i almost got shocked by how seoul had changed in 3 years! local stores being closed, starbucks almost every other block, chinese studies being so popularized, many "foreigners" hanging out in seoul, and so on. i didn't know "anti-korean books" have been a hit in Japan, unfortunate yet insignificant. i just want to say, matters are not that simple and so many individuals have different opinions on the issue. hopefully sharing thoughts will lead us somewhere better. :) thanks for sharing your thoughts.
i agree with you in part. in my opinion, however, the “attitude” you elaborate is much more complicated and I believe cannot be simplified as “inferiority” or “arrogance”. korea seems to have fought against geography for long long time. simply put, koreans are distictive people yet had to “survive” between giants like china, russia, and imperial japan. people somehow have devoloped a sort of ressentiment, which is passing on to the next generation and is commonly found among other minority peoples too. chinese-connection is totally undeniable, historically speaking. japanese imperial rule has left lots of scars, debris, and a bitter “legacy of hatred”. sometimes, by some people, it’s manifested in a twisted form. i’m surely aware of that, so trying to get more infos.

“against all most all the foreign things to protect themselves”. this, i’m totally disagree. i was born and have grown up in seoul for 26 years, and now am in canada. when i visited seoul last year (it’d been 3 years), i almost got shocked by how seoul had changed in 3 years! local stores being closed, starbucks almost every other block, chinese studies being so popularized, many “foreigners” hanging out in seoul, and so on. i didn’t know “anti-korean books” have been a hit in Japan, unfortunate yet insignificant.

i just want to say, matters are not that simple and so many individuals have different opinions on the issue.
hopefully sharing thoughts will lead us somewhere better. :)

]]> By: Shi-ru http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/#comment-16702 Shi-ru Tue, 08 May 2007 16:32:53 +0000 http://filination.com/blog/?p=159#comment-16702 In my long observation of Koreans. Being as a colony so long makes their attitude kind of twisted (taiwanese also). Koreans want to be accepted and recognized as a independent country in every aspect including trying to deny the influence from China (they already claimed dragn boat festival belongs to and orignated from Korea, last time they claimed Chinese is based on their ancestors words)and Japan (they do not call Sushi sushi in Korea and will not admit that's from Japan and they banned the Japan CDs before). And against all most all the foreign things to protect themselves. So their attatitude, inferiority turned out to be very arrogant which irritates the nearby countries. Recently a anti-koreans books has been a hit in Japan bookstore. On the contrary, inferity made Taiwanese denied our own culture and embraced all the outcoming stuffs cuz deep in mind we believed they must be surperior to our own stuffs and this might be able to explain why most of the foreigners are having racialism in positive way. In my long observation of Koreans. Being as a colony so long makes their attitude kind of twisted (taiwanese also).

Koreans want to be accepted and recognized as a independent country in every aspect including trying to deny the influence from China (they already claimed dragn boat festival belongs to and orignated from Korea, last time they claimed Chinese is based on their ancestors words)and Japan (they do not call Sushi sushi in Korea and will not admit that’s from Japan and they banned the Japan CDs before). And against all most all the foreign things to protect themselves. So their attatitude, inferiority turned out to be very arrogant which irritates the nearby countries. Recently a anti-koreans books has been a hit in Japan bookstore.

On the contrary, inferity made Taiwanese denied our own culture and embraced all the outcoming stuffs cuz deep in mind we believed they must be surperior to our own stuffs and this might be able to explain why most of the foreigners are having racialism in positive way.

]]> By: fiLi http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/#comment-16635 fiLi Tue, 08 May 2007 09:25:11 +0000 http://filination.com/blog/?p=159#comment-16635 I think Taiwan is a bit busy with trying to develop an identity that doesn't only rely on Chinese (/Japanese?) culture background. It takes a while and actually - Israel's still struggling with similar issues (with our British/Turkish based law, our Arab/Mediterranean neighbors' culture influences, as well as the overwhelming American fashion and media dominance). I think Taiwan is a bit busy with trying to develop an identity that doesn’t only rely on Chinese (/Japanese?) culture background.

It takes a while and actually - Israel’s still struggling with similar issues (with our British/Turkish based law, our Arab/Mediterranean neighbors’ culture influences, as well as the overwhelming American fashion and media dominance).

]]> By: fiLi http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/#comment-16632 fiLi Tue, 08 May 2007 09:15:05 +0000 http://filination.com/blog/?p=159#comment-16632 Yeah, I do think Korea (/Japan) are a little more complicated than that. The attitude in Korea towards westerners is very different than other EA countries. It is unique, though, that despite those attitudes, Korea has managed to transform the leading companies (the big 6) into world globalization leaders, while still maintaining some sort of barrier with-in South Korea. As for North-South - that's an historical tragedy. Yeah, I do think Korea (/Japan) are a little more complicated than that. The attitude in Korea towards westerners is very different than other EA countries. It is unique, though, that despite those attitudes, Korea has managed to transform the leading companies (the big 6) into world globalization leaders, while still maintaining some sort of barrier with-in South Korea.

As for North-South - that’s an historical tragedy.

]]> By: Yuri http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/#comment-16522 Yuri Mon, 07 May 2007 21:39:59 +0000 http://filination.com/blog/?p=159#comment-16522 could someone please explain to me why the hell korea had to be divided in the first place and WHY AND HOW THE DIVISION HAS LASTED THIS LONG.. "true pride and the sense of unique wonderful history" is certainly there in korea as far as i've seen.. yet it's along with what you implied in your post, a kinda passive attitudes to western culture and western "superiority". i found it a little poignant because i also sense their desire to be accepted and respected (by the west). it must be much more complicated than that.. i always have some problem to understand the term "globalization" by the way. :) could someone please explain to me why the hell korea had to be divided in the first place and WHY AND HOW THE DIVISION HAS LASTED THIS LONG..

“true pride and the sense of unique wonderful history” is certainly there in korea as far as i’ve seen.. yet it’s along with what you implied in your post, a kinda passive attitudes to western culture and western “superiority”. i found it a little poignant because i also sense their desire to be accepted and respected (by the west). it must be much more complicated than that..

i always have some problem to understand the term “globalization” by the way.

:)

]]> By: Shi-ru http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/01/16/eastwest/#comment-16407 Shi-ru Mon, 07 May 2007 09:51:35 +0000 http://filination.com/blog/?p=159#comment-16407 you are so right with the globalization thing. I do think Taiwan is losing our own culture in the trend and worry about it, too! We embrace all the out-coming stuffs and neglect what we have in hand. you are so right with the globalization thing. I do think Taiwan is losing our own culture in the trend and worry about it, too! We embrace all the out-coming stuffs and neglect what we have in hand.

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