I am going to call inapproriate import of US culture on this. They really shouldnt have done that. Foreigner retards. Adhere to at least a modicum of Korean standards please. You make the rest of us look bad.
Matt, are you talking to me or 1994? I posted the picture b/c I saw the game on TV, and saw these guys, and figured that there's a good chance they're a reader. Sure enough, they're a friend of a reader, and they hadn't known they were on the internet news.
Yeah, it's . . . weird behavior, but "standards" is relative. Hell, you've got damn cheerleaders in microskirts at the game, if you wanna talk about dancers.
If they had run on the field it would have been a different story.
I'm a Canadian, jerk. There are also two more Canadians and an Aussie in that picture.
Don't think it didn't occur to us throughout the ordeal that we were being slightly inappropriate. The whole time we were there I kept thinking to myself "is this offending people"? Had you actually been there at the game, or watched it on TV, you would have realized it wasn't the case in the least. The people went nuts, they absolutely loved it. We did a lap of the stadium at the behest of a group of Korean Kia fans sitting in our section and as we passed through all of the sections people stood up and cheered like crazy. People high-fived us, stopped us to get their pictures taken with them, gave us shots of soju and pieces of chicken. They pulled us on top of the Kia dugout to lead the cheer with the cheerleaders for awhile. It was an amazing atmosphere and experience. I've been a baseball player and fan my entire life and they appreciated the fact that we were going all out for the Tigers. Sure, I got the odd sideways glare, and it admittedly wasn't the classiest thing in the world. But it was harmless fun and the people seemed to genuinely enjoy it. Maybe next time don't resort to childish insults without the slightest clue as to what actually happened because you assume internet anonymity.
I dont see anything wrong with what they did (the mood there is festive and they seem to enjoy it anyway, so good for them), in the same way that i dont see anything wrong having their photos taken and posted in internet news. No big deal. Perfectly normal
Yes, sir, you are. I don't think it was a childish comment. You just need to learn how to act in Korean society. I'll bet you can't even speak Korean. Look, son, Koreans don't body paint and go to the game, so you shouldn't either. So the Koreans enjoyed your little show and had you do a few tricks for a few scooby snacks...great. After your little show, the Korean people all thought you were even more different than them than they originally thought. Try to adhere to Korean behavioral standards (the good ones). Learn about Korea; it's where you live. Hello? Question of the day: How can you tell if a large group at a bar or restaurant is Canadian? There will be 15 white people d only one Korean (someone's girlfriend).
Lol. Let's be realistic 1994 no one cares what the Koreans think about them just as a general rule. In the grand scheme of things a year abroad is just that a single year in a lifetime from which one adds a bit of class and experience. Why would anyone in their right mind want to adhere to Korean social norms if they weren't Korean?
Judy Garland once said " Better to be a first rate version of yourself than a second rate version of someone else." Frankly I can't help but think that this monochrome monolithic society could do with some harmless antics from the waygooks. They constantly tout how they want to be part of the global community and bring parts of that community to Korea to live so they might as well experience the time honored traditions of Western Athletic revelry.
These gentlemen, all of whom I know, were expressing appreciation for a Korean event in their own way. Leave it alone or if you can't leave it alone don't compare them to dogs doing tricks. It's called multiculturalism. None of us will ever be Korean so the best we can do is remain true to our own cultures and respectful of theirs. Painting yourself at a baseball game in Korea is peculiar yes but disrespectful no. This stands in marked contrast to your own comments which are all too predictable and unfortunately disrespectful. Maybe Korean bluntness has rubbed off on you.
Eikon, Nice comment and very well thought out. A year abroad is a nice thing to have, but consider the long-term expats here. We all get lumped in together. A bunch of foreigners going against the grain, no matter how well recieved, reflects upon all of us. It reinforces the sterotype that foreigners don't understand Korea. When it is at a stadium in Gwangju, that reflects poorly on foreigners in Kwangju. Now, it has national exposure, and it reflects poorly on us at a national scale. No Korea will see this as embraces korean culture. They came across as oddities, if I may be so bold, sir. There is no mulitculturalism here sir. Korea is (as the French used to say) mulitethnic, unicultural. "Why would anyone in their right mind want to adhere to Korean social norms if they weren't Korean?" Maybe it is just me, but I think if you want to be apart of Korea, learn the language, customs, culture, mannerisms and try to fit in that way. Maybe then Koreans will see you as being similar to them. I cannot tell you the number of times that Koreans have said to me something along the lines of "You act so Korean" or "You are just like a Korean". Of course I never know whether to say thank you or smack them in the face. Please dont be one of these people who goes back to your country after a year not being able to have a conversation about Korea past what YOU did and what happened to YOU.
