Korea life and explaining it to someone?

Question

I've started to learn Korean over the summer (I took two quarter worth over the summer at a community college) and this fall I'm taking a Korean culture class.

Basically how do you explain to someone about Korea? My family has this thought that Korea is in poverty with no electricity, North and South are at war with each other, communist, is one of the most dangerous places in the world, and the like. How can one explain it?

Answer 1

I think that you and your family is totally stupid. I could understand you if you are young, but in other case, i have no idea whether you went to junior high school or high school. Doesn't school teach those things?? World history or whatever.

South korea has 13th strong economoy in the world.

They have companies such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai , Kia motors

South korea is richer than Austrailia. I guess u know Austrailia.

Answer 2

OMG like south korea's cities are almost like NYC and SF and LA and i should know because... I LIVE THERE!!! sorry jst had to do that ANYWAY life in seoul's just like life in NYC or any other american city. except that there are a few tiny mountain scattered here and there. and also the streets aren't as crowded as much as the textbooks show except during the world cup, protests and the olympics. i don't know about north korea and other parts of seoul but the part i live in as no beggars, streets are clean, shiny malls and saloons line the street, and high-rise buildings are what i am sick of. EVERYTHING  you need is within 20-30 minute's walking distance and there are lots of clean subways and buses. (the green bus is for short-distance, blue for medium or other oarts of seoul, red for long-distance) theblack taxi are the best. people might cuss around a little (?) but they don't really men it 90% of the time. tell your family life in seoul is the same-maybe better-as life in any big US city. except the air pollution of course

oh and if you mean life in the countryside it's just really peaceful and you would probably farm or raise livestock year-round.  

Answer 3

North korea is the country that is in proverty, not south korea.

South korea is technologically advance than north korea. Life is good in south korea. Traffic is horrendous but the air quality and night life is great. North korea is communist so they are the dangerous place in the world.

North and south korea never signed a peace treaty just a treaty to end all fighting, so they are technically still at war.

Answer 4

ok I want to tell you so many things but I can't possibly tell you everything in this paragraph so I'll give you a link for a really good website.

Even I learned a few things and I'm Korean BTW

http://askakorean.blogspot.com/

I think the Korean,blogger name, has posted an article about the misconception in Soth Korea somewhere.

Hope it helps

Answer 5

How? I just can't believe someone would think Korea had no electricity.

Just make them watch a K-Drama.  

Answer 6

Socially Korea is still a third world country. Its economy is booming but social changes are slow. I found Koreans asocial, extremely egoistic and indifferent people. For example Korean drivers don’t yield right of way to ambulances or fire engines, like they don’t care about those sick and dying. Drivers run red lights and they’d rather run over a child than be a little bit later at home. They make constant noise even in the middle of the night, and obviously don't care about neighbours.

Seoul is a very ugly city which looks like East Berlin in the 60s with its thousands of ugly block of flats. Strangely enough Koreans don’t wash their windows what makes their cities look filthy. And Seoul streets are dirty, especially back streets. And those ugly panels on most of  the city’s building.

Unless one loves alcohol, karaoke and night life there’s really nothing intellectually challenging in Seoul. It’s nothing like London, Sydney or New York with their thousands of museums, theatres, exhibitions, shows etc.

The underground system is pretty good but people on the tube are being obnoxious – they get on before others get off, they muscle in like rugby players to be first on an empty seats, they yell to their mobile phones, men don’t give up their seats to their women, and they often turn the tube cars into a market, selling things. Koreans drink and smoke a lot and eat smelly kimchi so the underground is really smelly too, especially in the evening.

Most Korean men seem to be alcoholic, they drink their vodka (soju) everyday and it’s hard to spot a sober man on the streets in the evening. Luckily they are not aggressive, but are very hot tempered. Unfortunately some many foreigners fall into the Korean drinking trap. According to a survey 70% of expats drink more than at home so it is better if they do not socialize with Koreans. Anyway, you’ve got to be careful not to step on pukes in the morning on your way to work.  

There’s also an amazing number of love-motels and different kinds of brothels in Korea, where one can buy a woman. I’ve read that amazing number of about 1 million Koreans work for this dirty business. Unbelievable. You can find more on the topic in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitutio...

I’ve also read that Korean men are among the most unfaithful husbands in the world. Even the Korean government encourages companies to pay their employees for not going out for prostitutes on holidays.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/200...

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_e...

In general Korean men make lousy husbands. They work hard, okay, but that’s their only virtue. They don’t help their wives neither with housework nor raising kids. They are abusive and family violence is very common in Korea, and as you read they are constantly drunk. Korean men parents are usually very demanding and strict in-laws and Korean man never protects his woman from his parents. Korean men never fully grow up and their parents are always number one.

http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/...

Hostility of Korean churches. This is something I couldn’t figure out. All Korean churches seem to be hostile to each other. Maybe it’s something about Korean inborn hostility and hatred, because they also hate all their neighbours too – especially Japanese, and will obviously hate you for disliking Korea or it’s culture. They love to hate. They have also always something to demonstrate against. Korean riot forces are always ready fully equipped in Seoul city centre.

Koreans are prone to various addictions – they are alcoholics, huge number of Koreans smoke, they beat world records in computer and internet gaming, they cling to their mobile phone like their lives depended on them, there are TV sets literally nearly everywhere in Seoul, they can’t live without Korean soap-operas and infantile TV shows.

There are many foreigners who love Korea but at the same time really a lot of those who can’t stand Korean culture and its people.