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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DEar Sam: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The use of graduate students by professors for
private and professional services has been going on seemingly forever. I
remember watching this when I was doing my dissertation research in the
mid-1970s. Later, I used to complain occasionally to Korean colleagues
about the difficulty getting research help or funds to hired RAs but stopped
because they would always say, "get a graduate student to do that." The
customs seems a natural outgrowth of the strong emphasis on hierarchy in Korea
whether it be in the academy, the military, or society in general. I would
discount any attempt to pin this on the Japanese. It is interesting to
note that the Japanese seem to be automatically evoked when refering
to some social ill, but such influence is rejected if linked to a positive
value. And by the way, the intimidation (keeping on the professor's good
side for future favors) that keeps graduate students doing such scut work
in Korea is not uncommon in the U.S., it is just more subtle. Power
corrupts across cultures. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mike R.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=samuel.a.wang@gmail.com href="mailto:samuel.a.wang@gmail.com">Samuel
Wang</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws
href="mailto:Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws">Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 07, 2005 3:31
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [KS] Bad habits in academia,
too</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Dear listmembers,<BR><BR>Has anyone seen today's editorial on
the Chungang Ilbo?<BR><BR><A
href="http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200512/06/200512062140436409900090109011.html">http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200512/06/200512062140436409900090109011.html</A><BR><BR>The
text is as follows:<BR><BR>*****<BR><BR>[EDITORIALS]Bad habits in the
military<BR><BR>Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung has ordered military
commanders to stop using subordinates for private purposes. The usage of
military vehicles during holidays and leaves has also been forbidden, while
the number of soldiers that can be assigned to a commander's official
residences has been limited. <BR>Since the birth of the military, various
methods of "privatizing" military personnel have existed. Soldiers doing
private petty jobs for commanders at their official residences is not even
considered a big deal. They also had to follow the orders of the commander's
family members or wife. Privately tutoring the children of commanders or
serving as a ball boy for commanders' tennis match or golf round are also some
of the tasks given to soldiers. <BR>Although these bad habits are not as
commonplace as they used to be, there are still some left under the pretext of
custom. Recently, a soldier was beaten by a commander for not taking good care
of his anchovies. This is also an example of these bad habits.<BR>In terms of
following orders from the top, the military is the place where a chain of
command is most visible. This relationship between superiors and subordinates
is for work and combat, but one's rank does not tell much about one's
character. A superior-subordinate relationship is not equal to that of a
master and his servant. It's a relationship between colleagues who have an
equal social status and who fight against an enemy alongside one another. They
are comrades, so to speak. The combat power of the military depends on the
soldiers' morale. It's only natural for a soldier who is treated like a human
being to be more committed in combat and at work than a soldier who is treated
like a slave. This is especially true when a commander is respected by his
soldiers ¡ª the rank and file become one.<BR>The privatization of soldiers is
proof that commanders have not gotten rid of habits that stem from<SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> old pre-modern Japanese influence</SPAN>. The
former commander of the U.S. forces stationed in Korea once said, "If you take
good care of your subordinates, your subordinates will take good care of you."
This is a notion that our commanders need to take to heart. Soldiers serve for
a certain period and return to society. If they return with negative feelings
about military that still runs according to old habits, distrust toward the
military will run high.<BR>Let's hope that the defense minister's orders don't
end up being anti-climactic.<BR><BR>*****<BR><BR> I
was surprised to see the editorialist attribute the private use of soldiers by
Korean commanders to "old, pre-modern Japanese influence." It seems to me that
these Korean commanders are simply abusing their position and want to save
some money to boot. <BR> Let me add that this kind of
behavior is not limited to the rank-and-file of the Korean military. I've been
attending a graduate program at a Korean university for about a year now, and
Korean professors act the same way towards their students. Only two weeks
after matriculating into the program, I was asked many times to edit,
proofread, and translate materials for professors. As time went by, the amount
I was forced to take on interfered greatly with my studies. I told my
professors honestly as courteously as possible that I had paid my tuition so I
could study (not serve as a full-time editor/translator for them). This didn't
seem to make any kind of impact, as they felt entitled to request whatever
they wanted of me. Finally, I made the excuse that the rates they paid me
paled in comparison to the work they wanted me to do (which was true). Some of
my classmates heard of this, and said that I should not cross my teachers,
since they would prove crucial in my finding a position later on. These same
classmates are requested to perform all manners of errands for their
professors. There is also a pecking order, where the doctoral students receive
the majority of the requests from the professors, and then "distribute" them
among the new graduate students. One classmate of mine stopped coming to
school, and selectively answered his cell phone to avoid these "requests." An
American friend of mine recently commented bitterly that Korean professors
rarely think of what they can do for their students, and instead focus on
seeing what their students can do for them. <BR> Have any of
you had a similar experience?
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