The Republic of Korea or South Korea or simply Korea has been on Filipinos’s minds lately. From the trivial to the more serious, Filipinos have somehow taken offense from what both a Korean citizen and the Korean government have done to some Filipinos. Unfortunately, most Filipinos in general think that Korea owe us some kind of apology for being offended by something that ordinary Koreans most likely perceive to be merely a joke and, in the case of the South Korean government, an exercise of their sovereign right.
The initial uproar started when a video clip of Korean actress Lee Da Hae surfaced on YouTube and not surprisingly, came to the attention of Filipino crybabies. According to sources from the Net, the clip was from the now defunct KBS2TV variety show, “Sweet Night” and it showed in less than 5 minutes actress Hae being asked to mimic how other nationalities talk in English. Her demonstration of the way Filipinos spoke didn’t go down well with Filipinos who thought she was being “insulting”.
It’s a bit sad that we Filipinos don’t even know how to take things in stride anymore. For a Christian nation, we take offense at the slightest remark in reference to us as if we were the Kings of the world — as if anyone who makes fun of us deserve to have his or her head cut off. For a people who claim to be “happy” despite their hardship, we lack an ability to laugh at ourselves.
Where did our sense of humor go? Did we even have one? Or do we see it as only “we” having the right to poke fun at others? I’d say that’s a fair call judging from all the Filipino skits that make fun of other nationalities. It seems that we cannot take any kind of criticism even in jest whether it’s coming from a Desperate Housewives script, the quips of celebrities like Alec Baldwin, or the gags of modern-day philosophers like Adam Carolla. I know this subject has been discussed ad nauseum but it is still important that we keep pointing these things out because most Filipinos simply just don’t get it.
I don’t recall Kazakhstan asking for an apology from Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) when he dedicated an entire film to depicting a caricature of its people. Suffice to say Cohen’s depiction of Kazakhstan’s citizens wasn’t very flattering. I can’t seem to reconcile the outrage over something trivial done during a comedy skit on one hand while on the other lies the fact of a Presidential aide, insulting the Vietnamese people during an official state function — something the Vietnamese in turn, did not demand an apology for.
There is definitely something wrong with our society, in particular, how we prefer that the world see us. We are somehow desperate to be always seen in a positive light; unfortunately, we just come across as prideful and worse, pathetic losers when we make much ado about nothing. We should be willing to look inwards and engage in self-reflection from time to time. Other nationalities are not always out to get us. We should think about the possibility that there might be some truth to what they are saying.
The other more serious issue that had made it to the headlines is the deportation of six Filipinos after being barred from entering South Korea because they are on the blacklist of the government.
As expected, they and some of their supporters were very disappointed about being deported considering that, supposedly, “the six were supposed to participate in planned demonstrations and attend a ‘people’s summit’ organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions as a parallel meeting of NGOs and civil society organizations coinciding with the G-20 summit“; that is, according to the statement of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in which one of the six Filipinos is a member of.
The six deportees were hoping that President Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy) would somehow intervene on their behalf. They were also demanding that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) file a formal diplomatic protest against the Republic of Korea because they were given “shabby treatment” and allegedly dragged back on board a flight back to Manila. It is easy enough to conclude that, if they had to be dragged, it could only mean that they refused to cooperate in the first place. Why should the Philippine Government intervene in something they were not even a part of? It’s not like they were sent there on an official affair of state.
While the six Filipinos were claiming to have been planning on holding a demonstration on behalf of the exploited and oppressed during the G-20 summit, one cannot blame the South Korean government for giving them the boot because if you go by the history of the G-20 summit, “peaceful demonstrations” always exhibited a potential to get really nasty. One just has to remember what happened in Canada the last time the summit was held there when according to some reports “several police cars were burnt and several establishments were vandalized, leading to the arrest of over 1,000 protesters.”
The thing that most Filipinos who were outraged by the deportation don’t realize is that, if you plan on demonstrating against something on someone else’s soil, you should not expect the red carpet treatment. Just count yourself lucky if they even allow you in. If not, just move along. These six Filipino professional demonstrators deported from South Korea just need to accept that sometimes you win some, other times you lose some.
All this recent fuss about South Korea — or Korea to some — gives me the impression that the presence of now over 100,000 Koreans living in the Philippines is breeding resentment among Filipinos. The existence of Koreans could only be a positive thing if Filipinos are not totally averse to learning from outsiders.
The Republic of Korea: A story with a happy ending
South Koreans have not always been frequent travelers. When they were still under authoritarianism, ordinary Koreans were not allowed to leave their country. And because of the nuclear threat from the North and having gone through the brutal occupation of the Japanese during World War II, they became very suspicious of foreigners. There was even an incident in the past when locals beat up a US military officer while he was on the train because they mistook him for someone who was harassing a Korean woman. It turned out the woman was his wife. Until now, they still cannot come to terms with the way they were treated by the Japanese while they occupied their country, so the resentment against Japan is still strong. It’s been said that the dislike for anything Japanese is like an unofficial state religion. Koreans even blame the bad weather on Japan on any ordinary day.
The Philippines’ political history has a lot in common with Korea’s. For one, both countries have a Presidential system; two, similar to Korea, the Philippines was under a dictatorship for decades. From 1972 the Philippines was under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s regime until he was toppled and exiled in 1986 while Korea was under Military dictatorship since the 1950s until they switched to more democratic governance in the 1980s. Third, Korea’s political system even after switching to democracy always got bad international press as late as the 1990s because it was riddled with corruption and nepotism which is something that the Philippines is unfortunately still experiencing until now.
