U-Mun Hyeon-Dab

Hi Korean,

I heard that there is make-up for men in Korea. Is this true? I wouldnt be surprised, since many Korean male actors wears some sort of make-up and Korean men really do care about their appearances. Many the Koreans guys I've known are very effiminate. They like to take pictures of themselves and they say to others that they are handsome.

Alice

Dear Alice,

There is no reason for you to recognize the title. The Korean will not explain it - it's going to be an inside joke for those who understand. If the readers are curious, please email the Korean and ask what that means.

To answer your question, sure, there are cosmetics for men in Korea. (Here is an example.) There are cosmetics for men in America too. (Here is another example.) In fact, the Korean would seriously doubt that there is any country in the world that does not have cosmetics for men. Every country (that is rich enough so that its male citizens can afford to care about his looks) would at least have moisturizing lotion and aftershave.

That said, the concept of masculinity is different in different cultures. For example, the Mexican has explained how Mexican men's show of manliness is to play grab-ass with other men, since that shows that they have conquered all women around them and moved onto men.

So Korean men may take pictures of themselves and comment on each other's look, but such actions are only effeminate in American standards. On the flip side, certain actions by American men would be considered highly effeminate for Koreans - like not beating their wives.

(I keed, I keed.)

The Japanese' Incredible Ability to Deny Their Past - Update 2

According to Reuters, Prime Minister said the following in the Japanese Parliament Budget Committee, when asked by a Parliament Member about his view on the forcibility of mobilizing Comfort Women: "As the Prime Minister, I apologize at this moment. My view is the same as the Kono statement. (The Korean's Note: See this post for what Kono statement is.) As I mentioned several times, I feel sympathy for the people who went through the difficulty, and I apologize for their having been placed in such a situation."

Some apology, huh? Mr. Abe, "difficulty" is when you need to have some sushi and you can't find a pair of chopsticks. Being kidnapped and raped 20 times a day for several years is not a "difficulty." And "having been placed"? Who taught you how to apologize, Richard Nixon?

But it's not fair to characterize all Japanese people to be oblivious this way. Professor Kimizima Kazuhiko, one of the co-writers of the joint history textbook between Korea and Japan, said the following in a press conference: "In talking about forcible mobilization of Comfort Women, Prime Minister Abe is distinguishing between the "narrow" meaning and the "broad" meaning; but in "forcibility", there cannot be a narrow or broad meaning. I don't think such maneuver to avoid responsibility is right."

The Japanese' Incredible Ability to Deny Their Past - Update 1

Note: As the Comfort Women issue is growing, there are more and more statements by Japanese officials denying their countries' horrific past crime. Each time there is such a denial, Ask A Korean! will post them.

On March 25, Japanese Minister of Defense Shimamura Hakubun appeared on Radio Nippon and said the following: "There were nurses for the military and journalists for the military, but no Comfort Women (the Korean's note: here apparently used as a euphemism for prostitutes) for the military. It is true that there were Comfort Women, and I think some parents sold their daughters. But that does not mean that the Japanese military was involved."

Korea-Japan Relation Saga, Part IV – Post-WWII

[Series Index]

-WARNING- This post will make an analogy between what imperial Japan did to colonial Korea and the crime of rape. If you had read Part III, you would know it is in fact worse than that. But the Korean understands that many people are uncomfortable with a discussion of rape. If you are one of those people, you might want to skip this post. But the Korean promises that this post will be interesting, and hopefully enlightening.

Imagine two criminals committed a horrendous crime against someone. The victim’s injury has been more or less healed after a long time, but there are many scars remaining, reminding him/her constantly of the crime. What should they do? Any decent human being would answer in the following: “Find ways to atone for your crime. Apologize sincerely, and support that apology with action. Then, perhaps, the victim might find ways to forgive your crime.”

One of the criminals of World War II – Germany – did exactly that. In December 1970, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt went to Warsaw, Poland, and sent an unmistakable image out to the world when he fell to his knees before the monument at the site of a concentration camp. Since the end of World War II, West Germany and unified Germany have spent $104 billion for restitution of the victims of its war crime. Denying the existence of Holocaust is a crime in Germany, freedom-of-speech concerns aside.

