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panda
Well-known member
Sorry Liarloan,
There were series of sad news coming out of South Korea recently and decided not to post it here. I try to keep my posts positive and uplifting whenever I can.
Malcolm Gladwell wrote in one of this books... (I believe it was from Outliers) that the countries perceived to be happiest are the saddest inside, and the countries perceived to the saddest. Not his exact words, but something similar.
quote author=Liar Loan link=topic=17174.msg357092#msg357092 date=1575400497]
Panda why do you nuke so many threads/comments?
[/quote]
There were series of sad news coming out of South Korea recently and decided not to post it here. I try to keep my posts positive and uplifting whenever I can.
Malcolm Gladwell wrote in one of this books... (I believe it was from Outliers) that the countries perceived to be happiest are the saddest inside, and the countries perceived to the saddest. Not his exact words, but something similar.
quote author=Liar Loan link=topic=17174.msg357092#msg357092 date=1575400497]
Panda said:
Panda why do you nuke so many threads/comments?
[/quote]
panda
Well-known member
Similar to LA, the image of looking good in the outside is very important in South Korea, while they may be hurting or depressed inside.
LL, not sure if you are interested in reading this, but the article should give an answer to your question. Around 75% of the Korean Americans like myself come from a Christian upbringing, but that number is less than 25% in South Korea.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christianity-quit-growing-korea/
"Now South Korea is developed and wealthy?Seoul, the cosmetic and plastic surgery capital of the world, ?is like New York but five-times cleaner,? Um said. ?Everything is new and modern and well-wired.?
?In Korea, money is winning,? Park said. ?Their aim in life is to be rich, to succeed. . . . Money is the No. 1 enemy in Korean Christianity now.?
Ro agrees. ?The biggest idol we have in Korea is mammonism?money. Our mentality, our worldview, our values didn?t catch up to the rapid growth of the economy.?
LL, not sure if you are interested in reading this, but the article should give an answer to your question. Around 75% of the Korean Americans like myself come from a Christian upbringing, but that number is less than 25% in South Korea.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christianity-quit-growing-korea/
"Now South Korea is developed and wealthy?Seoul, the cosmetic and plastic surgery capital of the world, ?is like New York but five-times cleaner,? Um said. ?Everything is new and modern and well-wired.?
?In Korea, money is winning,? Park said. ?Their aim in life is to be rich, to succeed. . . . Money is the No. 1 enemy in Korean Christianity now.?
Ro agrees. ?The biggest idol we have in Korea is mammonism?money. Our mentality, our worldview, our values didn?t catch up to the rapid growth of the economy.?
Liar Loan said:
There is no happiness on this earth.
I believe S. Korea has been thriving in terms of economy and technology along with living experiences for the last decade. Very opposite of N. Korea indeed. However, no matter how well it seems to be developed or advanced, the reality is that more and more people find themselves in modern symptoms like depression and ADD. This is not just S. Korea but anywhere in this world. That is because people forgot WHO the real source of happiness is. People rely heavily on material or superficial successes like how many followers or likes there are on Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube. This is only one extreme example. Money, fame, even a good retirement, or anything you would like to count as success in this world simply won't give you true happiness. NOTHING will. These things might provide a brief joy, but it won't last a day or even minutes. There is no happiness on this earth because what God has made good and happy are now bad and sad since the fall of the humanity, sin.
Thus happy are are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness because you can't find such righteousness on this earth. Period. You can only try to be merciful, stay pure in heart, and be the peacemaker while others might persecute you for doing so. Once you start doing these and admit God is the true source of happiness, all the superficial fake happiness won't matter anymore. You'll find yourself looking forward to live where God restores this broken earth, this sinful world where everyone is deceived with fake happiness. That is the ONLY HOPE a humanity is called to have. And you can have that hope only from the Son of God, Jesus if you sincerely ask. Even after you committed to believe in Jesus, you WILL still fall and tempted to enjoy this fake happiness. But you will find yourself groaning over such fakeness and recover again to look for the day of true happiness. The true happiness is yet to come, but we who believe are patiently waiting despite the advanced technology and science or disasters and tragedies.
There will be a day when there is full of happiness again on this earth.
I believe S. Korea has been thriving in terms of economy and technology along with living experiences for the last decade. Very opposite of N. Korea indeed. However, no matter how well it seems to be developed or advanced, the reality is that more and more people find themselves in modern symptoms like depression and ADD. This is not just S. Korea but anywhere in this world. That is because people forgot WHO the real source of happiness is. People rely heavily on material or superficial successes like how many followers or likes there are on Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube. This is only one extreme example. Money, fame, even a good retirement, or anything you would like to count as success in this world simply won't give you true happiness. NOTHING will. These things might provide a brief joy, but it won't last a day or even minutes. There is no happiness on this earth because what God has made good and happy are now bad and sad since the fall of the humanity, sin.
Thus happy are are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness because you can't find such righteousness on this earth. Period. You can only try to be merciful, stay pure in heart, and be the peacemaker while others might persecute you for doing so. Once you start doing these and admit God is the true source of happiness, all the superficial fake happiness won't matter anymore. You'll find yourself looking forward to live where God restores this broken earth, this sinful world where everyone is deceived with fake happiness. That is the ONLY HOPE a humanity is called to have. And you can have that hope only from the Son of God, Jesus if you sincerely ask. Even after you committed to believe in Jesus, you WILL still fall and tempted to enjoy this fake happiness. But you will find yourself groaning over such fakeness and recover again to look for the day of true happiness. The true happiness is yet to come, but we who believe are patiently waiting despite the advanced technology and science or disasters and tragedies.
There will be a day when there is full of happiness again on this earth.