The situation with the Koreans in the 1990s was so similar to what is happening to Filipinos now that if you read the following excerpt from the book Asian Values, Western Dreams by Greg Sheridan, you will not be able to ignore the striking resemblance of the Korean political setting to our current political setting, to wit:
“In an earlier conversation in 1996 Kim Dae Jung had gone so far as to call into question South Korea’s basic democratic credentials. “I don’t believe Korea is a democracy,” he said at that time. “President Kim Young-Sam has failed to implement democracy. During the election in 1995 the ruling party committed every type of election fraud, spending money everywhere and exploiting the activities of North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone. Television is totally under the control of the State.”
To be sure, Philippine elections in the past and even the recent one in May 2010 were mired by allegations of fraud in the form of vote buying and rigging of election results, the latter not prevented even by new electronic voting systems. Likewise, mainstream media in the Philippines which includes a major television network and a leading newspaper is owned by oligarchs who are also friends and relatives of the incumbent President, Noynoy Aquino. In short, the powerful elite who exert a strong influence on the electorate controls the media.
There is something else that I recently realized that we have in common with the Koreans. Because our countries were both under the influence of mind control for decades under an authoritarian regime, Filipinos tend to treat their political leaders like they are Kings, which was how the Koreans even years after they have switched to democracy also treated theirs.
In other words, it took a while for them to shake off the idea of full submission to a single authority figure. This might explain why Filipinos still think that their duty as a citizen ends after voting during the election. The likely drawback in having this mentality is that voters get too emotionally attached to the individual (and their next of kin) and elect them because they are popular but not necessarily because they are competent enough for public office.
Korea, however, has the advantage of possessing a Confucian culture. In Confucianism, the leader or ruler should embody those virtues the society holds dear. While they put their leader on a pedestal, there is also a “Confucian and Buddhist notion that the ruler should govern in the interests of the people, and the Buddhist emphasis on the worth of every human being” which was why every leader who became embroiled in corruption in Korea always paid for their crime.
This was evident in how every single Korean President since Korea became a democracy retired in disgrace. “They either went into exile; were assassinated or went to jail.” Now that is something we as a society should truly admire and emulate. Sadly, impunity still prevails in Philippine society even after the late dictator Marcos was deposed, which is also why our leaders could get away with practically anything for years and still get reelected. This can be attributed to the fact that there was a power vacuum after Marcos left because the one who replaced him, the late former President Cory Aquino, though widely beloved was also considered a weak leader who did not introduce any economic reforms. Her 1987 constitution is even blamed by its critics for stifling the economy.
It wasn’t until former Korean President and pro-democracy advocate Kim Young-Sam was elected in 1993 that the Korean political system started cleaning-up. Although he was also indirectly embroiled in controversy towards the end of his term (due to his close association with the jailed former President and his brother being jailed), he was instrumental in shaping the political system of the country. The next President Kim Dae-jung elected in 1998 who was also a Harvard classmate of the late Philippine Senator Benigno Aquino, continued the effort to build a prosperous Korea.
Despite the turmoil in the political scene, strong institutions backed by an ancient Confucian culture provided a check and balance that eventually resulted in a stable Korean economy. The sense of nationalism in Korea is unmatched even by the Japanese. Part of this strong sense of nationalism has a lot to do with the draconian laws and decrees introduced during the period when they were still under dictatorship. To quote an excerpt from an article written by the late Teddy Benigno:
In the 1950s former General Park Chung-hee set-up a dictatorship which first decreed land reform. He then got the leading capitalists, entrepreneurs, economists; policy planners together win to something like a ruling national council. He drove them to excel, meet or exceed targets. Or else. The story goes that a prominent businessman complained, said he couldn’t meet his target. Park Chung-hee simply replied he would be executed at dawn. The businessman relented and met his target.
That was iron discipline. But it was that discipline that forged the new South Korea and today it is the 12th biggest economy in the world.
It is obvious that authoritarian rule has done more good than harm for the Korean people overall. It instilled discipline and a strong sense of nationalism in its people.
Korea has certainly come a long way. And their coming of age was remarkably fast. Three decades ago, Korea was even poorer than Malaysia and Mexico. Now, its “GDP per capita has surged by a factor of 10 to $17,000.00 more than double the levels in those countries. GDP growth was 0.2% in much of the rest of the world was contracting, and is estimated to be 6% this year” according to figures obtained from TIME magazine.
What was Korea’s secret then? The average Korean is ambitious and works furiously hard and long hours. There is even a saying that “Korea is the one society in the world in which the Chinese go broke and the Japanese look lazy”. They instill this discipline to the younger generation. The average Korean child goes to a coaching school three times a week and it is standard for them to learn English because they recognize the importance of being proficient in the English language.
The hardworking mentality is obviously another legacy of being ruled under an iron fist for several decades. Second to being hardworking, after decades of fearing their neighbor, Koreans worked on their national psyche and embraced globalization. They recognized that they needed to adjust their attitude towards race, the concept of citizenship based on blood, the underlying fear and intolerance of outsiders because “it was the greatest single weakness in their culture” according to Greg Sheridan.
In recent years, it is not unusual for children to go overseas to acquire a Western education and apply what they have learned to their homeland. You could say that Koreans are not averse to learning from outsiders. This also promoted innovation in their society. Whereas in the past, there were only a handful of companies that people could work for, nowadays there are more and more foreign investors playing a much larger role in the domestic economy, which increases competition. The influx of foreign money, ideas and people make a vibrant Korea.
The Asian financial crisis during the late 1990s and having to be bailed out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), served as a catalyst for change and accepting that the old ways didn’t work. From being a hermit kingdom to embracing globalization in the 1960s, they mobilized their cheap labor to competitively export cheap and low-tech goods to consumers in the west, which jump-started their income growth. There is no turning back for Korea.