(I find the Judy Garland quote as rather ironic in that, by allowing the movie studio to hook her on narcotics to help her lose weight for the Wizard of Oz, that she actually became a second-rate version of herself.)
Oh, sorry. Didn't know you were gay, Alex (see picture). Didn't mean any comment toward you to be construed as anti-homosexual. http://whitelightwhiteheatwhitetrash.blogspot.com/
I was referring to 1994's post. I really don't see what the big deal is.
Non-Koreans can't have fun at the ballpark and support their team?
Fine, so they took their shirts off and painted letters on their chests. So what? I think the locals would be thrilled that non-Koreans are enjoying the local product.
Not appropriate? You have a group of guys doing something silly to support a team. That sounds awfully Korean to me. I don't see the difference between wearing a silly mask and painting a letter on someone's chest.
Especially given the reaction of the locals. No one told them to put their shirts on. If anything, I could see this being something the locals would rather enjoy and it sounds like they did.
Is there anything non-Koreans do that you DON'T disapprove of? I mean, other than studying Korean and pretending to act Korean.
You are skirting the question. Do Koreans take their shirts off and body paint for games? No, they do not. So foreigners shouldnt either. If a monkey was doing tricks in a zoo, Koreans would applaud as well. If the monkey gives high fives, Koreans would high five the monkey. You cant win the arguement on Koreans enjoyed the freak show.
@1994: "Do Koreans take their shirts off and body paint for games? No, they do not. So foreigners shouldnt either. "
You're right, of course. We should all take our cues from the Korean fans around us. So, next time I go to a game, I'll stock up on soju and anju so I can get fucking RIPPED in the stands and act like a loud-mouthed asshole for the entire game.
You guys are a bunch of dicks who would argue anything. I dont care to win the arguement, but you guys are just wrong. This is why Koreans see English teachers as losers. There is a partial truth in it. Much in the same way that people can pick out beautiful women in other races, Koreans an pick out the foreign losers here.
"You guys are a bunch of dicks who would argue anything."
This is the greatest sentence ever written. Seriously. This from the same guy who used phrases like, "Foreigner retards" and refuses to admit that no one at the game actually cared whether they did this or not.
"I dont care to win the arguement, but you guys are just wrong."
This is facebook material. Why are we wrong? No one was injured and I guarantee you are reading more into this than any Korean that was actually in attendence did.
"This is why Koreans see English teachers as losers."
Because a group of guys took their shirts off at a baseball game? What does that have to do with teaching English? I don't know what life is like for you, but I usually get thanked for helping Koreans with English. The only people that call me a loser are assholes like you.
"There is a partial truth in it."
So, partial truth, what percentage of lie and truth is that precisely? 50/50? 25/75?
"Much in the same way that people can pick out beautiful women in other races, Koreans an pick out the foreign losers here."
Fuck the heck? Koreans can't pick out beautiful women? I always thought all foreigners looked alike to Koreans. I can just see them standing around downtown Daegu. "Loser. Loser. He's cool. Big Loser. Loser. Maybe cool. Loser."
I still think you've gone waaaaaay overboard in with your reaction. Having a bad week at work?
27 comments:
I am going to call inapproriate import of US culture on this. They really shouldnt have done that. Foreigner retards. Adhere to at least a modicum of Korean standards please. You make the rest of us look bad.
What's the big deal?
@1994
Korean standards?
Man, I have no idea what you're talking about.
Matt, are you talking to me or 1994? I posted the picture b/c I saw the game on TV, and saw these guys, and figured that there's a good chance they're a reader. Sure enough, they're a friend of a reader, and they hadn't known they were on the internet news.
Yeah, it's . . . weird behavior, but "standards" is relative. Hell, you've got damn cheerleaders in microskirts at the game, if you wanna talk about dancers.
If they had run on the field it would have been a different story.
@ 1994.
I'm a Canadian, jerk. There are also two more Canadians and an Aussie in that picture.
