I’d have to agree with that sentiment, expressed by Korea Beat in the seeming declaration of war against foreigners on the part of the Chosun Ilbo. It’s 4 for 4 with the “intern reporter” Choi Hui-seon’s fusillade against foreigners. The roundup:
어린 학생-동료 여성강사 가리지 않는 원어민강사들의 성범죄
English translation from Korea Beat.
“한국 유부녀들은 남편 대신에…” 일부 원어민 강사들 비하발언 파문
English translation from Korea Beat.
“한국에서 끝내주게 살게 해주지” ‘위조학위’ 장사 원어민강사 충격
English translation from Korea Beat.
부적격 외국인강사 채용 쉬쉬하는 기관들
English translation from Korea Beat.
It’s getting pretty ugly over there, and I’m personally getting pretty interested in talking to Choi Hui-seon, the “intern reporter” generating all this nasty coverage over at the Chosun Ilbo.
Is there such thing as a collective action lawsuit for defamation of character in Korea for an entire minority group? With such strong laws against libel and slander, it seems like it could potentially succeed.
If such action can be taken, I will gladly provide millions of won to support it… This past week really got me down, and I really want something to be done about all the BS reporting allowed to purvey the newspapers. Someone on another board mentioned putting together a task force to follow around (spy on) ‘what’s-his-name’ of the AES. I also support that idea.
Alex, fantastic idea. Anything is possible with some money to pay attorneys. Some one would have to step up to go about organizing it.
If you were willing to support some paid interns, I’d sure it would be a big help getting them to be able to concentrate on this without having to work other jobs to make some bills. If you were serious about it, it wouldn’t take millions, but pocket change in comparison…
“I’d have to agree with that sentiment, expressed by Korea Beat in the seeming declaration of war against foreigners on the part of the Chosun Ilbo. It’s 4 for 4 with the “intern reporter” Choi Hui-seon’s fusillade against foreigners.”
Declaration of war on the part of the Chosun? Please. Now, I know that hyperbole liberally seasoned with purple-prose is part and parcel of your schtick, but this “sentiment” tells us very little about what really going on in the heads of Chosun’s editor and more about your own mindset. And what do I mean by “your own mindset?” Namely, the sort of mindset that sees rapacious, ruthlessly efficient enemies lurking everywhere. To best articulate this, I think that that the words of historian Norman Cohn-the scholar who specialized in the study of persecutional fanatacism during the Middle Ages-are apt. In describing this mindset, Cohn wrote that such individuals are of the “the megalomaniac view of oneself as the Elect, wholly good, abominably persecuted, yet assured of ultimate triumph; the attribution of gigantic and demonic powers to the adversary; the refusal to accept the ineluctable limitations and imperfections of human existence, such as transience, dissention, conflict, fallibility whether intellectual or moral; the obsession with inerrable prophecies…systematized misinterpretations, always gross and often grotesque.” To be sure, the above could be attributed to the very bete-noirs you’ve dedicated yourself to fighting, but it’s still nevertheless appropriate to bring this to your attention so as to present an opportunity for greater reflection and self-examination. Futile in all probability, but a small gesture that is still necessary.
Let’s get real here, if the Chosun was truly “declaring war” on foreigners then I highly doubt that they would leave that task to a mere intern (As an aside, I don’t quite understand the use of quotations around the words ‘intern reporter”. What are you trying to assert here? That this appellation is but a mere ruse? If so, do you have evidence that this individual is anything other than what the Chosun says? If so, present it. Otherwise, I think that it’s best to just play it straight). If this was truly a “war”, it stands to reason that the Chosun would be mobilizing all of their journalistic talent in the name of prosecuting this so-called “war”. You know, the seasoned pros with a vast network of contacts, carefully honed interview skills, and the chops to pen the sort of prose that is vivid and yet economical as appropriate for a major daily. Moreover, it should also stand to reason that coverage of this would be crowding out all other news items ancillary to what Choi Hee-Sun is writing. If this were truly a “declaration of war” as you say, you’d see the sort of articles and layouts redolent of what happened when the Chosun really did declare a “war” during the presidency of Roh Moo-Hyun.
