tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post7021730662957131700..comments2023-10-11T05:10:59.975-07:00Comments on kimchi-icecream: Who was President Roh Moo Hyun? Educating myself in order to understand Korea's grief . . .Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14403839433187045342noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-7475069568565365342009-05-29T21:17:29.413-07:002009-05-29T21:17:29.413-07:00I brought up "mad cow" because of the fact that hi...I brought up "mad cow" because of the fact that his suicide will be used to further the agendas of those who are preying off legitimate grief-stricken mourners, and it is still fresh in our collective memories.<br /><br />I saw this agenda first-hand yesterday, as the only person in my place of business watching the funeral live off the internet was pushing his leanings off on impressionable children. These kids don't know that their teacher (who has no problem beating the crap out of them when they don't do their homework) was incarcerated for a crime he committed in his youth and is quite upset about his lot in life now and blames much of it on the system and is for an overthrowing of it. <br /><br />I know how everyone pretty much wants everything (including change) to happen in a nanosecond (especially in today’s high tech world), but we also must think about doing the greatest good for the greatest amount of people possible. When things really go bad, things do tend to sort themselves out over time even if it sometimes takes a bit of a revolution.<br /><br />I do hope that the man found peace, but now I have to worry about my young, and very impressionable, students seeing this as an admirable way out. Last year, we lost two ex-students who had a hard time with high school, and it hit us really hard. Now, I’m really dreading to see what this year might bring.John from Daejeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431973044799010218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-13072952098593288952009-05-29T19:06:00.924-07:002009-05-29T19:06:00.924-07:00Hi John,
I know I was 'generalizing all Koreans' ...Hi John,<br /><br />I know I was 'generalizing all Koreans' . . . I didn't want to split hairs and quantify and qualify things when I have no basis for those kinds of observations . . . I do think it's pretty safe to say that the *"country"* is in mourning . . . and I'm assuming a degree of sophistication in people who read this blog and their ability to filter and process my writing . . . that being said I think I might edit a few things later . . . <br /><br />I take a slight issues with you juxtaposing the "Mad Cow" hysteria with the grieving and sense of loss that a lot of Koreans are feeling . . . I'll agree some are probably doing it because everyone else is, but I think mad cow should not be brought into this discussion . . . <br /><br />"a specific age group that haven’t had the hard lives, or all the life lessons, that many older generations have had." I don't know if I agree with devaluing the challenges and hardships of one generation because the older generations lived through the Korean war, the post-war era and the following oppressive administrations . . . in some ways this kind of logic could be applied to minorities in the USA that say they have it hard now, had it hard during their growing up period . . . and responding to that by saying they shouldn't complain because even older generation minorities had it harder . . . ? I think I've made my point.<br /><br />Anyways, thank you for reading, and I'll think about your comments more during the course of the day.<br />JJasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14403839433187045342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-52708147120835036032009-05-29T18:24:08.067-07:002009-05-29T18:24:08.067-07:00Jason, you are generalizing “all” Koreans together...Jason, you are generalizing “all” Koreans together. Not everyone was taken in by the spectacle yesterday. Most of my co-workers were just happy it was over, so the country can get back to focusing on the living. I think you see it differently as you work with a specific age group that haven’t had the hard lives, or all the life lessons, that many older generations have had. Same thing with the "Mad Cow hysteria," that noisy squeaky wheel garners all the attention, while the others just keep turning and doing their jobs knowing that eventually things will get back on track.<br /><br />For myself, at least, this president was, and is, a much better role model that all people should want to emulate.<br /><br />“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” – Abraham Lincoln<br /><br />Arguably, the greatest president the U.S. has ever had, Abraham Lincoln, was considered a failure many times during his life. I’m just grateful that he didn’t take the Korean way out after any of his numerous failures.John from Daejeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431973044799010218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-40596866312232855332009-05-29T17:44:49.253-07:002009-05-29T17:44:49.253-07:00Thank you. "he was the most honest Korean politic...Thank you. "he was the most honest Korean politician I've seen." That's the impression I got after reading a bit about him too.<br /><br />I didn't have the time or energy to surf the Net on Google to see what else might be written in English about him other than news articles from the Korean English news sites . . . . I don't know if there'd be much about him in terms of biography and personal stories. I think it'd be more news about his presidency.<br /><br />Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you're not feeling too sad.<br /><br />JJasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14403839433187045342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357026555577605135.post-43005580072857673302009-05-29T10:28:39.674-07:002009-05-29T10:28:39.674-07:00Appreciate your effort to understand.. I'm a bit y...Appreciate your effort to understand.. I'm a bit younger than 386 (born in 75, attended Univ in 90s) but growing up during the dictatorial administration (Chun DooHwan and Roh TaeWoo, who did coup etat and are responsible for many people's death), I could connect to Roh MooHyun and have had sympathy for his fruitless effort against conservative news media/mainstream politics. At least he was the most honest Korean politician I've seen.ballsuninoreply@blogger.com