As I walk among the teachers of future generations striving for a late night feast we begin talking about what we are going to order like we had just smoked a huge joint and were walking to Taco Bell.
I forget, what's one of the most commonly-held stereotypes of native speaker teachers here? Good going, shit head.
24 comments:
Yeah, several people have made mention of that. There seems to be some real foolishness going on there. They mean well but letting this slip through is a serious fuck up.
Also gives the local narcs enough cause to take a look at Mr E. Hope your urine is clean, pal.
But it's just a stereotype, right?
WORD VERIFICATION: persack (I guess "per bag" was too much to ask)
Plus that really was a terribly put together sentence.
Happy 4/20.
word verification buslab: why do all the best verification words come up on your blog, brian? Do you have some kind of a special deal?
To be fair, it looks like he thought he was being clever. The whole article is full of awkward similies like this one.
Speaking of negative stereotypes, notice all the grammar mistakes? He didn't even capitalize "Gwangju."
That was pretty ballsy! :)
I think Shithead's one word.
Ohhhh, the Pens.
What about the amount of terrible poetry going on in the latest issues? Someone needs to have a quiet word with the editor: the Gwangju News is not a private vanity press. Pick up your game people!
They have new Editors. If you dont like it, tell them. They've asked for letters to the editor several times reciently. Or, email the GIC directly.
That was the most interesting article Gwangju News has published in the 10 months I have lived in Gwangju. It's actually about Gwangju life... and it's real. Stereotypes? What about Korean stereotypes? Why don't we write articles about Koreans making movies called "Daytime Drinking" and soju brawls in the street? C'mon.
Because the majority of the readers are Korean looking to practice their reading skills, the magazine is not only for the English teacher readership, the funding comes primarily from (Korean) board members and articles examining Korean life such as mad cow protests and the cardboard paper collectors resulted in attacks from Koreans directed at the writers both foreign and Korean. If you havent noticed there has been a sharp decrease in the number of non-Korean writers in the magazine these days.
Exhibit A why it is such an uphill battle to get English teaching recognized as a profession and native English speakers to be treated serious as members of Korean society:
we begin talking about what we are going to order like we had just smoked a huge joint and were walking to Taco Bell.
Exhibit B of same:
Stereotypes? What about Korean stereotypes? Why don't we write articles about Koreans making movies called "Daytime Drinking" and soju brawls in the street? C'mon.Dude (Jimmy), I would totally get your response if some Korean had written the stuff about an English teacher describing cannabis-induced munchies, but not when an Anglophone wrote this.
"Pot-smoking English teachers? Well how about soju swilling ajoshis?!" Dude, what's your point?
WORD VERIFICATION:
urwelec
... which is almost like "you're welcome" when texted really fast.
I too have no idea what Jimmy is talking about. Somebody posted this article in their profile on Facebook, hence the renewed interest.
Sure, there's nothing wrong with writing about pot in your story. It's just the same as . . . oh wait, nevermind, actually it's illegal to smoke or possess marijuana here, and breaking the law will bring harsh penalties. And, we are subject to drug tests and scrutiny because every once in a while some dumb ass tries it.
If you want to make reeferences (HA!), do it on your blog. I'll still think you're an idiot, but at least you won't have a bunch of irritable middle-aged guys in Gwangju on our case. Hell, they get bent out of shape if we write about a foreigner dying in their magazine . . . imagine if they actually thought foreigners were getting high.
Some of you really need to lighten up. When I decided to live abroad, I thought the majority of people I'd meet would be open-minded, tolerant and nonjudgmental. I can't believe how uptight and self-righteous some of you are. Seriously… maybe we should burn Andrew at the stake because he made some smartass comment about weed in some magazine that probably less than a thousand people read. Seriously, would you rather the English magazines here were government controlled and free of anything that might be considered risqué by those Hakwon owners you're so sadly terrified of? Maybe you guys should move to China.
I guess I can't speak for everybody, but personally I can't recall running into one Korean person who seemed to openly disrespect me or look down on me because he/she was suspicious of or paranoid about the drug culture in the west. The author made some crack about grass trying to get a couple of laughs. Lighten up. Enough with the persecution complex already. We're treated very well here, Koreans are not out to get us, and this line in the Gwangju News doesn’t affect any of you even slightly. Have a chuckle or roll your eyes and move on. Some of you are so frigging paranoid.