What did the other criminal do? To its credit, Japan did officially apologize for its colonial past several times, including at the level of the Japanese Emperor and Prime Minister. In fact, especially in the 1990s, Japanese Prime Minister Hosokawa and his successor Murayama both apologized pretty sincerely, acknowledging Japanese Imperialism to be “invasions”.

Problem is that unlike Germany, Japan somehow has trouble maintaining that party line. Each time there is an apology from Japan, there are two Japanese politicians who say such things as “the Imperial Japan in fact did a lot of good to Korea, like modernizing it.” Well, that claim is somewhat true, but consider the following. Suppose there is a woman who wished to have a child. She then becomes a victim of rape, and gives birth to a child. It is true that without the rapist, the woman would not have gotten her child. But should we recognize the commendable behavior of the rapist of granting his victim’s wish? Of course not.

Another issue along the same line is paying respects to Yasukuni Temple. At Yasukuni, 14 top war criminals of Japan, including Tojo Hideki, are buried. (If you don’t know, Tojo is to Japan is Mussolini to Italy and Hitler to Germany.) Since 1996, on every End of War Memorial Day of Japan (which is Liberation Day for Korea, making it doubly insulting,) Japanese Prime Minister would visit Yasukuni Temple and pay his respects. Imagine the uproar if Angela Merkel (Prime Minister of Germany) paid respects to Hitler’s tomb every year!

One argument that Japanese people make is that Yasukuni has more than the 14 war criminals – it in fact memorializes over 3 million war deaths, and visiting Yasukuni simply has the meaning of commemorating the dead. But in that case, why not move out the war criminals’ tomb out of the temple? We know where Hitler is buried in Berlin – it’s underneath a random parking lot, and there is no marker for the place, so that it cannot become a shrine for Neo-Nazis.

Still another issue is that when a new war crime comes up, Japan refuses to recognize its role in the crime. The current row over Comfort Women is a really good example of this. (See the earlier post for the short discussion.) This issue was not really made public until late 1980s~early 1990s, and Japan initially dragged its feet, saying it was merely private contractors recruiting women for the military. Finally, in 1993, Kono Yohei, then-Minister of Defense, admitted that the Japanese military was involved in recruiting the women through force, lies, and deception. Since then, Japan’s position has been admitting moral culpability, but not the legal one. Accordingly, in 1994, Japanese government set up a private fund in order to compensate the victims. Naturally, no victims of Comfort Women took the money.

(More on why Japan can take such a position a little later, but talk about splitting hairs! Recalling the rapist earlier, it’s as if the rapist is claiming clean hands because he did everything but forcible penetration. Some nerve.)

Things were unsatisfactory to Koreans even then, but recently Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo made it worse. As U.S. Congress is trying to pass a resolution urging Japanese government to apologize to the survivors of Comfort Women, Abe bluntly refused to apologize, and hinted at backtracking on the involvement of the Japanese military in conscripting the women by re-investigating the issue once again.

Just compare this to what Germany did. Amazing, isn’t it? Instead of treating its war crime as a clear evil that must not be repeated ever again, the Japanese government seems to see them as a matter of opinion.

Naturally, the amount Japan paid in restitution to Korea is nothing compared to $104 billion that Germany paid. Japan paid exactly $500 million to the Korean government in 1965 – less than 0.5 percent of what Germany paid. Korea was desperately poor at that point, and in exchange for $500 million, the Korean government decided to extinguish all of its claims against Japan regarding its past. It’s a complex issue in the international law as to whether a government may enter into such a pact. But since 1965, every time a new and horrendous war crime is uncovered, like Comfort Women and Unit 731, Japanese government repeats its argument that it paid all of its obligations in 1965. That may be arguably true, but it surely is not the way to make yourself appear to be atoning for your crimes.

