I just realized that if I go to Harvard tomorrow for The Game, I can have Chipotle
Shit.
I hate the lack of diversity in the cuisine of New Haven. Pizza is good, but sometimes
I want a good burrito, good galbi, good kebabs, etc.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Why Jeollado is ridiculed, and why it is dangerous.
According to Wikipedia, a minority is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society. A sociological minority is not necessarily a numerical minority — it may include any group that is subnormal with respect to a dominant group in terms of social status, education, employment, wealth and political power.
In other words, a minority is a group that opposes those in power. It does not matter if they are large or small in numbers. It matters that they do not exercise much political power.
For most of the recent Korean history, Jeollado was neglected in its industrialization. With the added fact that much of Jeollado's economy was based on farming due to its plentiful resources, it became an antithesis, and an enemy of, the new industrialized Korea. And since the 60's and onwards, the Jeolla diaspora began. From an area that boasted 4 million people, Jeolla namdo steadily declined into an area with the population of 2 million in the year 2000. Many distressed people of Jeolla moved into Seoul, and formed communities in Kwan-ak and Eun-pyeong districts. The same was true of Choongchungdo and Gangwondo, but the people from Jeolla, who boasted superiority in numbers against those two minorities, formed their own "Jeolla resident" groups. This meant that they actually formed a group that can be posed against the establishment.
Lastly, from the 80's and onwards, two things occur that led to the consolidation of Jeollado as the political minority. The first is the Gwangju Democratization Movement and the second is the 3 party merger by Kim Young Sam. The former allowed the New Military Government of Chun Doo Hwan to paint the people of Jeollado red. The latter created a big union that excluded Jeolla.
This meant that Jeollado, as a culture, becomes something foreign to the Koreans. It leads to the stereotype of Jeollado as "backstabbing, two-faced, forming their own groups, knowing only money, worships Kim Dae Jung." Sound familiar? This kind of prejudice can be applied by any xenophobic group to the minorities that they want to scapegoat. This fits the traditional stereotype against the Jews in Europe, and the same to the Asian Americans in the USA, the Turks in Germany, the Indians in the UK, the Algerians in France, and other minorities of the world. The Koreans say the same against Japanese. Ironically, the Japanese say the same against the Zainichi, the Koreans living in Japan.
These stereotypes lead into the cultural archetype of the Jeolla mafia and gangsters we see in Korean movies. They become dangerous and deceiving people. Is this the truth? Of course not.
Because of this, the Jeolla-bashing is more dangerous than anything, even straight up attacks against the Jeolla. Why? because when logic can be applied, those attacks can be defended. However, when there is a general nonchalance added to the ridiculing the people of Jeolla, it is hard to fight against it, because it precipitates the minds of the masses that logic cannot break.
The ridiculing is similar to the mockery of the "losers" and "geeks" at school. No one really makes fun of the "cool kids," because after all, they are at the top of the typical high school hierarchy, and while people may make fun of them, if given the chance to be close with them, most kids would gladly take it. However, many secretly take comfort in the fact that they are not the "losers." It is the same for the Jeolla bashing. And because of this ridiculing, the absurd power structure between the "cool" group and the "loser" group is solidified, and the same may happen for Jeollado, if this ridiculing continues. Anything not deemed "normal" in a society is ridiculed. Gays, (less to a certain extent as many people embrace it now), racial minorities, economic minorities, and cultural minorities. They may get some looks of pity, but no one embraces them. They are not "normal."
In other words, a minority is a group that opposes those in power. It does not matter if they are large or small in numbers. It matters that they do not exercise much political power.
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Politically, the region of Jeollado is a minority. From the 70's and on, the major power source of South Korea hails from Kyungsangdo, as the chart suggests.
For those who cannot read Korean, the chart shows that the majority of the Korean "elites," executives of the top 100 companies, judges, politicians, professors of a certain level, doctors of big university hospitals, etc., hail from the region of Kyungsangdo.
For most of the recent Korean history, Jeollado was neglected in its industrialization. With the added fact that much of Jeollado's economy was based on farming due to its plentiful resources, it became an antithesis, and an enemy of, the new industrialized Korea. And since the 60's and onwards, the Jeolla diaspora began. From an area that boasted 4 million people, Jeolla namdo steadily declined into an area with the population of 2 million in the year 2000. Many distressed people of Jeolla moved into Seoul, and formed communities in Kwan-ak and Eun-pyeong districts. The same was true of Choongchungdo and Gangwondo, but the people from Jeolla, who boasted superiority in numbers against those two minorities, formed their own "Jeolla resident" groups. This meant that they actually formed a group that can be posed against the establishment.
Lastly, from the 80's and onwards, two things occur that led to the consolidation of Jeollado as the political minority. The first is the Gwangju Democratization Movement and the second is the 3 party merger by Kim Young Sam. The former allowed the New Military Government of Chun Doo Hwan to paint the people of Jeollado red. The latter created a big union that excluded Jeolla.