Tom, you were an asshole on Dave's when I remember reading your posts, and you're out-of-touch now. Then again, you are the loon who got fired two weeks after starting his job for this:
***
The main reason, though, was not that I failed a drug test, but that I was worried I'd fail a drug test. My co-teacher, who was totally cool and who I am convinced had nothing to do with this, told me I had to take a medical exam the first week of school. I read I had ninety days to take the test, and she seemed cool so I told her I was worried that I would fail the drug test, because I smoked a little grass in Thailand a few weeks back. Stupidly, she asked (hypothetically) the administrative peeps if a failed drug test would result in a teacher being fired. I passed the drug test, but the administrative people put two and two together and realized that if I was worried about failing a drug test, I obviously did drugs.
***
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=1997608#1997608There is, after all, some gray area between "free speech" and "China." It's called good sense. Try it.
Tom,
The magazine has a readership of 8000+ with 75-90% of that being Korean readers. The magazine is silently but strongly controlled by the desires of the Korean board members of the Gwangju International Center. At one point they even complained that the level of English in the magazine was too high because they couldnt understand it and they wanted that changed.
Several writers have had SERIOUS problems with the Korean public and even their Korean families (for Korean writers) upon having their articles published. Brian (and I) had our jobs and stays in Korea treatened because of articles that ran in that magazine that upset some in the Korean public.
So, thanks for playing and go fuck yourself.
Fattycat wrote:
Several writers have had SERIOUS problems with the Korean public and even their Korean families (for Korean writers) upon having their articles published. Brian (and I) had our jobs and stays in Korea treatened because of articles that ran in that magazine that upset some in the Korean public.
There are a couple things I want to say. First and foremost, one of the most detrimental attitudes I've encountered in Korea's public sphere is fear of the Wrath of the Netizenry™. Small groups (e.g., doctors and medical students on strike, Mad Cow protesters, etc., with Vank taking it to an international setting) know that if they persist and keep going and going with their attacks or message proliferation, they will make their numbers and/or influence seem higher than it might actually be.
The upshot of this is that organizations on the receiving end of these attacks are (a) afraid of the embarrassment or scandal that comes from being on the receiving end of these attacks, and/or (b) worried that these Netizens represent the true face of the public and react accordingly.
I'm glad clear heads prevailed in you guys' case, because it isn't always so (and Koreans are victims of this far more often than transnationals are).
Second, I can speak from a wealth of experience that if you want to point out the seedy side of Korea, balance is the key. Native Koreans perceive their country as having been on the receiving end of unfair criticism or unduly unfavorable light for decades, and that is the prism through which your stuff critical of Korea is seen.
It's hard to provide balance on some issues (prostitution, for example, is not at all socially sanctioned in the US the way it is in Korea, or Japan, for that matter), but the broader balanced perspective is far more likely to win converts than the approach where how-Korea-is-fu¢ked-up-and-needs-to-change is the dominant theme.
Wow... SHOCKING that I harvested some bitter, mean-spirited responses from the online ESL crew.
Brian, I found a much better job after losing my first job, and anyway did my losing my first job have anything to do with what another foreign teacher did or said in a magazine? I kindly doubt it. So what was the point of posting my words from a few months back, other than to serve as a reminder of your aimless hatred of people who are probably a lot more similar to you than some fucking internet post apparently renders them?
And... WOW, 8,000 readers in a city of one and a half million... that's certainly a lot of buzz around town... these days must be SO stressful after having so many evils brought to such a strong light!
Seriously though, the internet seems to turn normally chill people into condescending assholes always looking to get the last shot in, and I probably went down that route in my first post and am going down that route now... for that reason, I just went back and removed most of the smart ass comments and insults I threw at a few of you. Furthermore, if you guys were truly threatened or lost anything tangible or intangible as a result of this article or as a result of any other articles in the Gwangju news, or as a result of the personal choices of a random westerner, than I will be a man about it and retract what I said. If that's the case, seriously and without any sarcasm to it at all, I apologize and retract what I said in my post. It that case I understand why you would be upset at this sort of thing. I just really find it hard to believe that this line by Andrew affected any of you, though. Keep us posted on whether it does, I guess. I'm very curious.
