Mixed race in korea

[mastercole]

These conversatios are good varied experiences and perceptions. I think that we can all agree that bigotry is bad no matter what place it is coming from! My daughter and her friend were confronted with it at school with a confederate flag waving idiot. The school dealt with it in a very good manner the police became involved and it was squelched. My daughter handled it perfectly reported to the school told us and we made sure that it was handled to its proper conclusion. I was very impressed with how the school handled it. My daughter I am always proud of.

Taekwondo in the Olympic movement can make great inroads to breaking down prejudice and racism in our own communities as well as in the world, and has done so many times.

Everyone is prejudice and racist to one degree or another. It is built in to culture, language, politics, social structure, nationalism and a great many things.

Who makes the difference are not the people who complain about prejudice and racism, it’s the people who take action, in the face of their own prejudice and racist leanings. I don’t mean taking action in a combative or confrontational way. To do so is really just acting out in favor of our own prejudice and racist tendencies. I mean taking action in a tangible and engaging way. If we feel there is a problem with prejudice and racism, then we have to interact across cultural and racial barriers, work to slowly change minds, especially our own.

The Olympic movement, and especially Taekwondo within the Olympic movement goes a long way toward improving cross cultural and cross racial understanding, and finally acceptance. Taekwondo in the Olympic movement is a powerful tool. You can use it in your own community to introduce kids from different cultures to each other, using Taekwondo and Korean culture as the common medium of interest.

I think to really accomplish something great though, we have to go right into the lion’s den of prejudice and racism. That is where the engagement needs to take place, and Taekwondo is the perfect vehicle to do so, especially in the USA and many other non-Asian nations, because we are coming together in the interest of a third part culture that is usually not the culture of either party.

It has been greatly successful and this has been my experience for many years.

 

[puunui]

I think this is most certainly true. People who come to Korea and make the effort to speak the language and understand the locals have a much better experience than those who don't.

I think that those who do such things also have a much better experience in their martial arts study than those who don't. Korean culture is intertwined in the korean martial arts.

 

[puunui]

There are certainly lots of skin whitening products on the market and plastic surgery (especially eye-lid surgery) is quite common. Some of that is influenced by the West, but I think some of it, especially skin whitening, is partly due to the perception of people with darker skin doing outside/manual labor type jobs.

That is true I think in a lot of cultures and countries, not just Korea.

 

[puunui]

There are even calls for us to learn the cultural inclusiveness of American society that made Ward’s success possible."

You mean the same "cultural inclusiveness of American society" that forced the Korean born practitioners out of the USTU?

 

[puunui]

My recollections of experiences in Korea are mostly favorable. But I think things have changed a lot. I don't know how much I would enjoy it there now.

Visiting Korea for me is always an enjoyable experience.

 

[puunui]

I think that we can all agree that bigotry is bad no matter what place it is coming from!

I don't think we all agree on that. I don't think bigots agree, for example.

 

[Gorilla]

Master Cole that's what we are doing everyday.

 

[Jaeimseu]

Visiting Korea for me is always an enjoyable experience.

I live here and it's an enjoyable experience for me, as well. I imagine I'll end up back in the US eventually, but I expect it will be several more years before that happens.

 

[Jaeimseu]

You mean the same "cultural inclusiveness of American society" that forced the Korean born practitioners out of the USTU?

I think that there is often racism disguised as patriotism expressed by people who don't want any "Korean" involvement in US taekwondo.

 

[Jaeimseu]

Taekwondo in the Olympic movement can make great inroads to breaking down prejudice and racism in our own communities as well as in the world, and has done so many times.

Everyone is prejudice and racist to one degree or another. It is built in to culture, language, politics, social structure, nationalism and a great many things.

Who makes the difference are not the people who complain about prejudice and racism, it’s the people who take action, in the face of their own prejudice and racist leanings. I don’t mean taking action in a combative or confrontational way. To do so is really just acting out in favor of our own prejudice and racist tendencies. I mean taking action in a tangible and engaging way. If we feel there is a problem with prejudice and racism, then we have to interact across cultural and racial barriers, work to slowly change minds, especially our own.

The Olympic movement, and especially Taekwondo within the Olympic movement goes a long way toward improving cross cultural and cross racial understanding, and finally acceptance. Taekwondo in the Olympic movement is a powerful tool. You can use it in your own community to introduce kids from different cultures to each other, using Taekwondo and Korean culture as the common medium of interest.

I think to really accomplish something great though, we have to go right into the lion’s den of prejudice and racism. That is where the engagement needs to take place, and Taekwondo is the perfect vehicle to do so, especially in the USA and many other non-Asian nations, because we are coming together in the interest of a third part culture that is usually not the culture of either party.

It has been greatly successful and this has been my experience for many years.

I agree that everyone has their own biases in regard to race or culture. Most people wish to be around others who think, look, and behave in a similar way. I think that is why taekwondo can be such a powerful uniting influence. It is common ground that we can share regardless of where we were born. Our club in Korea is split somewhere near 50% between Koreans and non-Koreans, and training and socializing together is an awesome experience. About the only thing we all have in common is taekwondo, and it's enough to establish good relationships.