Korea is now a force to be reckoned with. South Korea is the first Asian country to host the G-20 summit this November. From being insular to a major player in the world market, Korea is a country that the Philippines could have been.
About the Author
ilda has written 71 stories on this site.
Ilda is agent provocateur. She wants to help people realise that things are not always what they seem.
AMEN! Btw, you have a typo. You said Seoul is the first asian *country*….
Anyway, your article is really great. I appreciate it!
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 7:03 am
Thanks for telling me! I fixed it! I was so excited to post it, didn’t have much time to re-read twice
[Reply]
Miriam Quiamco Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Iida, I think the South Korean form of government is fundamentally different from our presidential system of government, they have a unicameral legislature which churns our policies quite more efficiently than our bicameral legislative body. Plus, their representatives are chosen from single-member constituencies, making these elected politicians accountable to the voters in their local electoral districts. They don’t have an upper house similar to our senate which simply wastes resources in government.
[Reply]
Miriam Quiamco Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 7:40 am
correction: churn out, not churn our
ulong pare Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
sokor’s management are committed to economies, efficiencies and productivity improvements, while Filipinos are more attuned to Congressman Pacquiao, Charice P, etc…
ilda Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Hi Miriam
Regardless of the set-up, maybe the difference lies more on the fact that our representatives and Senators are not as competent, have vested interest elsewhere and our constituents are not as intelligent as theirs so they do not demand much from their representatives. Whatever the set-up, our public officials should all be accountable to the voters and the taxpayers.
Correct me if I’m wrong but our form of government is the same with that of the US but their check and balance seems to work. It boils down to our culture of impunity again and apathy even from our public officials.
Orion Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Hey Ilda,
You might also want to mention that “AP Stalwart” Orion also made fun of Filipinos, certain stereotypes about Filipinos, and the Filipino accent and then point to this piece of incriminating evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXYxYgxI81o
Of course, fun was also made of the British, American, Australian, Singaporean, and Indian accents…
Why did the audience (which had representatives from all those nationalities in attendance) not throw tomatoes at me?
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 12:50 am
Orion
I didn’t know celebrity ka pala! lol
Oo nga naman. Your audience was a mix breed and they didn’t mind you making fun of the accents. They sure had a sense of humour.
The reaction of most Filipino crybabies to jokes made by other nationalities in reference to us is so embarrassing already.
[Reply]
Quite simply:
-
[Reply]
EthanRei Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Haha, if I got the message correctly, I’ve always thought too that the jeepney actually represents everything that’s wrong with our country.
[Reply]
Homer Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
lol…the illustration above reminds me of a localized Monty Python intro. it would also make a good billboard along our main roads, visible to the eyes of snarling jeepney advocates.
[Reply]
Given culture as a constant, you can’t do much under flawed institutions and flawed economic polices.
The North Koreans are as hard working as the South Koreans BUT are they are a prosperous society?
[Reply]
Orion Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 8:50 am
Yo BongV,
In fact, during the Japanese Occupation of the entire Korean Peninsula, the northern part of Korea (which became North Korea) was actually the more prosperous and more industrialized one, while the southern part (which became South Korea) was the poorer, agricultural, rural, and less industrialized area. Culturally, the northern part was more “industrious” than the southern part.
But after the Korean War and the partition into North and South Korea happened, with the North using a Marxist-Stalinist Communist Centrally-Planned Economic System, while the South used a Capitalist Market Economy, in the end, South Korea became the much more industrialized and more prosperous of the two.
In this situation, the culture was skewed slightly to the North, but the economic system, the institutions, and yes, the economic policies were all flawed.
South Korea, on the other hand, had better (and more logically-correct) economic policies and in fact when Park Chung Hee became the leader of South Korea, his dynamic quality of leadership helped unite South Korea behind pro-progress policies of rapid industrialization.
The North Korea – South Korea difference very clearly illustrates the whole CETERIS PARIBUS concept of:
“same culture, different systems —> different results.”
Once again, North Korea started off having people who were actually much more hardworking and more educated than the people from South Korea, but all because of the South’s use of the right economic system, the quality of leadership, the adoption of the right policies, and difference in institutions, South Korea is so much more progressive and prosperous. Nighttime Satellite photos reveal so much illumination in South Korea and almost total darkness in North Korea.
East versus West Germany was yet another example of “culture kept constant, difference in system —> difference in results.”
Clearly, the concept of CETERIS PARIBUS is the key to understanding all of this.
[Reply]
ulong pare Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
to break it down to its elemental form, left-behind flips remain lawless gung gongs; while ‘bakwet flips to ‘merka are law-abiding gung gongs…
[Reply]
Lorenz Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
i have watched many documentaries of people who have traveled to North Korea especially the famous “Don’t Tell My Mom”. North Koreans are indeed very hard working but they are “brain washed” and exploited to the max by their stupid government who doesn’t care about their people at all. They are Ill educated and malnourished.
They claim to be nationalistic/patriotic but in truth their govt doesn’t even care about their citizens but only their pride and lust for power.
They were never a communist. No country was able to truly utilize/adopt communism as envisioned by Karl Marx. Not even the Soviet Union.
I am mostly shocked that kids are being taught by their mothers a song about killing Americans. All the books available to the people have been doctored/changed in an idealistic way for their government’s propaganda. *facepalm*
[Reply]
Aegis-Judex Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
“They claim to be nationalistic/patriotic but in truth their govt doesn’t even care about their citizens but only their pride and lust for power.”