Finally, the most egregious form of not atoning is that, certain history textbooks in Japan minimize its war crimes in World War II. The Korean actually saw one such textbook. The biggest section on World War II was how Japan was the only country in the world which was nuked. There was no mention of Comfort Women, Rape of Nanking, or war crimes in general. Only description of Japan’s imperialism was how Korea, China, and Southeast Asia belonged to Japan’s “sphere of influence”, like the ones other imperialist countries had. Beyond any absence of apologies, this is appalling and sickening. Japan is trying to erase its colonial past, and it’s working – many young Japanese have no idea why Korean people hate them so much, because they have no idea what Japan has done to Korea only 60 years ago!

----------------------------------------------------

This concludes the saga that is Korea-Japan relations. There are still a lot of things that have not been discussed yet, but the Korean thinks the series more or less covered why Korean people hate the Japanese so much.

Personally, this is how the Korean feels about this issue. Many Koreans will never forgive Japan, and they are entitled to such a feeling. But vast majority of Koreans, over time, would be willing to forgive Japan, as long as Japan makes all appropriate motions such as: apologizing, sticking by it in all levels of the government and the society; making appropriate reparations; and vowing never to repeat the tragic history. Until that happens, Koreans will continue to hate the Japanese.

-EDIT- Actually, the Korean decided to extend this series by one more part. Please check the "Series Index" link on the top to read Part V of the Korea-Japan Relations series.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Spring Break! Woo Hoo!

The next post will not be here for a little bit, because the Korean is at Cancun, Mexico, on the last spring break of his lifetime. The Korean is currently hanging out with an awesome crowd, like these guys.

All pictures are taken by the Korean himself, thanks to his new underwater camera kit, Christmas gift from the Korean Girlfriend.

-ADDENDUM: 3/23/07 10:33 a.m. - Each travel abroad confirms the Korean that America is the least racist country in the world. The Korean was only one "gonichiwa" told to him away from going North Korea on everyone.

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

(Before we begin – the AsianWeek magazine is now embroiled in a controversy because it published a column by an idiot named Kenneth Eng called “Why I hate blacks.” Since then, AsianWeek pulled the column, fired Eng, and issued an apology. The Korean can’t believe that people are pre-empting what he is about to write. The Korean hopes this post would help.)

Dear Korean,

So what is the relationship of Koreans and black people? Why the prejudice? Why do you think when a white man marries a Korean woman they are viewed as a cute couple, but if it is the same is for a black man they question the woman’s character?

Black man happily married to a Korean for 25 years, and no, I was not in the Army in Korea.

- William J.

Dear Korean,

Please explain Korean people’s strong prejudice against black soldiers (your words). My uncle, a black man, died in the Korean War. This is not an angry email, just an attempt to understand. Thank you.

- Kevin

Dear William and Kevin,

First, to Kevin. The Korean is deeply grateful for your uncle. The Korean is often flip in this blog, but he is most serious in this occasion. If it were not for American soldiers’ sacrifice in the Korean War, the Korean would probably be starving somewhere in communized Korea, writing for the BS website that the dictatorial government set up.

But the Korean is afraid that you misunderstood the earlier post. The Korean is certain that there was relatively less prejudice against black soldiers at the time of Korean War. But there is no question that since then, Koreans (and Korean-Americans alike) developed strong prejudice against black folks – and that is essentially why William’s question arose.

To put it bluntly, many Koreans and Korean Americans tend to be racist toward black people. The Korean wishes it were otherwise, but it is true. Below is the reason why.

Racism as a Heuristic

What is racism? As we all know, racism is broadly defined as passing a judgment upon an individual based on the individual’s race. And racism is an evil because we cannot control our race, and our race has an extremely poor correlation to our character.

However, see it from the judgment-passer’s point of view, and the reason why people become racists begins to make sense. Racism is a type of what cognitive scientists call “heuristics” – basically, making decisions based on analytical shortcuts. A simple example: our cognition tells us that “it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck.” Then our conscience concludes that “it’s a duck.”