This meant that Jeollado, as a culture, becomes something foreign to the Koreans. It leads to the stereotype of Jeollado as "backstabbing, two-faced, forming their own groups, knowing only money, worships Kim Dae Jung." Sound familiar? This kind of prejudice can be applied by any xenophobic group to the minorities that they want to scapegoat. This fits the traditional stereotype against the Jews in Europe, and the same to the Asian Americans in the USA, the Turks in Germany, the Indians in the UK, the Algerians in France, and other minorities of the world. The Koreans say the same against Japanese. Ironically, the Japanese say the same against the Zainichi, the Koreans living in Japan.
These stereotypes lead into the cultural archetype of the Jeolla mafia and gangsters we see in Korean movies. They become dangerous and deceiving people. Is this the truth? Of course not.
Because of this, the Jeolla-bashing is more dangerous than anything, even straight up attacks against the Jeolla. Why? because when logic can be applied, those attacks can be defended. However, when there is a general nonchalance added to the ridiculing the people of Jeolla, it is hard to fight against it, because it precipitates the minds of the masses that logic cannot break.
The ridiculing is similar to the mockery of the "losers" and "geeks" at school. No one really makes fun of the "cool kids," because after all, they are at the top of the typical high school hierarchy, and while people may make fun of them, if given the chance to be close with them, most kids would gladly take it. However, many secretly take comfort in the fact that they are not the "losers." It is the same for the Jeolla bashing. And because of this ridiculing, the absurd power structure between the "cool" group and the "loser" group is solidified, and the same may happen for Jeollado, if this ridiculing continues. Anything not deemed "normal" in a society is ridiculed. Gays, (less to a certain extent as many people embrace it now), racial minorities, economic minorities, and cultural minorities. They may get some looks of pity, but no one embraces them. They are not "normal."
Monday, May 17, 2010
Laker Haters
So according to an ESPN poll, all of America hates the Lakers. Well, I love that. I love that our team is the badass here, that our team is the villain, that our team is the objective of all the teams in the NBA, and all the fans of all the other teams in the United States.
Well, I was always one for the underdogs, except in the case of the Lakers.
And not rooting the underdogs for once feels good.
It's like the feeling many young Democrats had in 2008.
8 years of Republican Domination, where you were rooting for the underdogs in the first 4 or 5 years where everyone loved Bush, and then Bam! now you are for the winning side.
On a side note, the best thing about this poll is that this signifies the resurgence of the Lakers.
Back in 04,05,06, no one cared about the Lakers, because they were struggling. They just pointed fingers at Kobe for being a "ballhog."
Now, cries of "Beat LA!" rings through the numerous arenas and gardens and centers.
and I love the sound of that.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
End of High School
So is anyone else sad that high school is going ot be over in... less than two weeks?
I mean, sure, yeah we've all said it.
"God I can't wait until I get out of this place!"
"FXXX Burroughs!"
"I HATE IT HERE"
blah blah blah.
I know. I've said it. Even weeks ago I said it. (esp. about awitch bitch named ca.....) But honestly, as our high school life draws to a close, I feel sad. It isn't really that high school life was the best times of my life. I mean honestly, I had a pretty bland high school life. Freshman year had football of course, but I was never really close with most of them. Sophomore year, the same. Junior year I was just... there. Senior year I was largely overwhelmed by the work I had to do. But the thing is that you cannot have it again. It is lost. And I get these frustration and panic attacks that I really haven't done much to make lasting memories in High School.
Basically, I'm sad that I'm losing opportunities. And any passage of time, to me, is saddening. Perhaps this is also because that I tend to largely live in the past, and that is how I look at the present and the future. It goes in line with my love for history come to think of it. Anyway, as I said, I tend to look at the past a lot. And I somehow expect to see that all these people, relations, even buildings and such will not change at all. But the reality is that everyone changes. And somehow, I cannot accept that. Which makes all this change in everyone just more saddening. I know I will not see most of them the same way again.
Hell, I may not even see them ever again. Isn't that scary? All these faces, personalities, tendencies that I see around will not ever be the same! Although in my memory, it will be fixed at this, or sometime in my Jr. Soph., Freshman year, even though those moments may have been the most insipid, insignificant moments in their lives.
I mean, sure, yeah we've all said it.
"God I can't wait until I get out of this place!"
"FXXX Burroughs!"
"I HATE IT HERE"
blah blah blah.
I know. I've said it. Even weeks ago I said it. (esp. about a
Basically, I'm sad that I'm losing opportunities. And any passage of time, to me, is saddening. Perhaps this is also because that I tend to largely live in the past, and that is how I look at the present and the future. It goes in line with my love for history come to think of it. Anyway, as I said, I tend to look at the past a lot. And I somehow expect to see that all these people, relations, even buildings and such will not change at all. But the reality is that everyone changes. And somehow, I cannot accept that. Which makes all this change in everyone just more saddening. I know I will not see most of them the same way again.
Hell, I may not even see them ever again. Isn't that scary? All these faces, personalities, tendencies that I see around will not ever be the same! Although in my memory, it will be fixed at this, or sometime in my Jr. Soph., Freshman year, even though those moments may have been the most insipid, insignificant moments in their lives.
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