http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world/asia/02race.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
I suppose South Korea is facing the the kind of social issues that Western nations faced decades ago. Difference is Western nations confronted them from a position of strength and guilt. They were the richest/most powerful countries in the world--and confident and conscientious enough to come to terms with their 'historical crimes'. South Korea is now a developed country but has always been politically weak--subservient to Imperial China, invaded by Mongols and Manchus, occupied by Japan, and then wedded to great powers like USSR, Red China, or the USA. So, Koreans may still feel that they are a colonized people in some sense despite their recent successes. (Japanese also feel this way to some degree: their country had been under Western imperialist intimidation and/or domination since Matthew Perry's ships arrived.) Also, Koreans are less likely to feel guilt as they've never conquered and/or enslaved other peoples, nor had a sizable enough minority in their midst--like blacks in the US or Jews in Poland. Even when they are nasty and vicious, Koreans may see everything through prism of victimhood and powerlessness. In this sense, they share something with blacks and Jews who' vea lways insisted on their victimhood and suffering--even when blacks burn down cities or even when Jews raze Palestinian homes. But, the difference between Koreans and Jews/blacks is that Korean problems are limited to Korea whereas black and Jewish politics and agenda have global import and repercussions.
On the other hand, it could well be that Korea might follow in the footsteps of the West. The article suggests a generational conflict between older people who knew and grew up in a homogeneous Korea and a younger generation hooked to globalism via internet and pop music. Of course, there could be conflicts among young people too: the prosperous globe-trotting liberal/intellectual/yuppie types and those who've fallen through the cracks and feel resentful about having to compete with 'dirty' foreigners.
Koreans, like the Chinese and Indians, send many of their students to the West. This means that the educated elite in South Korea will come under greater influence of 'multi-culturalism' and 'progressive' ideas. They may be more eager to please and win respect from foreigners than be sensitive to the passions and prejudices of their own people. Since East Asians are followers than innovators, their social policies may well follow the Western model for both good and ill. A more tolerant and open-minded society is certainly better, but when the DIVERSITY CULT takes over, big trouble ahead.
The article suggests that Koreans aren't necessarily against race-mixing but have mixed feelings about it. They feel superior to some races, inferior to others. They feel resentful toward the 'superior', contemptuous toward the 'inferior'.
Or, maybe the main issue isn't racial superiority/inferiority but racial comfort. Perhaps, for many insecure or anxious Korean people, their Korean identity is all they have--their country isn't just a nation-state but more like a big family living in one big house in which foreigners can only be bothersome guests if they stick around too long. Since Korean society/culture is all they know, many Koreans could be annoyed and threatened by having to deal with funny, strange, and/or weird foreigners(who don't know the rules inculcated in all Koreans from childhood). In the non-individualist East, one can(or must) lose oneself in the larger culture/crowd. When a unified and common culture--as in Korea or Japan--dissipates, one is surrounded by cultural strangers and forced to assert oneself individually--like people in NY or LA. Problem is East Asians were not raised to think or act that way. Some cultures are more comfortable with individuality; others are not. For a people accustomed to a stricter sense of social place, decorum, and hierarchy, the prospect of a society where people must be judged as individuals for his/her wit, personality, and talent may be distressing. Sheep don't want to forced to behave like wolves. In MERRY X-MAS MR LAWRENCE, Tom Conti says Japanese went crazy because they are an 'anxious people'. Maybe, Koreans too.
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Problems of Korean Birthrates:
South Korea, CIA, 2000: 1.72 per woman.
South Korea, CIA, 2008: 1.20 per woman.
This is alarmingly low even by Western standards. Could this be the paradoxical product of Korea CHANGING TOO FAST but NOT FAST ENOUGH?
Consider that in a very short historical time period, young Koreans entered the modern world with all the promise of freedom, pleasure, fun, and so forth and so on. They are hooked to American movies, global youth culture, internet, videogames, comic book culture, rock n roll, the ideals of individuualism/freedom/liberty, and etc. They are taught all the correctly progressive things in schools, and things they see on TV and internet indicate they should fully be in the modern world. In this sense, Korea has changed TOO FAST.