Heuristics is a big part of the way humans deal with things, because humans don’t have the time to evaluate everything around them. It is effective to engage in heuristics because first of all, it takes too much energy to remember everything about a certain thing. Think of it from the perspective of evolutionary biology. Suppose we were out hunting, and our fellow was killed by a saber tooth tiger. Do we remember everything about that saber tooth tiger for a future reference? No, we only remember the most salient features of the animal, which would be its size, color, and the two fangs.

Heuristics is efficient because in most cases, humans don’t need a 100 percent right answer. Going back to the example, suppose while we are roaming the field hunting, we run into an animal that appears to be large, yellow-ish, and has two large fangs. Do we stay and completely evaluate whether or not this animal is in fact a saber tooth tiger and therefore dangerous? No, we run for our lives.

So heuristics work in two steps. First, when we encounter a new thing, we create a “tag” in our mind to associate with the new thing’s characteristics. Always, without fail, that tag is a highly visible and readily identifiable trait. Second, when we see that tag in another new thing, we draw conclusion that the second new thing is the same as the first thing. The process is hardly foolproof, but it’s extremely effective – it probably allowed human race to survive this long.

The application is the same in our modern life. We always create a quick tag to describe things around us, (e.g., “George W. Bush is an idiot,” “Southerners are conservative,” “Canadians are slow”) and for most things we don’t bother to learn more. We do it because we don’t need to learn everything about everything, and we can’t possibly learn everything about everything. The next step is the same too. For example, popular perception has created a heuristic statement of “blonds are dumb.” Once we have that heuristic in our head, next time we see a blond, our mind will point toward “dumb.”

So, as we consider Koreans and racism, we have to think in terms of heuristics – what the markers are, and what the conclusion is.

Racist Heuristic Step 1 – Markers

Heuristic markers are something that stands out very prominently. Then, what stands out more than how different black people’s appearances are from Korean people’s? The skin tone of a black person is something that no Korean has ever seen. But it goes beyond the skin tone. The question that the Korean gets asked most from his Korean relative and friends about black people’s appearance is: how do they manage their hair, especially if they are braided? Do they even wash it? If they do, how?

In short, black people are really, really foreign to Koreans – to a much greater degree than white people. At one point in Korean history (until shortly after Korean War,) white people were just as foreign. The Korean’s parents’ generation would talk about how white people have blond hair and a big nose. (One derogatory Korean term for a white person is ko-jaeng-i, roughly translated as a “noser” or “nosie.”) But several decades passed, American movies and TV shows steadily streamed into Korea, and Korean people got used to white people. Although white people looked different from Koreans, they seemed like a variation on a theme. (Do you now understand why colored people make such a big deal about how Friends had no black person in it?)

Racist Heuristic Step 2 – Conclusions

So when a Korean sees a black person, his/her skin tone, coarse hair, etc are the only thing that stays in mind. In some sense, it is already racist at this step because that Korean would not probe deeper into that black person’s character. But what makes Koreans really racists are the heuristic conclusions that they derive from the skin tone.

What are the conclusions? The same conclusions that the mainstream society gives to black people – lazy, dirty, prone to crime, addicted to drugs, closer to animals than humans. Why is that?

In part, it has to do with a bias within Koreans with regards to skin tone. Koreans are, being Asian, yellow. But actual skin tone of any given Korean in fact varies by a ton – nearly covering the spectrum of the whitest of the white and the blackest of the black. And among Koreans, there is a bias of favoring the light-skinned people, and disfavoring dark skin tones. Why? Because dark skin means that you are one of the peasants, out in the field and working all day under the sun. Light skinned people are the nobility – they can afford to stay at home and out of the sun.

Absurdly—evidencing that old habits die hard—this line of thinking still somewhat persists, and one standard for a Korean beauty is (in the Korean’s opinion) sickly paleness. Hot, sexy tan is fairly popular in Korea now, but that is an extremely recent phenomenon – no older than 7~8 years. (Largely thanks to this woman on the right. Her name is Lee, Hyo-ri, a very popular singer.) So between white people who are paler than noblest Korean, and black people who are darker than the commonest Korean, there is a built-in disadvantage.

