[KS] Anti-Americanism

Gage, Sue J slgage at indiana.edu
Thu Jan 30 10:38:00 EST 2003


This may help as well.  Over the summer I conducted 30 interviews with South Koreans in Seoul and its outer regions on "race" in South Korea.  I also asked the participants and anyone I became acquainted with about the "anti-American" sentiments.  They uniformly responded, "It's not you, you're ok.  It's your/the American government."  Two Canadians and I also witnessed one of the protests and we did not feel threatened.  Hope this may provide some more (or less) "scientific" ammunition for Dr. Robinson's group.  

-----Original Message-----
From: N eo [mailto:adharsa at hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 10:48 PM
To: Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
Subject: [KS] "baek-man-oh-hae"



I would like offer to Michael Robinson a word or two to to set his group's mind at ease. There seems to be quite a lot of hype over the anti-American sentiment in this country propagated in the press in the States and elsewhere. I'd encourage Michael's group take it in context.

It is of interest to me that this discussion occurs on the anniversary of the Axis of Evil speech which seems to have sent shudders through so many millions glued to TV screens across the United States.

The imagery of that inapt WWII trope seems to have slaked the thirst of many consumers of news for something to fret over.

A delicate nexus of problems was thus encapsulated in a slogan relieving us of the burden of having to examine any nuances while stimulating our "fear glands" with Pavlovian predictability. 

One reason that "axis of evil" has had such a shelf-life is that multi-cultural, multi-ethnic communities existing harmoniously, grappling with problems and solving them is "dull". It does not sell many papers nor generates the revenue that conflict and discord does.

Perhaps that is one reason for the exaggeration in media of perceived threats...even to potential visitors to South Korea.

I would humbly offer the most obvious advice possible. Tell the group to keep in mind that seeing a huge protest or a flag burn on your TV as a viewer/consumer of news is a vastly different experience from seeing, tasting, touring Korea and experiencing the people of this country in person.

There are protests. There is "anti-Americanism". I have no doubt that there is hostility here if you look hard enough. In my personal experience, I've found that an overwhelming majority of people make the axiomatic distinction between the policies of a government and it's people. 
_______________
Mark Hurt's very interesting personal account inspired me to add to the list of things to bring: tell them to bring their preconceptions along. Tell them to pack their curiosity, their fear, hesitation, biases, mistrust, even bigotry if there's room. All the more reason for them to come and discover this country for themselves.

Like many visitors to Korea, I had acquired most of that "baggage" in my hometown of Manhattan. It is no secret that New York City, as a theatre for outward displays of hostility, might compare well with Beirut. 

I left Manhattan almost six years ago and have seldom been back to visit.
I live, now, in a medium-sized city on the coast of the East Sea. In six years, I cannot honestly recall a single outward display of hostility toward me as a foreigner worth mentioning. Frankly, I haven't felt this welcomed by other people since I left the womb.

The closest I came to hostility due to a misunderstanding was during my first Summer in Korea. Desperately late for a class, I stepped out of my apartment to find a taxi. --There, idling in the street before me, was a bright yellow car bedecked with lettering and a sign on its roof. 

"A Taxi!" I could hardly believe my luck. There was a passenger in the front seat, but I was becoming accustomed to the sharing of taxis in Korea. Without hesitation, I opened the door and jumped in. 

With Manhattanite self-importance, I called out my destination authoritatively from the back. Whereupon, the older gentleman-passenger pivoted in his seat to glare at me, "NO! NOT TAXI!" 

He yelled this three or four times before I realized that I had interrupted the driving lesson of the poor young woman crouched in fear and grasping the steering wheel. 

The memory of panic and terror on that student's face is something I will carry with me into my old age.

That following spring, my Korean study had been, progressing well. On my first day on the job at a boys high school, I had prepared a special presentation to tell of my home country with photos of my family.

Having learnt the appropriate vocabulary, I planned to tell the boys that about a dozen deer lived near my Mother's house and often came to visit. Anticipating looks of wonder, admiration and awe, I began by holding up a photo to a class of 50 freshman boys and announced that my Mother had "at least 12 breasts if not more..."
(cf. "kassum", "Sassum")

I can recall a million misunderstandings in my life in Korea "baek-man-oh-hae" :)...some tragic, some comic, but none of them justification for staying home. They have mostly been met with good humor and kind indulgence.

These misunderstandings are simply a million opportunities to wake up and pay closer attention. I leave my apartment eager for the next encounter.

Your group probably doesn't need reminding that experiencing another culture is steeped in risk and tension. A healthy dose of conflict is to be embraced not avoided. If misunderstandings didn't occur in this country, I wouldn't learn a damned thing about Korea or it's people and should've stayed in New York and spent the plane ticket money on a new TV.

Please tell your group to come and ask them to pack a sense of humor about themselves. By the end of their visit, perhaps they'll find that they've laughed off most of their heaviest baggage.

If you're in the Kangnung, Kangwon-do area and need a guide. Please look me up.

*************************
Like Mr.. Hurt, I have been a "lurker" for some time. Although I'm not an academic and not presently engaged in any formal Korean Studies program, I thought I might contribute.

Happy New Year.

CP~ 011-8216-9216-0773
adharsa at hotmail.com




 <mailto:adharsa at hotmail.com> 

P.S.
Some have sent polite emails to me expressing frustration over not being able to access the Hanja  <http://neo_hanja_2003.tripod.com/Neohanjapages/neohanja_main.htm> website. Due to the recently hatched internet worm, it has been down for a few days. It is now up again.
Thank you for your interest.
Neo's  <http://neo_hanja_2003.tripod.com/Neohanjapages/neohanja_main.htm> Hanja






  _____  

MSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES.  <http://g.msn.com/8HMJEN/2743> Get 2 months FREE*. 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://koreanstudies.com/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreanstudies.com/attachments/20030130/6ab6445d/attachment.html>


More information about the Koreanstudies mailing list