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South Korea
Method of Madness:
Shit. A riot over a guy kissing his wife in public? By those standards, is there anything that couldn't be misinterpreted?
pwhodges:
Well, there are places that would feel like that over people of such different backgrounds marrying at all.
Is it cold in here?:
Well, the PDA in question was patting her on the rear, so there was room for misinterpretation. Apparently nobody waited to see what the woman's reaction was.
To amplify what Akima said about relations with the North, not only do feelings run raw and in unpredictable directions(*), but people can be and are imprisoned for saying the wrong thing about North Korea. Fortunately, saying the situation is "difficult" is compatible with the strictest possible sense of honesty.
(*) One human rights advocate was beaten up and run over, in the South, for criticizing the North's human rights record.
EDIT: From someone with experience: http://roboseyo.blogspot.com/2009/08/open-letter-to-new-teachers-in-korea.html . Mostly it's obvious don't-be-a-jerk stuff, but the bit about never talking to a Korean journalist was not self-evident. He also warns that people may try to suck you into comparing Korea with America. Elsewhere there was advice to give way to older people.
EDIT: http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-is-state-of-esl-teachers-in-korea.html
jhocking:
--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 19 Feb 2012, 23:59 ---To amplify what Akima said about relations with the North, not only do feelings run raw and in unpredictable directions(*), but people can be and are imprisoned for saying the wrong thing about North Korea. Fortunately, saying the situation is "difficult" is compatible with the strictest possible sense of honesty.
(*) One human rights advocate was beaten up and run over, in the South, for criticizing the North's human rights record.
--- End quote ---
I would agree about being careful about who you talk with about sensitive topics like the North, but I do want to point out that these examples give a misleading impression of a wantonly dangerous place. Take that advice with pretty much the same mentality as, say, someone advising you not to joke about bombs while going through security at the airport; unless you're specifically looking to be a troublemaker, it's not like people are trying to trap you into saying the wrong thing.
In other words, this:
--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 05 Feb 2012, 20:11 ---the advice you'd follow everywhere about being respectful and avoiding local politics
--- End quote ---
It's pretty much the general advice not get into political discussions with strangers, with the local political situation in Korea applied.
Method of Madness:
Makes sense. Thankfully my Korean won't be good enough for any serious discussions for least a few months.
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