South Koreans Struggle With Race

[NERVUN]

Kind of a long article, so I'm just going to post a link instead of the article itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world ... ted=2&_r=1

I have a question though, Both Japan and South Korea have a cherished notion about being a homogeneous nation (Clearly false) that allows some of the wing-nuts to make some rather outrageous remarks and claims about the dangers of letting in foreigners. But in the article, you have the claim that

“Our ethnic homogeneity is a blessing,” said one of the critics, Lee Sung-bok, a bricklayer who said his job was threatened by migrant workers. “If they keep flooding in, who can guarantee our country won’t be torn apart by ethnic war as in Sri Lanka?”

In Japan, there has been actual claims by some high muckety mucks that the current strife in the US shows that a mixed culture/race nation can never truly thrive, and will tear itself apart sooner or later.

So what does NSG think? Does having a salad bowl (or melting pot, pick your own metaphor) culture weaken a country, or does it make it stronger?

[Mad hatters in jeans]

to begin with it will suffer many problems, give it a couple of hundred years and the country will be stronger for it. i suppose it depends if you look for long term solutions or short term solutions.

[Sarkhaan]

Kind of a long article, so I'm just going to post a link instead of the article itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world ... ted=2&_r=1

I have a question though, Both Japan and South Korea have a cherished notion about being a homogeneous nation (Clearly false) that allows some of the wing-nuts to make some rather outrageous remarks and claims about the dangers of letting in foreigners. But in the article, you have the claim that

“Our ethnic homogeneity is a blessing,” said one of the critics, Lee Sung-bok, a bricklayer who said his job was threatened by migrant workers. “If they keep flooding in, who can guarantee our country won’t be torn apart by ethnic war as in Sri Lanka?”

In Japan, there has been actual claims by some high muckety mucks that the current strife in the US shows that a mixed culture/race nation can never truly thrive, and will tear itself apart sooner or later.

So what does NSG think? Does having a salad bowl (or melting pot, pick your own metaphor) weaken a country, or does it make it stronger?

Can do either, both, or neither. In the case of the US, where a mythology was developed and few were actually native, it was a benefit. In some other countries, where arbitrary lines were drawn (Rwanda comes to mind), it was disasterous because one group was favored, then the other group given power.

To be successful, the groups need to see less of an "us vs. them", and more of a "citizen of X country"

[Arumdaum]

I'm moving to South Korea in a few months. I already knew there was some stupid nationalism going arond. And that's stupid. Ethnic homogeneity isn't a blessing, and people of different ethnic groups are awesome. I'm Korean, and I think Japanese and Chinese people are awesome.

[Weylara]

Obviously you've got the racial distrust, but time heals all wounds. Then again, on the other hand you have human nature. 'Nuff said?

[RightLeaningChristians]

Weaker in my opinion.

[Arumdaum]

Obviously you've got the racial distrust, but time heals all wounds. Then again, on the other hand you have human nature. 'Nuff said?

What? I don't have racial distrust. I don't have racial distrust for anybody, that is retarded, a multi-cultured place is the best.

[NERVUN]

to begin with it will suffer many problems, give it a couple of hundred years and the country will be stronger for it. i suppose it depends if you look for long term solutions or short term solutions.

I'd assume long term. I don't think I've ever heard of a country that was founded on the idea that it was only going to be around for a few years, then they were going to pack it up and move on to the next best thing.

[NERVUN]

Kind of a long article, so I'm just going to post a link instead of the article itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world ... ted=2&_r=1

I have a question though, Both Japan and South Korea have a cherished notion about being a homogeneous nation (Clearly false) that allows some of the wing-nuts to make some rather outrageous remarks and claims about the dangers of letting in foreigners. But in the article, you have the claim that

“Our ethnic homogeneity is a blessing,” said one of the critics, Lee Sung-bok, a bricklayer who said his job was threatened by migrant workers. “If they keep flooding in, who can guarantee our country won’t be torn apart by ethnic war as in Sri Lanka?”