“…I’m personally getting pretty interested in talking to Choi Hui-seon, the ‘intern reporter’…”
What, as in a one-to-one phone call? A get together at a cafe? Twitter? Facebook? Oh, I know, you’ll probably do it in the form of a digital recording and then proceed to post it online.
Well, whatever format you choose I still have another question: Why? What do you hope to accomplish? To try and get this persons take on their reporting? Frankly, I highly doubt your questions or this person’s answers are going to anywhere near illuminating. This persons going to say the sort of spiel that most have heard a thousand times over and your going to give the sort of criticisms most have heard a million times over.
If you’re thinking that this is going to be an opportunity to open and change minds then your either utterly deluded or disingenuous. Me, I surmise the latter. When and if such a discussion is ever posted on your part all it will be is another opportunity for everyone else to engage in the usual ritual.
So, Charles, I didn’t exactly see anything in your diatribe that is helpful to “us”. Or is ignoring the issue and attacking other writers part and parcel of YOUR schtick?
I agree with Seoul Survivor. Charles’ comments are eloquent, but irrelevant. There is no doubt that the Chosun Ilbo is ‘on the war path’ against English teachers living and working in this country. Furthermore, it is evident that the Chosun Ilbo is utterly unprofessional and racist and has thrown all pretence of journalistic ethics overboard to ’sell a sordid story’. It is now our responsibility to set the record straight and to call all those responsible to account. How this can be done is a matter of discussion, but the operator of KoreanMediaWatch has already taken a splendid first step in the right direction by setting up this website, even if Mr. Tilly, whoever he is, may disagree. One of the worst offences in a civilized society is to stand by and do nothing while others are denigrated and abused. If the Korean media is allowed to engage in this hate speech unopposed for much longer things will quite naturally degenerate even further until native speakers one day may have to fear for their lives when walking down streets of Seoul. One native speaker was already murdered by a deranged Korean racist in his school twelve years ago. Others will no doubt follow if this hate campaign continues and spreads across the country. Korea’s democracy and economy are already in serious decline, which is the perfect breeding ground for xenophobia. So, I would like to ask all concerned native speakers to write to the editor of the Chosun Ilbo and other publications and call for an immediate halt to this smear campaign. Another very effective means to stop this racial incitement would be to shame Korea on the international stage by writing to the newspaper in your hometown about this issue, enclosing translations of the original Koeran ‘master pieces’. The LA Times (USA) and The Guardian (UK) would be good places to start as they have already published articles in the past about the plight of English teachers in Korea. I call upon all other concerned netizens to make further suggestions in relation to this matter and post them here so that we can initiate a concerted response.
[...] Choi Hee-seon and the Chosun Ilbo “On the Warpath” « Korean Media … [...]
I’ve presented the stories (and translations) to some of my colleagues. After their initial shock (how could they write something like that?), their inevitable reaction (well, there’s really nothing I can do about it), it’s as if they mentally check out – reminding themselves not to trust anything from that particular news source / reporter again…
For the record, class-action lawsuits are still very new in this country (see this recent story http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/07/117_47475.html for info about the FIRST one). I wonder if there’s a bright and forward-thinking lawyer who might seek to make a name for themselves… Anyone speak Korean and want to find out?
[...] HT to Korea Beat for translating the Chosun Ilbo’s response to the avalanche of criticism to its week-long attack on foreign teachers. [...]
[...] Korea Beat has translated the Chosun Ilbo’s response to the avalanche of criticism to its week-long attack on foreign teachers, which naturally created some lively discussion (165 comments and counting); don’t miss [...]
3 questions
1-what can we do if we are a victim in korea of race oriented persecution (what will happen to those foreigners playing poker) will they be deported or arrested in korean prison?
2-Does anyone recommend a lawyer for foreigners?
3-
and just a note-if u added anyone on facebook whos Korean who you dont actually know in real life (which you shouldnt do,but whatever)make sure to edit what they can see ,they could very likely be a netizen anti foregner looking for stuff.