Does that remind you of anything? Oligarchs? The dumb fooks who voted for a dumb fook?
benign0 Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
@ BongV: true, although the comparison between North and South Korea involves a comparison between extreme polar opposite systems and is not the same as comparing, say, the Marcosian tyranny of the 70′s and the “freedom” afforded by today’s governance in the Pinas.
It’s like the difference between a comparison between Perez Hilton to Brad Pitt and a comparison between David Bowie and Brad Pitt on a gayness scale. The earlier is a clear contrast while the latter is more just a difference in degree (relative to the earlier).
[Reply]
BongV Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
True, NK and SK are diametrically opposite today.
In the past, there was only one Korea – presumably, same culture and traditions – at that point prior to the split. And in this same point of reference – the Philippine was also in the same nascent, turbulent, nebuloid stage, as I previously blogged in the Tale of Two Countries – Philippines versus SK.
Culture being constant.
1. After the war, Philippines was next to Japan in economic might – and there was one Korea – still protectionist.
2. Then Korea splits, Philippines stays the same – still protectionist.
3. NK goes the way of the commie oligarchy.
4. SK goes the way of the military oligarchy – still protectionist.
5. The Philippines goes the way of the feudal oligarchy – the military oligarchy – still protectionist.
6. Philippines and SK adopt import substitution – still protectionist. NK goes into juche self-reliance.
7. Philippines and SK emerge from martial law – still protectionist. NK continues its juche policy.
8. Philippines returns to feudal oligarchy – still protectionist. SK embraces the free market.NK continues its juche policy.
9. SK goes the way of the free market. Philippines is – still protectionist.
If Philippines was no 2 in 1950 – could it be said then that the culture at that time was different from today’s culture?
The current AS-IS state
[Reply]
Lorenz Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
i don’t think the culture in that time was very different from now. What caused it to change if it were the case? there should be a reason. i guess Philippines was no 2 in 1950s mostly because most countries were in deep conflict within the Cold War (Vietnam War, Korean War, divided Germany, Chinese Civil War, Communist insurgencies, etc.) What else is that most Asian countries were still recovering from WWII.
The Philippine communists were not that strong in 1950s anymore too.
ilda Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 12:06 am
For me it is obvious that in the 1950s, our success then can be attributed to the fact that we were still benefiting from a lot of American infrastructure the Americans left behind. The problem is, we didn’t improve on some of the things they left behind. The jeepney is a classic example of this. In a sense, we were more open to adopting foreign innovation then than now. For some reason, we seem to be averse to the outside influence now. We have so many of our elites studying abroad but they don’t seem to bring their knowledge back home so we can use it for the advancement of our country.
benign0 Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
@ BongV re: “If Philippines was no 2 in 1950 – could it be said then that the culture at that time was different from today’s culture? [...] The current AS-IS state”
One could argue that we were number two then because we were fresh out of 50 years of U.S. rule, and perhaps money was flowing in and jobs abounded because of the repair work being done in the aftermath of WWII bombing. If Japan was No. 1 at the time, it was because it was number one in Asia since the 19th Century and specially after it established itself as a major military power after it emerged victorious from the Russo-Japanese war at the turn of the century.
Compare the Philippines and Japan (No 2 and No 1 respectively in the 1950s). The Philippines was so under the management of a foreign power, whilst the Japanese were so under its own management and conscious initiative.
So in a sense, it is not surprising that the Philippines began its decline after it became independent (in the REAL sense) after 1946 — it was merely reverting back to its natural state (since it was no longer propped up by a foreign master that was counteracting this natural tendency) — seeking its own level, kung baga — back to the state in which the Spanish first found us back in the 16th Century. The only problem was we were regressing back to our natural state while our population size was galloping towards the monstrous levels we see today. Back to primitivism but NOT back to a natural population level that fits our labour-intensive low-capital-applied primitivist way of life.
Japan on the other hand, after its defeat in WWII, merely continued what it was doing since its modernisation drive in the 19th Century. It was a sustainable momentum because it was a collective initiative fuelled from the very fabric of its “cultural DNA”.
====
Click here to share this comment on your Facebook profile!
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
@Bong
North Korea hasn’t fully opened up their economy and embraced globalization yet. Innovation is not encouraged, so there are no small businesses. The state controls all major sectors of the economy and formulates all decisions about the use of resources and the distribution of output. You know all the rest…
Yeah, they work hard to build and amass nuclear weapons.
[Reply]
palahubug99 Reply:
November 14th, 2010 at 9:26 am
So, in short, if NK were to somehow magically overthrow the Kim cult worship and adapt free-market capitalism tomorrow, in 10 years we can expect na malalampasan na rin ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas by NK?
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 14th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Well they are already a hardworking lot, they just need to embrace globalization. palahubug
To my knowledge I don’t recall Kazakhstan demanding an apology from Cohen, etc. regarding the movie either, but the village where they filmed the hometown scenes did. They even filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1078446/We-hate-Borat-The-poor-Romanian-villagers-humiliated-Sacha-Baron-Cohens-spoof-documentary.htmlI was trying to find out what happened to the lawsuit, but no such luck, only found out more lawsuits were filed against that movie according to its imdb page.Just an FYI lang. Not a correction since Cohen, etc filmed in the Romanian village under false pretenses in the first place.
I do agree all this brouhaha over Pinoy jokes is so trivial though. We really have lost our sense of humor if we don’t get it’s a joke, it’s intended to make people laugh. Sure it may be an ethnic joke, which precisely what an ethnic joke is — it makes fun of other people and their culture –but the bottom line is it is still a joke. Who are we actually kidding over all these apologies? An apology may be issued but we still stay the same unimproved balat-sibuyas lot.