In Japan, there has been actual claims by some high muckety mucks that the current strife in the US shows that a mixed culture/race nation can never truly thrive, and will tear itself apart sooner or later.

So what does NSG think? Does having a salad bowl (or melting pot, pick your own metaphor) weaken a country, or does it make it stronger?

Can do either, both, or neither. In the case of the US, where a mythology was developed and few were actually native, it was a benefit. In some other countries, where arbitrary lines were drawn (Rwanda comes to mind), it was disasterous because one group was favored, then the other group given power.

To be successful, the groups need to see less of an "us vs. them", and more of a "citizen of X country"

In general though, all things being equal I mean?

[NERVUN]

Weaker in my opinion.

Why?

[RightLeaningChristians]

Weaker in my opinion.

Why?

Having lived in a few different communities. I found the ones that were nearly all one race to be more community minded.

[Lackadaisical2]

Weaker in my opinion.

Why?

I agree with him. For the simple reason that it introduces problems without any actual benefits. I'm not sure that having people of different races around actually helps people get over racism, it could just as easily do the opposite.

[Israslovakahzerbajan]

Ironic for a place where the South mooches off The US military and the North lives off of Chinese/Russian donations.

[Sarkhaan]

Kind of a long article, so I'm just going to post a link instead of the article itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world ... ted=2&_r=1

I have a question though, Both Japan and South Korea have a cherished notion about being a homogeneous nation (Clearly false) that allows some of the wing-nuts to make some rather outrageous remarks and claims about the dangers of letting in foreigners. But in the article, you have the claim that

“Our ethnic homogeneity is a blessing,” said one of the critics, Lee Sung-bok, a bricklayer who said his job was threatened by migrant workers. “If they keep flooding in, who can guarantee our country won’t be torn apart by ethnic war as in Sri Lanka?”

In Japan, there has been actual claims by some high muckety mucks that the current strife in the US shows that a mixed culture/race nation can never truly thrive, and will tear itself apart sooner or later.

So what does NSG think? Does having a salad bowl (or melting pot, pick your own metaphor) weaken a country, or does it make it stronger?

Can do either, both, or neither. In the case of the US, where a mythology was developed and few were actually native, it was a benefit. In some other countries, where arbitrary lines were drawn (Rwanda comes to mind), it was disasterous because one group was favored, then the other group given power.

To be successful, the groups need to see less of an "us vs. them", and more of a "citizen of X country"

In general though, all things being equal I mean?

In general? Positive. A) a multicultural society tends to be more tolerant, less afraid, and more willing to experience new things. This provides for new experiences, which in turn become new inspiration, which can become new advances. B) a multicultural society is one in which others wish to belong. C) Different cultures tackle problems in different ways. It is good to have someone from a rigid, logical society work with someone from a spontaneous, creative society to see new and different ways to solve a problem effectively.

[Svenen (Ancient)]

Why not declare a new federal republic out of Japan/China/Korea, respecting the governments of each nation, and make up a bunch of evidence demonstrating Chinese/Japanese/Koreans to be the same race?

[NERVUN]

Weaker in my opinion.

Why?

I agree with him. For the simple reason that it introduces problems without any actual benefits. I'm not sure that having people of different races around actually helps people get over racism, it could just as easily do the opposite.

Really? I think that having different cultures and races at hand leads to a lot of benefits. It's harder to hate what you actually know, and then there's the different foods and customs that come too.

[NERVUN]

Why not declare a new federal republic out of Japan/China/Korea, respecting the governments of each nation, and make up a bunch of evidence demonstrating Chinese/Japanese/Koreans to be the same race?

That'd probably touch off a repeat of the Pacific side of WWII.

[Arumdaum]

Why not declare a new federal republic out of Japan/China/Korea, respecting the governments of each nation, and make up a bunch of evidence demonstrating Chinese/Japanese/Koreans to be the same race?