Don't think it didn't occur to us throughout the ordeal that we were being slightly inappropriate. The whole time we were there I kept thinking to myself "is this offending people"? Had you actually been there at the game, or watched it on TV, you would have realized it wasn't the case in the least. The people went nuts, they absolutely loved it. We did a lap of the stadium at the behest of a group of Korean Kia fans sitting in our section and as we passed through all of the sections people stood up and cheered like crazy. People high-fived us, stopped us to get their pictures taken with them, gave us shots of soju and pieces of chicken. They pulled us on top of the Kia dugout to lead the cheer with the cheerleaders for awhile. It was an amazing atmosphere and experience. I've been a baseball player and fan my entire life and they appreciated the fact that we were going all out for the Tigers. Sure, I got the odd sideways glare, and it admittedly wasn't the classiest thing in the world. But it was harmless fun and the people seemed to genuinely enjoy it. Maybe next time don't resort to childish insults without the slightest clue as to what actually happened because you assume internet anonymity.
I dont see anything wrong with what they did (the mood there is festive and they seem to enjoy it anyway, so good for them), in the same way that i dont see anything wrong having their photos taken and posted in internet news. No big deal. Perfectly normal
@ Alex:
"I'm a Canadian jerk".
Yes, sir, you are. I don't think it was a childish comment. You just need to learn how to act in Korean society. I'll bet you can't even speak Korean.
Look, son, Koreans don't body paint and go to the game, so you shouldn't either. So the Koreans enjoyed your little show and had you do a few tricks for a few scooby snacks...great. After your little show, the Korean people all thought you were even more different than them than they originally thought.
Try to adhere to Korean behavioral standards (the good ones). Learn about Korea; it's where you live. Hello?
Question of the day: How can you tell if a large group at a bar or restaurant is Canadian? There will be 15 white people d only one Korean (someone's girlfriend).
Lol. Let's be realistic 1994 no one cares what the Koreans think about them just as a general rule. In the grand scheme of things a year abroad is just that a single year in a lifetime from which one adds a bit of class and experience. Why would anyone in their right mind want to adhere to Korean social norms if they weren't Korean?
Judy Garland once said " Better to be a first rate version of yourself than a second rate version of someone else." Frankly I can't help but think that this monochrome monolithic society could do with some harmless antics from the waygooks. They constantly tout how they want to be part of the global community and bring parts of that community to Korea to live so they might as well experience the time honored traditions of Western Athletic revelry.
These gentlemen, all of whom I know, were expressing appreciation for a Korean event in their own way. Leave it alone or if you can't leave it alone don't compare them to dogs doing tricks. It's called multiculturalism. None of us will ever be Korean so the best we can do is remain true to our own cultures and respectful of theirs. Painting yourself at a baseball game in Korea is peculiar yes but disrespectful no. This stands in marked contrast to your own comments which are all too predictable and unfortunately disrespectful. Maybe Korean bluntness has rubbed off on you.
Eikon,
Nice comment and very well thought out. A year abroad is a nice thing to have, but consider the long-term expats here. We all get lumped in together. A bunch of foreigners going against the grain, no matter how well recieved, reflects upon all of us. It reinforces the sterotype that foreigners don't understand Korea. When it is at a stadium in Gwangju, that reflects poorly on foreigners in Kwangju. Now, it has national exposure, and it reflects poorly on us at a national scale. No Korea will see this as embraces korean culture. They came across as oddities, if I may be so bold, sir.
There is no mulitculturalism here sir. Korea is (as the French used to say) mulitethnic, unicultural.
"Why would anyone in their right mind want to adhere to Korean social norms if they weren't Korean?"
Maybe it is just me, but I think if you want to be apart of Korea, learn the language, customs, culture, mannerisms and try to fit in that way. Maybe then Koreans will see you as being similar to them. I cannot tell you the number of times that Koreans have said to me something along the lines of "You act so Korean" or "You are just like a Korean". Of course I never know whether to say thank you or smack them in the face.
Please dont be one of these people who goes back to your country after a year not being able to have a conversation about Korea past what YOU did and what happened to YOU.
(I find the Judy Garland quote as rather ironic in that, by allowing the movie studio to hook her on narcotics to help her lose weight for the Wizard of Oz, that she actually became a second-rate version of herself.)
@ 1994
I think your comments speak for themselves. You're a unhappy, dismissive individual and you're not worth another wasted post. Good luck pal.
Ps, there's a comma in "I'm a Canadian, jerk" which denotes you as the jerk. I hope you're not an English teacher.
I didn't expect such a reaction to this post.
Keep it tame. First and last warning.