Also, I really doubt Andrew had anything in mind when he wrote this other than getting a few laughs. Yet you guys get so fueled about this one little line. Seems to me we westerners should be quicker to stand up for each other, even though I think much of what everyone seems so defensive about is bogus, rather than jump all over someone with personal insults because he made some crack about the behavior of CERTAIN KINDS OF PEOPLE in the west. Okay, so you're afraid the Koreans are going to lump us all into that group?? Well... fuck 'em! Seriously, if Koreans really do behave this way and generalize us and make decisions regarding our futures based on one silly little line from an article, and I seriously doubt that many of them do, maybe we should find our collective balls and blame them for doing so rather than blame the westerner who did next to nothing.
@ kushibo Native Koreans perceive their country as having been on the receiving end of unfair criticism or unduly unfavorable light for decades, and that is the prism through which your stuff critical of Korea is seen. Actually, I know of at least one case where a Korean writer co-wrote an article looking at some of the poor in the country. She was shunned by her family and friends who were deaply upset that she help air Korea's shame.
@tombirner WOW, 8,000 readers in a city of one and a half million... that's certainly a lot of buzz around town... these days must be SO stressful after having so many evils brought to such a strong light! It's been mentioned here a million times before. Read Brian's account about what happened with the Netziens. That is just one example. And yes, having to explain to my school what was going on, why, tracking down the sources, the potential of faulse police reports about me and someone trying to get me deported just before my wedding was "SO" stressful.
Also, I really doubt Andrew had anything in mind when he wrote this other than getting a few laughs. True. And that is why it is the Editor's job to weigh the benifit vs the cost of printing the article. I dont think that people are upset that he wrote it. I think they feel it shouldnt have been printed.
whether the article should or should not have been printed is one thing, but calling someone a shit head, without ever meeting the guy, is not nice.
Been googling your name, I see. Well, okay, you're probably right. I never met you, so I probably shouldn't have called you a shithead. You don't seem like a bad guy, at least judging by our mutual friends and that short-lived food blog you had. Still, questionable line in an English-language magazine, though.
Context sure matters. If this was a line that slipped through educational material, there would be no question.
Still given the seriousness with which Koreans treat even minor drug offenses and how it's one of the major stereotypes douche bags like Kang bludgeon all evil foreigners with, why lead any Koreans to believe stumbling around high late at night is part of our common experience? I don't see a problem with the ESL community maintaining a zero tolerance policy. We've seen half a dozen times all it takes is for one E2 type to fuk up and EVERYONE pays for it.
Brian you're right to get out the message Koreans freak out about drugs and it's not tolerated in the least in Korea.
Sorry, tom, you might have had an easier time at your school if your head teacher wasn't primed with the stereotype of the druggy slacker teacher. However, did she come armed with that expectation?
Still given the seriousness with which Koreans treat even minor drug offenses
Puffin Watch, I agree with most of what you're saying, but I think it is wrong to place any onus of blame on Koreans for holding such attitudes. As I wrote at Roboseyo, it seems to me that most of the population of North America lives in places where marijuana possession or distribution is still a jailable offense, depending on the amount.
Why should Koreans treat it as "minor" when many Americans and Canadians don't feel all that differently about it? And the Japanese authorities are just as rigid about pot as Koreans are. In California we will be able to vote in November to legalize pot, and "M" (from Kansai) is adamant that I must vote NO!
It all comes down to this (and we're clearly both in agreement, it seems, Puffin Watch): If you can't go without pot for the duration of your contract, don't come.
WORD VERIFICATION: ousthiro, a movement that doesn't bode well for Hiro on "Heroes."
I disagree that USA/Canada culture treats minor pot usage as a serious offense. Certainly in many parts in the USA there are zero tolerance drug policies but pot usage is celebrated in media (the stoner character is a well loved comic foil) and there are active political groups seeking legalization or at least decriminalization. In Canada, being caught with pot is no more serious than parking on the wrong side of the street.
Koreans, of course, should not treat it as minor. They have every right to define drug use culturally and legally as they see fit. So no, I'm not placing any onus on Koreans for not being hip to mary jane.
It all comes down to this (and we're clearly both in agreement, it seems, Puffin Watch): If you can't go without pot for the duration of your contract, don't come.
100%. I don't care what you do back in BC but Koreans won't treat it with a slap on the wrist as many communities in, at least Canada, do. And being arrested for pot in Korea tarnishes all teachers. Hence back to my original point that even if Brian appears harsh on the writer, he's entirely right that it's important to underscore Koreans don't take pot lightly and all teachers will pay.
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