But, maybe the wider/deeper Korean social reality isn't what Koreans--especially young people--have been promised by popular culture and progressive education. It hasn't changed fast enough to accommodate the new attitudes and expectations of young Koreans. Maybe, much of Korean society is still rigid, regressive, judgmental, conformist, and intolerant. And, maybe this aspect of Koreanness is most potent and powerful in the culture of marriage: maybe, a young person(especially a girl)has to give up her freedoms and liberty and play second-fiddle to her husband and kiss ass with the in-laws. Suppose some marriages are still de facto arranged. Then, no wonder that many young Koreans don't marry. (Could be the same too in Japan). Well, what about single-mothers? Could be that in a society where a great stigma is attached to having children out-of-wedlock, single-motherhood simply isn't an option for most women. South Korea could be a nation where societal pressure strongly discourages any woman from having kids on her own--unlike in Sweden or in the US. If single-motherhood were more permissible in Japan or Korea, maybe birthrates would be higher.
Also, it could be that Korean men are still louts--even the young ones. In the past, it could be that many women married and had kids because of social tradition and pressure. But, Korea CHANGED TOO FAST, and maybe young men and women now have the freedom to do as they wish. This freedom remains AS LONG AS one doesn't enter into institutional arrangements. In the US or Europe, one is a free individual even after marriage; one has more responsibilties but retains all the legal and social rights and privileges. It could be that one loses a lot of those rights and privileges formally or informally in Asia.
Since there is much less social pressure for girls to get married and raise a family today, many Korean women may prefer to remain free individuals than unfree wives. Better to be lonely and free than married and enslaved.
Besides, with all the electronic gadgets and entertainment, even unwed people can have lots of fun. (Could it be that one of the obstacles to higher birthrates in Asia is that the reality on the ground is so far removed from what Asians have come to desire in their eyes, hearts, and minds? The discrepancy between fantasy ideal and bio-social reality is surely more painfully obvious in Asia--and could also account for the low East Asian birthrates in America. In the West, if a guy can't marry a Cindy Crawford-type, he may still be able to find a decent looking woman on the level of Jennifer Aniston. Or, a woman who can't marry a Daniel Craig-type can still find a good enough looking guy--tall and manly enough if not exactly dropdead gorgeous. But, in Asia, few men or women measure up to the tall and glamorous caucasian types so prevalent in Hollywood movies and American pop culture that dominate global culture. Asian men tend to be short, and Asian women tend to be lumpy. This may not matter if Asians didn't have a culture of excellence and ambition--rising higher always means being more discriminatory; Harvard, for all its professed egalitarian ideals, discriminates in favor of smart/industrious over dumb/lazy people. After all, short stubby Mexicans are happy to marry other short stubby Mexicans and have lots of kids. But, Asian society is very hierarchical and status-conscious, and Asian youths are encouraged to rise up socially and improve themselves through better jobs, higher positions, respectable friends and colleagues, and quality mates--in other words, being more discriminatory. When Asia had been less affected by Western culture, even an Asian guy could look studly to an Asian girl, and even an Asian girl could look sexy to an Asian guy. But today, both Asian men and women are gaga over the Western ideal--consider the rates of plastic surgery in South Korea(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFfz3YFxi9s & Hong Kong women getting impregnated with Nordic sperm as they prefer the Eurasian look over the short Cantonese geeky look. Since more Asians than ever have risen socio-economically, expect and desire higher standards, and can afford to hook themselves to the daily stream of global entertainment imagery and fantasies, what was good enough for their grandparents and parents may not be good enough for themselves. Jews are no less ambitious and always seeking to improve their lot through higher success and quality friends and mates, but Jews are clever enough to act as though--at least in public--that they are all for eglitarianianism and progressive virtues. In practice, most Jews are no different than 'racist' or racialist Asians, but in rhetoric--as the NY Times pieces proves--, Jews are more likely to put on a good show about the brotherhood/sisterhood of men and women; I doubt if NY Times is as judgmental about Zionist chauvinism in US/Israel nor about Jewish groups caling for Jews-marrying-Jews.
