Will people ever be smart enough to stop comparing China and Japan like they’re the same place?

Question

I'm sick and tired of people not knowing the difference. Everyone acts like it's the same thing. Or they say something about one country but they are actually describing the other.

Answer 1

LOL! I hear ya. I once went to Louisiana and a man there told me, "You're form California? Well, here in the United States we do things THIS way." He actually thought California was ANOTHER COUNTRY. So you are not alone regarding China or any other Asian country. You just got to hang around people who know their cultures and not be around bigots. I recently made a new friend and when I asked him what his heritage was, he said "Asian." I had to stop him and tell him, NO I am actually interested in the country your family is originally from. I respect all people. He was a bit shocked that I was interested. He was Chinese, btw.

Maybe people are so caught up in their surroundings that they forget that there is a big world out there. Or maybe the education system sucks at teaching geography. As for me, I was taught in private school. Not sure if that made a difference.

Answer 2

I doubt it. I once worked with a black guy who told me he did'nt like a "Chinaman" co-worker. I said "who?" He says the one over there". I said, that man is Filipino ! And he says "Is there any difference?"

  I've heard of people who don't know the difference between Taiwan and Thailand.

  Sad, isn't it ?

Answer 3

Haha. I know what you mean.

Honestly I think there will always be ignorant people who think China is the only country in Asia. Who cares about Japan, S. Korea, N. Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, or any of the other countries in Asia? (Sarcasm btw.)

So no. I don't think there will ever be a time where all people realize they are completely different countries and cultures.

Answer 4

Are you kidding? People can't even tell the difference between states...ask anyone in North or South Carolina, North or South Dakota, and more than anything Virginia and West Virginia (yes, West Virginia is a completely separate state!)

Answer 5

I know, I feel your pain.

I teach 6th graders in south texas and whenever we read the story of Sadako and the Thousand paper cranes, the kids often say "china" instead of Japan and they have that "same stuff" attitude. Often times when I show pictures of my travels they'll say "China is cool" or "how was china." It's pretty annoying and I tell them flat out at the beginning that there is a difference.

This is because in our school district, the focus is so much on state testing that nobody gives a hoot about geography anymore.

Answer 6

I'm a Japanese.

Cultures of East Asian countries are more similar each other than Europian, Middle East Asian or African countries, but not same. It is like Spain and Germany, Britain and Italy.

But of course they have many simulalities. The idea of "face" (pride, honor) is a kind of simularitie.

Many Asian people are annoyed with such kind of confusion or misunderstanding, because it means "I know nothing about such countries of no importance, including your country".

It is enough to get someone who love their country angry itself, but sometimes they got angry because it also means loss of face in particular situation.

Honestly, Every Japanese really got angly, even they seems they aren't, to hear "Is Japan a part of China, isn't it?" or like, as same as Chinese of Koreans.

Japanese rather tend to contain his anger, because keeping politeness is a key point of Japanese culture.

(These days, many young Japanese become self-conceited and sometimes they may only feel sorry for the foreigners who say such kind of misunderstand that "what a pitty to not have a chance to be educated enough to know great country like Japan".)

In my opinion, although Asian got angry, it can't be helped for Western people to misunderstand those countries, if they have few interest about those countries, or if they have not highly educated by misfortune.

I must tell you sometimes I confused Norway with Sweden,  Laos with Cambodia or Myanmar, or Hungary with Czech.

Many young Japanese today are less trained or disciplined then old Japanese, and some of them may confused even France with Spain or Germany.

We always make mistake.

I think what important for us is always trying to understand each other more, and yearn toward others.

Le't talk about many countries here or else on Internet, and know each other well.

Answer 7

Try to include Korea in the list. Those countries are often described like they are triplets. =P

Answer 8

Comparisons are fine, but in order to make comparisons, you have to recognize the DIFFERENCES. I don't mind comparisons, but I know what you are talking about. People who talk a lot and pretend they know what they are talking about, but they're wrong.

Yes, most people tend to assume that Japan is like China, but occasionally people also make comments about China that are only true for Japan. If you consider that most Americans do not study much of the world outside of America and Europe, it sadly is not completely unexpected however, a lot of people prefer to be ignorant. Even if they KNOW you went to Japan or that a classmate is Chinese, they'll ask "How was China?" or ask the Chinese student to tell them what the anime characters are saying.

Well, the best thing to do is to correct them, and when they say "same difference", politely tell them why it's NOT the same. They may treat you like a know-it-all, but it's only because they're upset that you've called their bluff.