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Thanks for the info elphalba I have a feeling that lawsuit you were referring to was just a publicity stunt to generate more interest in the film. And it wasn’t even the people of Kazakhstan demanding an apology.
Glad to know we share the same point of view
[Reply]
I actually found that Korean clip about Filipino accent funny. Not hilarious, but I chuckled a bit. I wondered why everyone started posting it and getting upset. Is is because she didn’t exactly get our accent right? Anyway, we’re losing our sense of humor when it’s all we got.
I have some questions. I like what I read here, and you guys make sense. It’s true what you say about ourselves (I’m including you ok?) and therefore our country. It’s a slap in the face — a lot of slaps actually that I’m getting dizzy and I sometimes get too weak to react or act. The facts about us Pinoys that you raise are things some of us have noticed too. But you guys put them into words very succinctly and “acidically” (maasim? hehe). Ok, my question is, with all the “solutions”, suggestions and observations that are being brought up here, how are we supposed to act on it and make it real or make it stop? Talking about them is one thing. At least they’re rising to the surface. Then what? Discuss amongst ourselves which of them is true or not, which solution is best? How will they be heard more clearly and made doable by many? Is there a way I (as a small, lowly, positive-thinking citizen) can help? I’m sure shouting in the streets is not one of them, we’ve been there.
We all have solutions, but they’re only implemented as intellectual discussions. I think part of the solution/s is convincing those who are already in power, to accept those solutions. Then when everything’s in place, give them the boot (as if they’d leave).
I hope I’m not sounding sarcastic. I’m just merely frustrated, I’ve always had dreams that we’ll get better any moment now. But it seems that that’s never going to happen anymore. I don’t want to leave this country yet. I still do my job as honestly as I can, believing that it’ll make a difference. Hehe, corny no?
[Reply]
ChinoF Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Lee Da Hae’s skit was supposed to be funny. You got the joke. Looks like a lot didn’t.
Action I guess could start with ourselves and teaching what we know to those around us. To tell your family to stop watching Wowowee or Willing Willie and other stuff like that, tell other people what you think about the Lee Da Hae issue, and other stuff. So far, that’s what I can do. Although I sometime go on radio in the Sentro ng Katotohanan program. Carmen Pedrosa is trying to set up community radio to reach the masses.
[Reply]
Lorenz Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
I read in a Yahoo news that Lee Da Hae didn’t actually meant that Filipinos speak like that but she actually referred to the SouthEast Asians. I would say, she is more referring to Indonesians, Malaysians, etc. (i have heard their accents in Nat Geo and Crime&Investigation Channels).
[Reply]
ChinoF Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Then why did Filipinos get riled out of all the “Southeast Asians?” Funny, isn’t it?
Lorenz Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Insecurity. Don’t you get it? Filipinos feel inferior to foreigners so they get angry when they are being joked. They get sensitive when being criticized by foreigners. It’s that simple really.
ulong pare Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
@ethanrei… that’s a convoluted post… focus on a single item… are you educated or something?
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
@EthanRei
Sorry I forgot ro reply to you.
The idea is to enlighten as many Filipinos as possible. We will only make a difference if the number of Filipinos who start using their critical analysis start growing. If you notice, the politicians get affected somehow when there is a public uproar. Take the case of the Mai Mislang issue. Because of the public outcry, P-Noy was forced to leave her behind when he went to the APEC summit in Japan. He may not have fired her, but you can tell that the pressure the bloggers and some journalists put on the administration through writing had a little bit of effect. So even if they tried to show that they were not affected, napapaisip sila kahit papaano.
Now, you can help by spreading the word. The more people you convince about the truth, the better for our society. Then one day, the Philippine society will finally reach the age of Enlightenment. It would be faster if we can convince someone who is really influential. Maybe if you have a classmate who is well connected and you bombard him with links to our site, he can also spread the word. Once someone is exposed to the truth, there is no turning back. It’s a slow process but we have to keep doing it. Don’t get frustrated. Maybe your grandchildren will enjoy a more prosperous Philippines one day.
[Reply]
I’d still think: we see South Korea and Singapore as “authoritarian.” Well, seeing it from our western-influenced eyes (or media-influenced eyes?) it looks that way. But was it really authoritarian, or democracy in another fashion? They controlled stuff indeed, like TV content. But did their own people see it as authoritarian just as our own people saw the Marcos government? Did the Korean gov’t then “salvage” political enemies? Somehow, I still feel that “authoritarian” in Philippines terms means, you get jailed when you do a crime, but when “democratic,” it means you can make “pakiusap” and avoid a jail term. Not so in South Korea.
I’d say culture and the right system are both factors in South Korea’s success. In the Philippines, we have a lousy culture and lousy system… both pull our country down. Double trouble.
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 1:06 am
Chino said:
“I’d say culture and the right system are both factors in South Korea’s success. In the Philippines, we have a lousy culture and lousy system… both pull our country down. Double trouble.“
Ilda said:
Right. We need to continually re-examine what we are doing wrong. Even individuals need to reassess their actions from time to time. It should be the same for the whole society whether it’s our cultural or economic activities, we need to review it and change what needs to be changed. We need to adapt to the changing times or else we will be forever Asia’s laggard. We seem to be incapable of accepting our own shortfalls and think that we are just victims of circumstances.
We find all kinds of excuses for our problems now like our colonial history, being under dictatorship and etc, etc. What we need to do is to move on. Nowadays we like blaming everything on the public officials. Who put them there anyway? The people did. Even P-Noy is blaming everything on GMA for his own shortfalls. Gimme a break!
