Article

2003-07-22 Korea

An Old Warrior Tries to Explain it to His Mush-brained Grandkid

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Posted by 11A5S 2003-07-22 12:28:18 AM|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Even though I know the reporting has described the current fat & happy young Pollyannas in SKor, it really pisses me off to read this guy's comments. 20 yrs old? Sounds like a no-clue pre-teen.

Grandpa has some work to do. And he'd better hurry. Reality's coming. Soon.

Posted by PD 2003-7-22 1:14:07 AM|| 2003-7-22 1:14:07 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 If it wasn't for this grandpa I'd say let them eat grass.

Posted by Rafael 2003-7-22 1:51:27 AM|| 2003-7-22 1:51:27 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 South Korean sounds like what the US could be like in 30 years, which is truly amazing.

Think about it for a second. South Korea's "Baby Boom" generation grew up in the late 50s and 60s, slightly later than the US Baby Boom. These kids are the third generation after the war, like my kids are.

These children are affluent, educated, and know even less about the realities of the world. At least our Gen-X's have had to experience Iraq (twice), Bosnia, Kosovo, and 9/11. These kids have none of that. Just affluence AND the experience of seeing foreign troops in their country all the time.

Like most kids, they worship the "other," that which is not their parents or grandparents. The other is always better than what their relatives know.

I can't believe that all Korean kids have gone this soft in the head, but over and over again your read about them and this kid sounds typical, not unique...

They're in trouble...big trouble.

Posted by R. McLeod 2003-7-22 3:16:56 AM|| 2003-7-22 3:16:56 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 While infuriating, the denial that seems to exist in the South comes from the reality that Seoul is toast whatever happens if worse comes to worse.

Still, if we're seen as the problem and not the solution I'm all for our people checking out.

Posted by Hiryu 2003-7-22 6:58:19 AM|| 2003-7-22 6:58:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 to follow up on hiryu - the SKor dovish position re NKOR nukes makes perfect sense. NKOR doesnt need nukes to threaten Seoul = all those artillery pieces are just as effective. Nukes are a weapon for NKOR to blackmail the US - by threatening Japan perhaps, or even more likely by threatening to sell the nukes to the middle east. Thats a big problem for the US - its hardly a concern of South Korea.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-7-22 10:52:39 AM|| 2003-7-22 10:52:39 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 I can't help but wonder why the South Koreans didn't try to shift some of their population south, away from North Korean artillery. Seoul changed hands a few time during the last war, and artillery is not exactly new technology. The threat to Seoul is longstanding and has been ignored.

Posted by Yank 2003-7-22 1:45:32 PM|| 2003-7-22 1:45:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 The key here is not North KOREAN vs South KOREAN,
it's simply KOREAN.

The Chinese are casually racist: "You're not
Chinese? Sorry for you."

The Japanese are insularly racist: "We're separate. We must be special. We ARE special."

The Korean's make either of them look like pikers.
It's been a feature of Korean nationalism for
centuries, as a way to make itself proof against the "mongrelization" inherant in being invaded, by the Chinese on their way to Japan, or the Japanese on their way to China, time after time.

These kids view it not as NK against SK, but rather Korea against the world.

"Han-gook" (Korean) - "Mee-gook" (everybody else)

Posted by Bud 2003-7-22 4:03:55 PM|| 2003-7-22 4:03:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 The key here is not North KOREAN vs South KOREAN,
it's simply KOREAN.

The Chinese are casually racist: "You're not
Chinese? Sorry for you."

The Japanese are insularly racist: "We're separate. We must be special. We ARE special."

The Korean's make either of them look like pikers.
It's been a feature of Korean nationalism for
centuries, as a way to make itself proof against the "mongrelization" inherant in being invaded, by the Chinese on their way to Japan, or the Japanese on their way to China, time after time.

These kids view it not as NK against SK, but rather Korea against the world.

"Han-gook" (Korean) - "Mee-gook" (everybody else)

Posted by Bud 2003-7-22 4:03:58 PM|| 2003-7-22 4:03:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 Hyun Jin may be in for a helluva wake up call some morning.

Posted by tu3031 2003-7-22 10:40:02 PM|| 2003-7-22 10:40:02 PM|| Front Page Top

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