The main difference between South Koreans and Jews could be the former are blunt about their prejudices whereas the latter conceal their biases under the veneer of 'social justice' and equality. But, look around and the MOST UNEQUAL people in the world are the Jews! Another thing... maybe marriage/birth rates have gone down in Asia because the rise of individual freedom & modern atomization has weakened traditional matchmaking networks via relatives, friends, work place, etc. The problem could be that even as Asians are freer than ever to choose on their own, they are still relatively shy and timid and don't have the gall or balls to seek mates openly and assertively as people in the West do. Asians could be caught in a no-man's land of individual freedom but lack of individual initiative. They are now free to choose their own mates but don't have the confidence to go-for-it.)
For more Korean to choose marriage, Korean society-at-large will have to catch up with Korean society-in-the-lead. Koreans rapidly gained freedom but can't use it functionally in much of their country. It's like making a lot of money too fast but not having the shops that sell what you want. More money for less spending. More freedom to do nothing.
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NYT article is like so many I've read before.This is less reporting or uncovering something new than regurgitating the same old--mostly liberal Judeo-centric--warnings, pieties, and judgements. A similar article on Poland will invariably be about anti-semitism and how Poles have yet to be good boys and girls. If it's about East Asia or the Middle East, we get the same sermons about 'xenophobia', 'racism', and 'sexism'. These articles tell us little about another culture beyond what OUR main political and sociological hang-ups--shaped by liberal Jewish media--tend to be at the moment. We are supposed to feel glibly superior to those backward people or be warned that we must not slip back to the BAD OLD DAYS when we were like nasty Asians,Eastern Europeans, or Muslims today. I'm not one to disagree that there's a lot of unpleasant things in the non-Western world, but I can't help feeling that international reporting often amounts to little more than EDITORIALIZING BY OTHER MEANS.
After all, why don't these liberal newspapers report equally on problems of homogenophobia, asexism, and interracism? Homogenophobia would be the opposite of xenophobia: irrational fear or dread of wanting to maintain a largely homogenecous/cohesive society. The result? Look at the social ills of Paris, London, and LA. Homogenophobia can destroy entire cities. Asexism would be the opposite of sexism: the belief that there are no meaningful differences between sexes other than socially or culturally constructed ones--'gender' variables. Some good asexism has done to the birthrates in the advanced world! Some good it has done to the relationship between men and women! Interracism is the idea that races are improved by extensive race-mixing. So, is Peru or Brazil a more pleasant or stable place than Japan or Sweden?
NY Times and liberal media report on the evils, dangers, or unpleasantries of racism, sexism, and xenophobia but little on the worse dangers of interracism, asexism, and homogenophobia. Why? Because it is in the interest of liberal Jews to support interracism, asexism, and homogenophobia for the purpose of increasing and securing Jewish power. Jews, as a powerful and wealthy minority elite, don't want to be confronted by a unified people of race or culture. Homogenophobia means more immigration from third world countries, interracism means more race mixing to the point where white race will no longer distinctly exist(no distinct race, then no racial identity nor pride), and asexism means that white men and white women will not play their proper roles for the purpose of raising more children in strong patriotic families. Asexism will drive a wedge between men and women, with both groups comprising selfish atomized individuals.
I'm sick of these international news coverages that do little more than give us pat summaries and contain the same old same old smug assumptions about the 'less advanced and progressive' folks around the world. A Polish friend of mine has long complained about the coverage of Polish society and affairs. From reading American Newspapers, you'd think there is no Polish history, people, society, and culture except one associated with antisemitism, the Holocaust, and Jewish anguish and interests. It's Judeocentrism gone wild. And, all the blame is always on Poles, never on Jews. There's no mention of many Polish Jews having collaborated with Soviet invaders in the eastern part of Poland in 1939. Little mention of high representation of Jews in the Polish communist party after WWII. Worse, there's very little mention of how Poles fought bravely and suffered terribly in WWII.
