[KS] For your consideration

[Michael Pettid]

Some interesting commentary on the resurgence of
"crude nationalism" in Korea¡¦. However, I believe
this is in the eye of the beholder.  My students from
Korea here at Binghamton (in New York state) often
comment on what they see as threatening and aggressive
American nationalism taking place before our eyes
here.


Michael Pettid


--- "J.Scott Burgeson" <jsburgeson at yahoo.com> wrote:

> --- Steven Capener <sotaebu at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Approximately coinciding with the 2002 World
> > Cup hosted in Korea and subsequent lager scale
> > gatherings/demonstrations, I have seen a
> resurgence
> > in a crude nationalism 
> 
> 
> Although I do not dispute the fluctuating existence
> of
> crude nationalism in Korea (often tied to
> accelerated
> globalization and the Internet), I would caution
> against such a neat narrative and chronology linking
> the 2002 World Cup solely to a rise in Korean
> nationalism. I published a book in Korean in late
> May
> 2002 that was a bestseller here throughout the
> summer
> of that year. The subject was foreigners in Korea
> and
> I was told by both my publisher and the many media
> outlets who interviewed me at the time that the
> book's
> success was partly due to an increased interest in
> foreigners because of the World Cup. So this is one
> small example of the World Cup succeeding in
> promoting
> globalization in Korea, as well as sparking local
> nationalism. Obviously there is a dialectical
> relationship between the two phenomena, no?
>    Regarding the subject of ESL teachers in Korea, I
> have found ample opportunities over the years to
> have
> a voice in the local media (I'm currently an ESL
> instructor at Hongik University). Expat (male) ESL
> teachers in Korea DO have a rather dodgy rep at the
> moment, but this is because most of them can't be
> bothered to represent themselves in the local media,
> mainly due to indifference rather than language
> barriers (translation help is always available). If
> expat ESL teachers here do not have a voice, and
> consequently suffer from a poor image here, it's
> largely their own fault. It's sort of like an
> immigrant Chinese dishwasher in New York who is too
> busy working to give a voice to himself through
> artistic works or whatnot, so obviously he'll be
> misunderstood by locals until he does so. Expat ESL
> teachers here need to step outside of their little
> bubble and interact more with the Korean community,
> and until they do so they have nothing to complain
> about if they happen to have a poor image here. In
> this particular case I DO blame the so-called
> "victim."
>    --Scott Bug 
> 
> 
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