Oh, sorry. Didn't know you were gay, Alex (see picture). Didn't mean any comment toward you to be construed as anti-homosexual. http://whitelightwhiteheatwhitetrash.blogspot.com/
I was referring to 1994's post. I really don't see what the big deal is.
Non-Koreans can't have fun at the ballpark and support their team?
Fine, so they took their shirts off and painted letters on their chests. So what? I think the locals would be thrilled that non-Koreans are enjoying the local product.
Matt,
Do Koreans do that? No, they do not. Why not? Not appropriate.
Not appropriate? You have a group of guys doing something silly to support a team. That sounds awfully Korean to me. I don't see the difference between wearing a silly mask and painting a letter on someone's chest.
Especially given the reaction of the locals. No one told them to put their shirts on. If anything, I could see this being something the locals would rather enjoy and it sounds like they did.
Is there anything non-Koreans do that you DON'T disapprove of? I mean, other than studying Korean and pretending to act Korean.
You are skirting the question. Do Koreans take their shirts off and body paint for games? No, they do not. So foreigners shouldnt either. If a monkey was doing tricks in a zoo, Koreans would applaud as well. If the monkey gives high fives, Koreans would high five the monkey.
You cant win the arguement on Koreans enjoyed the freak show.
You are not understanding the uniqueness of Western baseball culture. Please respect our unique baseball culture.
I truly believe that 99.9% of Koreans really don't care what non-Koreans do. Even if they take their shirts off at a baseball game.
Koreans never take their shirts off at ballgames? What about this, erm, gentleman?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__2U0h8Bd764/SNnPussuETI/AAAAAAAAAL8/1SKOXrVyd7A/s1600-h/goodtime.jpg
@1994: "Do Koreans take their shirts off and body paint for games? No, they do not. So foreigners shouldnt either. "
You're right, of course. We should all take our cues from the Korean fans around us. So, next time I go to a game, I'll stock up on soju and anju so I can get fucking RIPPED in the stands and act like a loud-mouthed asshole for the entire game.
"Modicum of Korean standards"? You're an idiot.
@1994
"I'll bet you can't even speak Korean."
That's a pretty obnoxious thing to say.
Respecting the local culture doesn't necessarily have to mean behaving exactly like the locals.
You guys are a bunch of dicks who would argue anything. I dont care to win the arguement, but you guys are just wrong. This is why Koreans see English teachers as losers. There is a partial truth in it. Much in the same way that people can pick out beautiful women in other races, Koreans an pick out the foreign losers here.
"You guys are a bunch of dicks who would argue anything."
This is the greatest sentence ever written. Seriously. This from the same guy who used phrases like, "Foreigner retards" and refuses to admit that no one at the game actually cared whether they did this or not.
"I dont care to win the arguement, but you guys are just wrong."
This is facebook material. Why are we wrong? No one was injured and I guarantee you are reading more into this than any Korean that was actually in attendence did.
"This is why Koreans see English teachers as losers."
Because a group of guys took their shirts off at a baseball game? What does that have to do with teaching English? I don't know what life is like for you, but I usually get thanked for helping Koreans with English. The only people that call me a loser are assholes like you.
"There is a partial truth in it."
So, partial truth, what percentage of lie and truth is that precisely? 50/50? 25/75?
"Much in the same way that people can pick out beautiful women in other races, Koreans an pick out the foreign losers here."
Fuck the heck? Koreans can't pick out beautiful women? I always thought all foreigners looked alike to Koreans. I can just see them standing around downtown Daegu. "Loser. Loser. He's cool. Big Loser. Loser. Maybe cool. Loser."
I still think you've gone waaaaaay overboard in with your reaction. Having a bad week at work?
Matt,
Did you misinterpret my comments on purpose or are you just really really bad at reading comprehension?
Which comments were misinterpreted? You meant "foreign retards" as a compliment? Or was it "dicks"? Or maybe "losers" was meant to be praise?
So which one of your non-Korean coworkers upset you this week? Was it the big Canadian guy? Did he forget to bow when he said hello to the boss?
Which comments? The ones you quoted. You dont quite get it sometimes, do you? Have a friend who is smart point it out to you.
Is this the Korean way to have a discussion? I want to make sure I'm "adhering to a modicum of Korean standards."
So, it wasn't the big Canadian guy. It must've been the girl from Hojuland. She must've shown up to work wearing flip flops...again.
26 comments about a one-line, titleless post about some guys at a baseball game.
Game over.
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