A sign of good reporting would be a sincere effort to understand another culture and see where it's coming from. Understanding is not the same as agreeing or condoning. When an article contains more self-righteous judgment than understanding, it is lazy editorializing than quality journalism. Besides, I thought multiculturalism is supposed to be anti-Eurocentric! Yet, the NYT piece passes moral judgment on another culture based on the latest Western values.
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I have a sneaking suspicion that NYT is just sharpening their ideological knife on S. Korea as a preparation for a bigger assault on China. Many liberal Jews may see China as South Korea on steroids. China is also largely homogeneous, an economic giant growing bigger by the day, nationalistic, 'xenophogic', chauvinistic, male-dominated(despite decades of communist orthodoxy), and a challenge to the liberal Jewish global order. Not only is China much bigger than South Korea, it is politically independent.
However South Koreans may feel about Americans, they must know that without US presence in the region as an impartial and generally fair-minded peace-keeper, South Korea will be sandwiched by a non-democratic China with no respect for human rights and a potentially re-militarized Japan which still hasn't face up to its imperialist and war-time deeds. One could argue that the 20th century was an anomaly in Korea's history. Traditionally, for 1000s of yrs, it had been a tributary state of China--albeit more harmonious in this role than Vietnam, which was often at war with China. This changed in the 20th century, with Japan becoming the major foreign power and presence for Koreans in the first half of the century. In the second half of the century, the northern part of Korea became close to USSR while the southern part became close to the US.
One could argue that Koreans--at least those in the South--never achieved so much economically, socially, and politically(even a working democracy)as under the protection and guidance of the USA in this period. If Chinese power grows and grows and if US withdraws from its 'empire', Korea will return to its traditional role as a tributary state of China.
And, if Chinese economy keeps developing, Korean companies--auto, cell phones, electronics, computer parts, etc--won't be able to stay ahead of the game. Korean economy will be subsumed into the Chinese, and Koreans will have to play ball with the Chinese to survive. If Japan will have decisive technological and scientific edge over the Chinese for the forseeable future, it's possible that China will overtake Korean technological edge in 10-20 yrs.
So, critiquing the problems of Korea could really be a roundabout way of bringing attention to the social ills of and ideological problems posed by China. If South Korea, a nation of 45 million is such an unpleasant place despite the wealth it has accumulated, think of the nasty horrors of BIG CHINA whose main ambition is not only to become a giant economic version of Korea, Taiwan, or Singapore but even to become a superpower.
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"Today, the mix of envy and loathing of the West, especially of white Americans, is apparent in daily life."
-- New York Times.
Isn't this a case of pot calling the kettle black? Indeed, the description just about sums about how liberal Jews--best exemplified by NY Times--feel about the White West or White America. Jewish ambivalence--admiration and malevolance--can also be gleaned in shows like MAD MEN. On the one hand, Jews have admired and desired the blonde Aryan or All-American types to have as friends, mates, role models, trophy partners and hirelings. But, Jews have also resented white gentiles for the history of anti-Jewishness, better looks and physicality, and golden boy aura & firm manly handshakes. Jews have also held whites in contempt for their lower intelligence. Just consider the average Jewish feelings about Sarah Palin; Jews have openly ridiculed her as a 'bimbot'. Plain-faced but smart Jewish women have especially been resentful of prettier but less intelligent 'shikses' being preferred by (especially Jewish)men of power/wealth.
So, it's rather funny that the liberal Jewish NY TIMES should be wagging its fingers at Asians for harboring mixed and frustrated feelings about white Westerners. With Jews, this sort of feeling has gone on for centuries and still hasn't abated; indeed it has only gotten worse. Jewish support of Barack Obama has less to do with 'social justice' and more to do with sticking it to the White Gentile for the sake of Jewish revenge and power.
Of course, if anyone wrote an article about Jews akin to the NY Times article on Asians, Jews would scream BLOODY ANTISEMTISM and do everything in their power to get the writer fired and blacklisted.
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