Also, one cannot ignore the racism in the American mainstream. Whatever racism we have as a country, we indirectly teach it to the new immigrants to our country and to the whole world through our dominance in movies and television shows. No one in the world, and certainly no Korean, is dumb enough to not realize that in a movie, a black guy always dies. Especially in Korea where people have no chance to see a black person other than through mass media, there is no way for their racist perception to be corrected by actually knowing a black person.

But the Korean thinks it’s fair to say that, as Bill Cosby pointed out, at least some black people provide the fodder for those conclusions. (The Korean will leave the question of whether or not the mainstream society is responsible for the high rate of black crime, drug addiction, etc., to another day.) On this point, another factor to consider is that a lot of Korean Americans live in the ghetto, doing business right in the middle of it. Often they are victims of crimes, often perpetrated by black folks.

Especially in the 1992 LA Riot, the rioting black folks looted the stores in their neighborhood, most of them owned by Koreans. (The MTV documentary on the LA riot made in 2002 devotes a portion to the riot’s impact on Korean Americans.) Stories spread from Korean Americans to Koreans in Korea, and the reputation of the black folks was shot down further from the already low status.

Then again, heuristics being what it is, if there is a black robber robbing a Korean-owned liquor store, the only thing that the store owner will remember is the fact that the robber was black. And the racism perpetuates.

So, What Next?

The Korean situation is merely a mirror to the larger problem of we have as a society. Korean people are no better or worse than anyone in world – everyone in the world relies on heuristics, and racism is such a strong force even to this day because of it. Even in America, which in the Korean’s opinion the least racist country in the world, plenty of people rely on racist heuristics.

For example, Fisher DeBerry, former Air Force football coach, when asked why his team was losing, remarked that it was because his team lacked speed because Air Force team did not have enough black people on it – all the while the equally black-player-sparse Brigham Young University was putting up a 9-win season. But then again, who has not thought about whether being black makes you a better athlete as s/he watched a sporting event?

The only way to combat racist heuristics is to make people aware that they are making a snap decision that is wrong, unfair, and evil. America has been trying to do this for the last several decades, and slowly it has been making progress. We must keep this up.

The Korean will end this in a hopeful note. In 1999, a Korean grocer, Mrs. Chung-Bok Hong, was shot and killed by robbers at the parking lot next to her store in South Central Los Angeles, heart of the LA ghetto. Her funeral was held in a catholic church in South Central, and hundreds of mourners packed the church, most of them black residents of South Central. Many of the mourners did not know her real name; everyone in the neighborhood just called her “Mama.” Here is a part of the story from the LA Times:

A few blocks away, graffiti writers had covered a wall outside her store with messages revealing a tangle of emotions. "Nothing but love for you, Mama," said one. … Jerrell White, an African American resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 34 years, said Hong was accepted in South-Central because she treated people with dignity, regardless of their station in life. "She didn't take no B.S. from you," he said. "But that was all right, because she was Mama."

Now there’s a woman who did not rely on racist heuristics, but consciously decided to look past people’s colors and into their character.

(If you would like to read the whole story, it ran on Feb. 12, 1999, byline Steve Berry, headline CALLS FOR JUSTICE MARK FUNERAL OF SLAIN GROCER.)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Developing Story

The Korean already almost done with the next post, but boy, those Japanese people just will not wait for the next Korea-Japan Relation Series.

Right now, U.S. Congress is about to pass a resolution that urges Japan to apologize to the surviving Comfort Women. Japanese government has been pulling out all stops to lobby this resolution to death, but thanks largely to Rep. Michael Honda, himself a Japanese-American, the resolution looks like it will pass.

The New York Times wrote an editorial calling for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to apologize, but Mr. Abe has expressed intention to reject the call, statng that there was no evidence that military or police was involved. (This, by the way, is directly in contrast with the statement issued by the Japanese Minister of Defense in 1993 admitting the involvement of the military.)

The Korean's reaction will be in the next post, but just a heads up for the readers to follow this story.