You can obviously tell who is Chinese, Korean, or Japanese usually by how they look like.

[Svenen (Ancient)]

That'd probably touch off a repeat of the Pacific side of WWII.

United States started that when it put it's nose in the Sino-Japanese war.

You can obviously tell who is Chinese, Korean, or Japanese usually by how they look like.

Plastic surgery, gene therapy, will "fix" that. And make them supermen. For the Emperor. For Communism. For Korea.

[Dododecapod]

It depends. When immigrants are welcomed, encouraged to become part of the larger community and give the good things of their old lives a new life in a new land, both immigrant and native gain strength through broadness of mind and unity of will.

But when immigrants are ghettoized by the greater community, interaction and intermarriage is not encouraged, and an "us and them" approach is taken, then there is no unity, only narrowness of vision, and ultimately what could have been bonds of strength become lines of fracture and failure.

The US has epitomized the first system, but also shown the dangers when it DOESN"T work, as with Blacks and Amerindians.

[The Movie of the Book]

Obviously you've got the racial distrust, but time heals all wounds. Then again, on the other hand you have human nature. 'Nuff said?

What? I don't have racial distrust. I don't have racial distrust for anybody, that is retarded, a multi-cultured place is the best.

On what basis do you declare a multi-cultural place as the best of all places?

[Arumdaum]

I used to believe this stuff last year. I can't believe how stupid I was. I hated Chinese and Japanese, and wanted to bring the whole world under Korean control and get rid of the Chinese and Japanese or assimilate them. I usually got the best grades in class, so people asked me, "Why are you so smart?" and I would reply, "Because I'm Korean. Also the average Korean is smarter than me and they are the smartest people in the world." I also said that, "There is no such thing as a Japanese person." Also, I said that Japanese people are evil for trying to assimilate Korean culture and also that they suck in the navy because of them in the Imjin War such as the battle of Myeongyang and also that we should have nuked them more. I saw every Korean as someone who hated Japan and thought that if you liked it you were a traitor. Now here is an example of my random Korean nationalism last year, or an example of the story of when I was mentally disabled. watashiwa nihon suki desu. Is that right?

[Arumdaum]

Obviously you've got the racial distrust, but time heals all wounds. Then again, on the other hand you have human nature. 'Nuff said?

What? I don't have racial distrust. I don't have racial distrust for anybody, that is retarded, a multi-cultured place is the best.

On what basis do you declare a multi-cultural place as the best of all places?

I just meant that multi-culture is better than having only one culture and assimilating all others, because then the world is much more exciting and less racist. Also other cultures contribute to other cultures and the world progresses more.

[RightLeaningChristians]

I used to believe this stuff last year. I can't believe how stupid I was. I hated Chinese and Japanese, and wanted to bring the whole world under Korean control and get rid of the Chinese and Japanese or assimilate them. I usually got the best grades in class, so people asked me, "Why are you so smart?" and I would reply, "Because I'm Korean. Also the average Korean is smarter than me and they are the smartest people in the world." I also said that, "There is no such thing as a Japanese person." Also, I said that Japanese people are evil for trying to assimilate Korean culture and also that they suck in the navy because of them in the Imjin War and also that we should have nuked them more. I saw every Korean as someone who hated Japan and thought that if you liked it you were a traitor. Now here is an example of my random Korean nationalism last year, or an example of the story of when I was mentally disabled.

The WHOLE world?


Yeah, Mr. Stoner and I would have a problem with that.

[The Movie of the Book]

Obviously you've got the racial distrust, but time heals all wounds. Then again, on the other hand you have human nature. 'Nuff said?

What? I don't have racial distrust. I don't have racial distrust for anybody, that is retarded, a multi-cultured place is the best.

On what basis do you declare a multi-cultural place as the best of all places?

I just meant that multi-culture is better than having only one culture and assimilating all others, because then the world is much more exciting and less racist.

Except for scale, I'm not really seeing a difference between the two.