 

[Jaeimseu]

I don't think we all agree on that. I don't think bigots agree, for example.

I think a lot of bigots probably don't think they are bigots.

I also think that that kind of thinking is the same whether we are talking about race, culture, or what type of taekwondo you do. People like to slag other styles (especially Kukkiwon it seems) because or real or perceived differences in the way things are done. Perception can lead to some dangerous conclusions, but I'm going way off topic here, so I'll quit^^

 

[Gorilla]

Puunui I was referring to the people in the conversation. I hope that my assumption is correct.

 

[Jaeimseu]

I think that those who do such things also have a much better experience in their martial arts study than those who don't. Korean culture is intertwined in the korean martial arts.

I feel like a person could practice without the Korean connection and still have a good experience, but I for one would never want to take away my experience in Korea/ with Koreans. The cultural experience has been one of the most important experiences of my life and I treasure the opportunities I have everyday to interact with the people in my life. And Korean culture is definitely intertwined in Korean martial arts. It's funny sometimes when you go out and you see things that you thought were a taekwondo thing, but turn out to be Korean things.

 

[mastercole]

Master Cole that's what we are doing everyday.

That is cool. I'd like to hear about it for sure.

 

[oftheherd1]

Visiting Korea for me is always an enjoyable experience.

I am glad it is, and I would hope it would be for anyone visiting Korea.

 

[miguksaram]

Visiting Korea for me is always an enjoyable experience.

Or course...it gives you a chance to get another tailored made suit.

All I know is when the wheels of the plane touch down in Incheon, I feel like I am home. My wife and I have seriously thought about retiring there and living by her parents' village area, possibly opening up a small business of some sort.

 

[Gorilla]

That is cool. I'd like to hear about it for sure.[/QUOTE

Our lives our cross cultural and multi-racial. Everyday we speak the language of of three nations sometimes four. Our lives are way outside the box when it come to culture. We don't think of it that way but when I take a step back we certainly are living a different life than most. Our house is a melting pot as well as our lives. We rarely look at things through the prism of race but sometimes it is forced upon us. We have dealt with the good and the bad but the good far outweighs the bad. I hope that someday Korea will step outside of the box when it comes to race and I hope that it is trending in the right direction.

 

[puunui]

Our lives our cross cultural and multi-racial. Everyday we speak the language of of three nations sometimes four. Our lives are way outside the box when it come to culture. We don't think of it that way but when I take a step back we certainly are living a different life than most. Our house is a melting pot as well as our lives. We rarely look at things through the prism of race but sometimes it is forced upon us.

I feel the same way about my own life. I live in a pretty multicultural cosmopolitan area, which is greatly influenced by both the east and the west.

 

[puunui]

I think a lot of bigots probably don't think they are bigots.

I don't think they think they are bigots. I think they think they are right.

I also think that that kind of thinking is the same whether we are talking about race, culture, or what type of taekwondo you do. People like to slag other styles (especially Kukkiwon it seems) because or real or perceived differences in the way things are done. Perception can lead to some dangerous conclusions, but I'm going way off topic here, so I'll quit^^

I was always taught to look to the similarities, the common ground, at least with respect to taekwondo, as a way of being more inclusive. Some others tend to focus on the differences, as a way of excluding others. As you said, I think this is true whether we are talking about race, culture, or what type of taekwondo you do.

 

[mastercole]

That is cool. I'd like to hear about it for sure.[/QUOTE

Our lives our cross cultural and multi-racial. Everyday we speak the language of of three nations sometimes four. Our lives are way outside the box when it come to culture. We don't think of it that way but when I take a step back we certainly are living a different life than most. Our house is a melting pot as well as our lives. We rarely look at things through the prism of race but sometimes it is forced upon us. We have dealt with the good and the bad but the good far outweighs the bad. I hope that someday Korea will step outside of the box when it comes to race and I hope that it is trending in the right direction.

I guess my point is it takes us to step out, outside of our own family, dojang or group of friends situation into a place that we are not in control and we must interact with groups we see as prejudice or racist, directly and consistently. We can be true ambassadors of Taekwondo and of our culture, if that is a skill we develop. Otherwise as leaders we can have a negative impact on those that follow us if we latch on to something in a different race or culture and identify it as racist or evil. I am not specifically talking about how you deal with things, I mean all of us in general.

Example: I think I know who you are, and if it is you, I was told that you are a really good guy. My son told me that, and he is usually on point with things like that. The Confederate flag to me, or my son is not a symbol of hate, even though some have used it in that way. I know, it is a long and opinionated debate, and I won't get into that here. However, my ancestral lineage goes through the South to Northern Ireland to Scotland, and ancestor with my same name fought in the Battle of Stones River on the Confederate side, I have all his records and interview. For me it is historic, and that flag design is directly from Scotland. But I don't take your comment on the Confederate flag in an offensive way, I understand, I have been in this conversation before. You and I might disagree strongly on the meaning of that flag, or at least what it means to us. But does that mean you or I are claiming the other hates the other by disagreeing?

We can not change everyone's mind about prejudice and race, and probably most will not change their minds, but we can create a shift in thinking among some by interacting directly with them, and that is all it takes to get the ball rolling.