[Reply]
Korea is a nation, still under the threat, by the North Korea. I have some Korean friends in school. I found out, they were good students. They excelled in Science, Math and technical subjects. They were as disciplined as my Japanese and Chinese classmates. Most don’t put “hot air” on you. And were willing to help you; they explained to you subjects, you cannot understand fully well. Most went back to their countries; when they graduated. Filipinos just cannot sense a good joke. Especially, if the joke is upon them. “Masyadong sensitive sila…’ The South Korean has all the right to kick anybody, out in their country who they believe are troublemakers…
[Reply]
Sharafa Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Exactly. When you have a neighbor like North Korea that constantly calls you a “puppet regime” and threaten to “reunite” the two Koreas by forces, then you can’t really blame them for wanting to deport a few troublemaking commies who are just there to create anti-South Korean sentiments.
[Reply]
Hyden Toro Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
North Korea has Nuclear Weapons. It has the ability to deliver its nuclear bombs, anywhere in Asia, including the Philippines. Pakistan and India have also Nuclear Weapons; with the ability to deliver their nuclear bombs, also, anywhere in Asia.Pakistan has a very serious Al Queda insurgency problem. Also, a serious conflict with India. The Philippines is in the receiving end , as the results of these conflicts. Can you see the seriousness of the Al Queda inspired insurgency in Mindanao?
[Reply]
By the end of the 60′s, we were still superior to SK. It’s sad that we went downhill from there…but when one realizes it was bound to happen due to our “ways”, it’s not surprising.
Back then, we had the potential. Today, we suck…..period!
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 1:15 am
@Homer
The majority of the Filipino people lack discipline and are so into instant gratification. They want everything now for minimal effort. That’s why most succumbed to shortcuts and under the table transactions. They are totally averse to the idea of working hard for themselves or for their own country.
[Reply]
flips got it all, except >>> discipline… no guts, no glory… when the goings get rough, ‘bakwet to ‘merka… allah eh, di tapos ang problema…
[Reply]
There’s also a difference. South Koreans are nationalistic/patriotic people with open minds as for Filipinos, apathy and laziness abounds in all levels of their society with no genuine patriotism whatsoever.
[Reply]
ulong pare Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
@lorenz… say something negative about santo gunggongressman fcukiao or criticize flip heavily accented country-clubbed english… and you’ll be bombarded with curses and be excommunicated by partIYOTic flips…
[Reply]
Lorenz Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
That’s not nationalism/patriotism anyway. If you want to know what it truly means to become a genuine nationalist/patriot then look up to Jose Rizal. He loved the country so much even to the point that he criticizes his fellow countrymen through the article “The Indolence of Filipinos”. That’s because he wants his country to prosper and his people to be enlightened.
Buying local products is being nationalistic? Ignorant fools. They don’t know a thing about nationalism/patriotism.
Students don’t even bother to sing the national anthem when played in special events.
[Reply]
killem Reply:
November 14th, 2010 at 10:41 am
as far as i can remember, rizal love both spain and the phil that time… he supported changes in the govt, but never wanted for phil independence. he is more like a fence sitter, in a time where a person should take sides.. for me its a not a good example of being nationalist…
Lorenz Reply:
November 12th, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Just look it like this pare. When your mother scolds you, does it mean she hates you? No of course. It actually means she wants you to be corrected and become a great man because she loves you.
When a fellow Filipino criticizes something about the Philippines, does it mean he’s not nationalistic and patriotic? No of course.
But apparently, Filipinos have no idea about nationalism and patriotism.
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 12:33 am
@Lorenz
As I mentioned in the article, the draconian rules when Korea was still under dictatorship coupled with their Confucian culture instilled discipline and a strong sense of nationalism in their people. After they changed to democracy, it was still a bit of a struggle to achieve real freedom because their psyche was still stuck with authoritarian rule. They were lucky to have had good leaders eventually who were reformers and had visions for the future of their nation.
Too much freedom can be a bad thing when you are still immature and have no sense of identity yet. You can liken it to a teenager inheriting a big chunk of cash and having the freedom to do whatever he wants to do with it. The problem is, most teenagers still don’t have a sense of responsibility so the teenager will most likely squander all his inheritance in one go.
And this is precisely what happened to Filipinos after we got our freedom from the Marcos regime. We just squander the freedom we have because we don’t really know what to do with it. We feel trapped with our incompetent leaders not realizing that we have the freedom to vote for the right one during elections and kick out the wrong one by asking them to resign. The public officials are supposed to be working for us but we treat them like kings or celebrities who can do no wrong. Worse, we even reelect them. Just look at the Senate and Congress as proof of this.
Sense of nationalism can come naturally too when people see that they get gratification for their labor. At the moment, the Filipino people feel so helpless because they do not see where their taxes and efforts are going. Ironically, they also do not expect much from the public officials they voted for because they have become apathetic to the whole situation.
[Reply]
Aegis-Judex Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 9:36 am
How do we bring that ethos to the country, then? Consider how there are elements that object to anything that calls for discipline. Leftists, I’m looking at you.
[Reply]
bubi78 Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Discipline comes from the word disciple. You be the model to your friends, classmates, and neighbors; teach them the appropriate traits and values and present yourself as the model how these traits and values made a difference in your life. Draconian measures will not instill discipline, the people may toe the line but they do so out of fear. The key to instilling the ethos that you yearn for lies in our educational system… teaching can be a subversive activity in the sense that you subvert the cultural DNA and re-engineer it to fit the mold of the more successful models that exist today. It goes without saying that doing so would call for a total revamp of the system and, of course, the political will and the right leader must be in place to institute the much needed change.
