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About TK
- T.K. (Ask a Korean!)
- The Korean is a Korean American living in Washington D.C. He lived in Seoul until he was 16, then moved to Los Angeles area. The Korean refers to himself in the third person because he thinks it sounds cool.
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What's so proud about getting taken over by another country and then being liberated by another (at least indirectly) anyway? Two of our five "national celebration days" are days that refer to the Japanese occupation (8.15 and 3.1), which seems kinda dumb. And between the two, shouldn't Samiljeol be the "real" occasion for remembering and celebrating independence? I say get rid of 8.15 as a "national celebration day", and instead make Hangeulnal a holiday.
ReplyDeleteJeonuchi,
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, if we followed your logic, then the U.S. should not celebrate the Independence Day because our forefathers could not have achieved independence without the French. Not too sure what to make of your cynicism.
Not sure what exactly is the complaint (do you really not want to celebrate freedom, however you got it?) but at least with me, pride, or being proud of some accomplishment, is the last word I would use to describe the feeling I have on gwangbokjeol.
ReplyDeleteNope. If we "followed my logic," July 4 should exactly be the day to celebrate because that was when the Americans "declared" their independence (actual fighting against the Brits lasted until March 1783 or so), kinda like how Koreans "declared" their independence at Samiljeol (Mar 1), which I advocated as a national celebration day.
ReplyDeleteLet me reiterate: we have "4,500 years" of history, and two out of our five national celebration days essentially refer to the same issue (independence from 20th century Japanese colonial rule)? Maybe it was important to celebrate both days at the time the holidays were set (1949), but now it looks kinda redundant, no?
I'm with you on this one, jeonuchi(your name reminds me of Maruchi & Arachi).
ReplyDelete8.15 almost seems like an "in your face" day.
jeonuchi,
ReplyDeleteThe Korean feels where you are coming from. But the Korean thinks the day is worth celebrating, although for a different reason. 8/15 is not just the day when Korea was liberated; it was also the day when modern Republic of Korea was born. That's definitely worth celebrating.