Ruminations in Korea

A little over a month ago, I posted an audioblog about my thoughts on Koreans taking two or more english words and combining them to create a new, utterly meaningless word. In the audio post, I specifically mentioned the fascination with the word “Utopia” and how Koreans woud stick the “pia” part of “Utopia” to the end of a word to create a sense of the perfect, utopian version of whatever the root word is.

Tonight, while I was searching for a car rental place online, I discovered a rather unusual website. It appears that the website deals with sports tour packages. Specificially leisure sports. Ordinarily, when talking about leisure sports, Koreans will take the “Le” from “Leisure” and the “ports” from “Sports, and combine them to creat the single word “Leports” to refer to leisure sports.

However, that is not the case with this particular site. The expanded name of the site is “Leisure Sports Utopia”. However, that was apparently too long. So, they took the “Le” from “Leisure, the “S” from “sports”, and the “pia” from “Utopia” and compined them to create the offical name for their site: Lespia

Honestly, if you heard someone say the word “lespia”, would you immediately think “leisure sports utopia?”

Koreans are VERY conscious about their country’s “brand image”. Unfortunately, public relations and marketing effectively to foreigners in Korea and throughout the rest of the world is something that Koreans, by and large, have not done successfully. As with many other things, it is the actions of the outrageous few that gets more attention than vast majority of “average” people. However, it doesn’t help when the outrageous few are the ones that feel some sort of need to broadcast their outrageousness to the rest of the world. The rest of the world is left with the wrong impression.

To hear more of my thoughts on this, click here and listen.

Also, be sure to click here to see the video of Korea’s image take another silly beating in the world media

I just had the weirdest lunchtime online conversation I think I have ever had…..
Here is the transcript cut and pasted directly from the conversation that took place 5 minutes ago:

Friend: i just heard the funniest thing

Me: yes??????

Me: don’t leave me hanging…

Friend: ok a while ago a co-worker told me how her husband said one of his co-workers eats dog food

Me: WHAT??????????????

Friend: then just today, she comes back to me and says, “I was wrong about what I told you about my husband’s co-worker eating dog food.”

Me: it’s funny enough if you stop right there……

Friend: then she says, “It’s not just one co-worker it’s three!”

Me: WWWWWWHHAAAAAT???????

Friend: then she goes, “But one of them gave up because he said it was too difficult.”

Me: …… WHAT are you talking about????

Friend: and finally she concludes by saying, “So now it’s just two. Two people my husband works with eat dog food.”

Me: wow….

Friend: i thought that was f’ing hilarious

Me: WHY????? WHY DO THEY DO THAT????

Friend: and she’s saying this all matter-of-factly as if it’s no big deal

Me: and what is difficult about it???

Me: WHY WHY WHY?????

Friend: and i’m laughing my head off and she’s like, “What? Lots of Koreans eat dog food.” and i’m thinking, “Don’t EVER say that in front of a foreigner.”

Friend: now when i say “dog food” i’m not talking dog meat

Friend: i’m talking kibbles and bits

Friend: these guys literally eat fricken dog food

Me: Lots of Koreans eat dog food???????

Friend: that’s what she said!!!

Me: WHAWT WHAT WHAT>>>>

Me: that is seriously messed up!

Friend: it’s HILARIOUS

Friend: and we all got on this topic when my other co-worker was trying to order dog food for her pet poodle online

Me: Do they mix it with water so it makes a delicious gravy????

Friend: according to my coworker the guys just bring it to work and snack on it at their desks

Me: WHAT???????

Friend: omg i’m trying not to burst out laughign just witing this to u

Friend: i’m not making this up

Friend: if i were making this up, it’d be racist

Me: like a big bag of puppy chow????

Friend: but this is what koreans are telling me

Friend: YES!!!!

Me: SHUT UP!!!

Friend: i’m serious!

Friend: i wish it were a joke

Me: This is going on my blog RIGHT NOW!

Friend: hahah

Friend: you’re gonna be called racist

Me: didn’t you ask WHY they eat it?

Friend: of course

Me: and????

Friend: they said it’s good if you want to lose weight

Me: HUH!!! that is JUST NOT RIGHT!!!

Friend: well don’t tell this to me…i KNOW it’s not right

Friend: i’m not the one eating kibbles and bits at my desk

What is just another day at the office for me often means a watery grave for someone else.  I have to deal with the investigations, interviews, tears, anger, frustration, insurance, litigation, negotiations, settlements, and the rest of the aftermath of pinheands doing exactly THIS sort of thing..

Click here to see liability in action.

This is a question that has plagued the minds of Orientals and Occidentals since the two first came into contact with each other.

Why are there so few Asian man / white woman couples compared with the number of white male / Asian woman couples. Here is an insider’s look into the question of why white guys are taking all of the Asian women…

Click here to see the plight of the Asian male.