Aegis, keep your faith but keep it to yourself because institutionalized religion has been corrupted and has ceased to be the harbinger of hope and salvation that it purport to be.
ilda Reply:
November 14th, 2010 at 1:31 am
@bubi78
While I don’t really advocate the exact type of draconian measure that was used by Korea in the 1950s, you have to admit that if it weren’t for it, they wouldn’t have achieved their economic prosperity in a short span of time. I mean, the results speak for itself.
When you mention the word disciple, the late Cory Aquino comes to mind. To most Filipinos, she was the epitome of all things “good”. But did they follow her example though? The answer is no because each individual still has to battle his or her own demons and most Filipinos lose that battle. Even her own daughter, Kris Aquino could not emulate her because she has her own issues. Most Filipinos are too immature, irresponsible and not to mention selfish in using their freedom.
Unfortunately, our own culture is our own enemy. Most Filipinos cater more to pakikisama even if they know they are doing the wrong thing but since they see that everyone else is doing it, they kid themselves by thinking that “it’s probably ok because, they are also doing it”. Most Filipinos care more about their image; popularity and reputation so they try to show-off by buying stuff they think can help make them look cool but otherwise don’t really need. Or worse, they don’t want to criticise their leaders because they might lose their friends by doing so.
The authoritarian style I would advocate for Filipinos is akin to the style of the authority exercised by a parent to a child – which is stern but with love. Think about when you were a child, your parents had to instill fear in you so you will obey them. You feared being scolded or getting in trouble because you know there is a consequence when you disobeyed. Most kids feared being berated by their parents and would not want to disappoint them.
The secret to the rules being obeyed whether it’s at home or in the community is the constant follow-through of consequences. We must punish people who disobey the rules by imposing penalties in the form of fines or jail. If we are too wishy-washy with implementing the laws in our society or if keep letting people get away with their crimes by bribery or pakikisama, Filipinos will be trapped in the cycle of mediocrity.
Lorenz Reply:
November 13th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
I would say we should follow the educational system of Japan or Australia and not the United States.
ilda Reply:
November 14th, 2010 at 12:32 am
@Aegis-Judex
We must get rid of our culture of impunity otherwise; the cycle of mediocrity will prevail. There should always be a consequence for people’s action. The problem with Filipinos is they easily shrug off mistakes, which is why they never learn from it.
The number of leftist will eventually go down when the economy picks up. The primary reason why people succumb to the leftist ideology is because there are more people living in a situation of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society. Arguably, increased economic activity can potentially solve this dilemma.
Hyden Toro Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
@Lorenz
Why work hard, when you can run for Public Office; delude people. Put your “sticky fingers” in public funds; then get rich…I have yet to see a high public official jailed for corruption. Sec. Puno, the self confessed bribe taker is being protected by Noynoy Aquino for receiving bribes…a good example of what I’m talking about…
[Reply]
bubi78 Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 12:06 am
I did just that; I ran for kagawad in our barangay and luckily won, but there would be no dipping of “sticky fingers” for me…rather I would use this opportunity to put into practice what we are talking in this site and spread the word at the grass root level.
[Reply]
I’m from the game development industry, and I’d like to share something similar:
10 years ago, the Korean game development industry was non-existent. The notion of a Korean-made game was laughable given that Japan and America have a huge established game development industry. 10 years later, now, they have more than 1000 game companies producing hundreds of games, and SoKor has earned the title “Online Gaming Capital of the World”.
10 years ago, the Philippine game development industry was non-existent. 10 years later, now, we have roughly 50 game companies that are mostly for outsourcing of game assets. Almost none produce their own games.
The way we see it, these are the following reasons to why SoKor’s game dev industry grew from nothing to gigantic in just 10 years:
1) Their people are open-minded. They believe in “if they can do it, so can we!”, so they copied a “working equation” which is to make games art styles similar to Japan. They are proud of their work regardless of what other countries say as long as it brings development to their country.
We on the other hand have a twisted and warped notion of “tangkilikin lamang ang gawang Pinoy”. Any attempts to copy a “working equation” from a developed country is shrugged off as “gaya-gaya, nakakahiya” UNLESS it is sensationalized by the media and/or foreigners. Perfect example is Charice Pempengco who was a nobody here but is now loved by the masses because of Ellen DeGeneres. So many times have I heard people here look down on pinoy artists and game developers and look up to Korean artists and game developers, but the irony here is that A LOT OF PINOY ARTISTS AND DEVELOPERS ARE WORKING FOR KOREAN GAME COMPANIES.
2) Their government is supportive of technology and have foresight. 10 years ago, the SoKor government thought that they should invest in improving their broadband connection because they believe that this will be an infrastructure for future businesses to grow. Take note, they DID NOT KNOW exactly what this improved broadband connection will be used for exactly. They just knew that information and technology is needed for growth. Later on, the private and business sector found ways to make use of this broadband connection, with online games being the most popular. The government then SUPPORTED the growth of these companies. They actually hired people from Japan and America to teach these companies how to make quality games. Additionally, their government encourages and educates its citizens on the importance of learning the English language. Proof that they are up to date with the times.
Our government on the other hand is old fashioned and shrugs of technology as juvenile and unnecessary. Our government focuses on short-term gain, both legal and illegal, rather than long-term development. That ZTE deal could’ve have been very helpful for the growth of IT companies here, sadly corruption reared its ugly head. And now I’m hearing politicians actually encouraging tagalog in schools and eliminate the english language, which is very baffling when OUTSOURCING IS WHAT’S KEEPING OUR COUNTRY AFLOAT.
[Reply]
ilda Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Hi juanon
That was a very interesting read. It’s really a shame another country is benefiting from our talent pool in the gaming industry. This only proves what I said in my earlier article that the anti-intellectual attitude of most Filipinos and even our own public servants are driving the intellectuals away from our own country. We are stuck in mediocre mindset because people think that being intelligent equals being evil. You can blame this on religion basically.