Liar Loan
Well-known member
Panda said:
Thank you for your answer. I will check out that article when I have some time.
My perception was that S. Korea was over 50% Christian - I think there are some stats that still say that, maybe from Pew research - so it surprises me to see that it is closer to 25%. I also assumed that the strong Christian community of Korean Americans was a mirror of what existed in S. Korea, so it also surprises me to learn that there are big differences there.
I suppose a lot can change in even one generation apart, where Korean Americans that started out mostly poor & working class in the 70's & 80's have taken one path, working hard to become successful in this country and retaining their faith, while Korea's residents have taken another path based on the easy wealth occurring around them, leading to a decline in faith.
This is a very interesting topic.
Liar Loan
Well-known member
Mety said:
I agree with most of what you wrote, but I have a quibble with what you wrote about ADD. Two of my four kids have it and it is something that runs in my family, but prior to the 90's was not recognized or diagnosed. In the old days, you were just considered to be a "bad apple" if you had it.
It's also not the result of little kids that are hyper being over-diagnosed as is sometimes portrayed in the media, but is actually a physiological disorder where the brain's synapses do not fire correctly. Without medicine, my son would not be able to pass any subjects in school due to his lack of ability to focus. It's not something he chooses, but something he has absolutely no control over. It's also something he will probably have to deal with well into adulthood.
Believe me, the last thing I want to be doing is giving my son medicine, but it's a choice between doing that or jeopardizing his future because he can't perform even at a basic level in school. With the medicine, he is able to get mostly A's and B's versus D's and F's, but even with the medicine he does things more slowly and needs much more individual attention from my wife and I, and the teachers.
This is going to be a long journey for us. However, without being diagnosed and receiving medicine he would be at the very bottom of the academic pool.
Liar Loan said:
I'm sorry for writing ADD in such manner. I should have thought a little more. I also find Depression something many around us deal with that needs medication regardless of it being modern or not.
We all deal with something that was not common before or just was not aware of as much, but I don't see them as a fabrication out of modern society. I do see them as something we need to help and use medication for if needed that we need to love more for those who are in need.
While I'm not against using science and medication to help us improve, I'm also with you that giving medication to our children is something that could be really painful. I truly pray for your children and your family.
Liar Loan said:
I believe most of Asia's main religion is Buddhist. But I do believe S. Korea had true Christians back in the day and they forgot God as they started to feel like they don't really need God anymore. There are also big portion of false believers from false church with false teachings/pastors that could fill up some % stats. This is true for all other countries too. Europe had true believers back in the day, but then hardly can find now. Just those huge cathedral architectures remain empty. America is actually on the same path.
But it's really nothing new, is it? When Israel was having a hard time, they cried out to God and God delivered them. But as soon as things started to be prosperous and good, they abandoned God and started to look for other false gods and idols. Why? Because they wanted more mammon, more sex, more selfish benefits than what God has given them, which was more than sufficient already. They believed false idols, other powerful nations or other superficial success can bring such pleasures for them (same story today, isn't it?). Then God punished them in a way, out of love, by bringing other nations attacking them, but then they cried out to God again and God delivered them again. The same cycle over and over throughout the whole OT. That's just a human nature. Not just Israel, not just S. Korea or any other specific country. The same pattern repeats with the sinful humanity.
Now the real question is, out of those 75%, 50%, or whatever % number of Christians, how many of them are true believers? How many of them actually love or even like Christ?
panda
Well-known member
Liar loan,
There is a verse in the bible that states that the first will be last, and the last will be first. Many successful CEOs including Charles Schwab, Steve Jobs, Russell Branson, John Chambers struggled with learning disability ADD. As a father, you need to encourage and believe in your boys and tell them that they going to be extraordinary as adults. The most important thing is that you have to believe in them and they have great value.
There is a verse in the bible that states that the first will be last, and the last will be first. Many successful CEOs including Charles Schwab, Steve Jobs, Russell Branson, John Chambers struggled with learning disability ADD. As a father, you need to encourage and believe in your boys and tell them that they going to be extraordinary as adults. The most important thing is that you have to believe in them and they have great value.
Liar Loan said:
momopi
Well-known member
Liar Loan said:
There is no single cause, but rather a number of factors. Difficulty in socio economic mobility being one of many.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_class_theoryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeonse
panda
Well-known member
Something you probably didn't know about Panda.
Outside of my vocational passions and interests in real estate, business, and investments. I have a ministry heart for the people of South Korea. Less than 25% of South Koreans are Christians and among the age 20s group, that number drops down to below 15%. I believe that God's heart also burns for these people too.
The fertility rate has dropped to .98, the lowest in the world. This is real problem in South Korea. Without God, there is no Love. Without Love, there is no Marriage. Without Marriage, there is no South Korean children. At this birth rate, the South Korean population will decrease from 50 million to sub 40 million by 2060, which are population numbers we have not seen since the 1970s. God please help the people of this precious country. This concerns me.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/asia/south-korea-fertility-intl-hnk-trnd/index.html
Outside of my vocational passions and interests in real estate, business, and investments. I have a ministry heart for the people of South Korea. Less than 25% of South Koreans are Christians and among the age 20s group, that number drops down to below 15%. I believe that God's heart also burns for these people too.
The fertility rate has dropped to .98, the lowest in the world. This is real problem in South Korea. Without God, there is no Love. Without Love, there is no Marriage. Without Marriage, there is no South Korean children. At this birth rate, the South Korean population will decrease from 50 million to sub 40 million by 2060, which are population numbers we have not seen since the 1970s. God please help the people of this precious country. This concerns me.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/asia/south-korea-fertility-intl-hnk-trnd/index.html