Our culture also discourages individuals from being different which also discourages innovation. There is no way you can produce entrepreneurs when you don’t innovate.
Filipinos easily get blinded by show business that’s why they would rather get into singing and dancing. Their main goal is to be the next Charice.
You may also want to read:
Is P-Noy’s anti-intellectual attitude turning intellectuals off the country?
Filipinos cannot progress because of anti-elitist mentality
[Reply]
Jay Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 2:26 am
Their government is supportive of technology and have foresight. 10 years ago, the SoKor government thought that they should invest in improving their broadband connection because they believe that this will be an infrastructure for future businesses to grow. Take note, they DID NOT KNOW exactly what this improved broadband connection will be used for exactly. They just knew that information and technology is needed for growth.
Telecom infrastructure wise, it does help that they are one solid land mass, meaning they can invest putting in those fiber optic lines and have them run everywhere they can put it down. But of course that is no excuse for the Philippines, which is a smaller area despite being an archipelago. Also I’m not sure if its one of the consequences or precursors to it, but they were also convinced about online learning and saw the laying of those lines as potential to increase and diversify education. Simply put, those lines were probably cheaper than as well since they were not in demand but paid dividends when everything is trying to be on the internet, including pc gaming.
They actually hired people from Japan and America to teach these companies how to make quality games
This is true. Former Blizzard employees have come to help out certain Korean game companies. And Blizzard in the gaming world is certainly no strangers to making commercial successes with PC gaming.
And now I’m hearing politicians actually encouraging tagalog in schools and eliminate the english language,
Which is a baffling dichotomy indeed since in my generation, we actually appreciated English. And its not like they are taking away english to learn Ilocano and the other languages in the Philippines.
Korean and Japan have the fastest and best price per speed in terms of internet, which not even America can keep up with. (Only sweden can probably boast better money-for-speed ratio). China has potential considering they are trying to make a virtual library of sorts and to move such information you would certainly need a blisteringly fast network as a base with the kind of data you can move around.
And even pinoys are late in the gaming world they couldn’t even saturate the java/flash gaming, which is all of the rage in net based platforms.
[Reply]
KUNG GANYAN KA HANGANG-HANGA MASYADO SA KOREANO, EH DI MAG-MIGRATE KA NA O KAYA MAG-ASAWA KA NG KOREANO KESA MAG-INGAY KA NA NAMAN. SIMPLE LANG NAMAN ANG SOLUSYON SA PROBLEMA MO DI BA ?
[Reply]
blueredicedtea Reply:
November 18th, 2010 at 6:28 am
lol @juan
retarded solution is retarded.
[Reply]
AlvinEternal Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 12:09 am
Obvious troll is obvious. Btw,
“SAA, JIGOKU O TANOSHIMINA!” (Ngayon, tikman mo ang IMPIYERNO!)
*thumbs down*
[Reply]
Here’s my side of the story about Korea’s success from a Christian POV:
I’m a Bible school student and during my 3rd year, we’re studying about Korea’s place in… Christianity. During the time of the Japanese occupation, being a Christian to the Koreans is anti-Japanese. At the time of the Korean War, which it leads to the creation of North & South Korea (communist & democratic), Christianity in South Korea was strengthened. Even they have other religions like Confucianism & Buddhism, the Christian churches in South Korea are the fast-growing compared to other Asian countries like here. There is a story of one Korean pastor went to the Philippines in the ’60s while our country is progressing and still superior than Korea during that time. He went to Luneta, kneels down & pray, saying “Lord, please make our country like this.”
20 years later, in the 1980s, South Korea became on of the most progressive countries in Asia (first is Japan) during that time. When that pastor came back in our country, he was disappointed about what he saw, went to Luneta, and prayed, “Lord, let this country be like Korea.”
So Christianity had place in Korea’s success; my dad went to Korea 4 years ago and visted most of the churches there; heck, even they have prayer mountains! Also, they’re easy to identify who are the Catholic & Protestant churches kaysa sa Pinas dahil meron silang red & blue crosses, especially during the night.
The Philippines was once said as “The Only Christian Nation in Asia”. But what’s weird is that why there are many missionaries coming to our country? The truth is that most Pinoys, mostly Catholics, never REALLY knew about Christ. Now I’m beginning to believe that Korea is the ONLY Christian nation in Asia since they were known for respect & faith in God.
[Reply]
blueredicedtea Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 5:12 am
@alvin
“The truth is that most Pinoys, mostly Catholics, never REALLY knew about Christ. Now I’m beginning to believe that Korea is the ONLY Christian nation in Asia since they were known for respect & faith in God.”
god is long dead in the philippines…unfortunately.(i mean the christian concept concept of morality there does not apply. i hope that i didn’t hurt your feelings sorry.)
most pinoys only use religions to fulfill their selfish needs “give us this day our daily hamburger with fries and carbonara” they dont think of their spirituality and why they were worshiping or what does the bible quotes really meant.
[Reply]
AlvinEternal Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Hehe, ok lang sa akin. BTW, I have seen many Korean churches here, especially in Makati. Pero hanga ako sa mga pangulo ng Korea; they even respect a minister. That’s because they believe that the minister served God while the president served the people.
But there is still hope. Kaya nating baguhin ang ating bansa… kung willing tayong magbago.
[Reply]
It would have been different the Philippines today. We were given a chance to be a state or republic after WWII. I watched one of Dick Gordon’s interview. MLQ sold us out during his tenure as president. They chose “Republic”. Do you remember this quote “I rather see the Philippines run like hell than the American run it like heaven” this is a selfish act and stupid quote.
[Reply]