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panda

Well-known member
South Korea is going through some tough times socially, politically, and economically. I would like dedicate this thread to encourage the South Koreans with words of affirmation, designs, and uplifting music.

-Panda

women_men_korean.jpg
 
Panda said:
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.

What do you think the root cause of unhappiness in S. Korea is?
 
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.
 
Panda said:
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.?




Liar Loan said:
Panda said:
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.

What do you think the root cause of unhappiness in S. Korea is?

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.
 
If you don?t look good, we don?t look good. Jkjk

Remember that commercial from Vidal Sassoon shampoo commercial.  ;)

Panda said:
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.?




Liar Loan said:
Panda said:
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.

What do you think the root cause of unhappiness in S. Korea is?
 
Mety said:
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.

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:
Mety said:
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.

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.

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:
Panda said:
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.?




Liar Loan said:
Panda said:
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.

What do you think the root cause of unhappiness in S. Korea is?

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.

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?
 
Mety said:
Liar Loan said:
Mety said:
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.

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.

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.

I can?t stop laughing
 
Liar Loan said:
Panda said:
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.

What do you think the root cause of unhappiness in S. Korea is?


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

 
Kings said:
climate activists would see population decline as a good thing.  thoughts?

I need Koreans to have more babies to ensure there is a future generation supporting the production of Korean drama shows.
 
Kings said:
anyone care to elaborate why population decline is a bad thing?

I think Panda gave his reasons.
He said, "Without God, there is no Love. Without Love, there is no Marriage. Without Marriage, there is no South Korean children."
 
interesting perspective, thank you.

the point about k-pop leading to the destruction of conservative values and, ultimately, the decline of an entire population is intriguing.  it sounds like you view seo taiji as a large contributor - is this a widely-shared feeling among south koreans?  k-pop is a worldwide phenomenon - do you believe it is still responsible today for driving south korean people away from faith?
 
Panda said:
Some people say that the South Koreans are the Italians among the Asians. These good looking people need to be born for the future generation.

Many Koreans do not like how they look naturally.  It's said that SK has the highest cosmetic procedures per capita.  The normalization of cosmetic procedures has turned them into extensions of make-up.

"Natural" Korean beauties like Lee Su-hyun of AKMU are not appreciated for their beauty.  Fans appreciate her self-confidence and values but not her looks.  When she and her brother signed with YG she specified in her contract "no plastic surgery", and to those who thinks they're ugly, she replied "comments on our appearance are the only place where our feelings do not get hurt.?

(Translation:  don't like how I look?  Up yours.)

https://youtu.be/WLQFRjvdWLE

Youtube link will not display correctly in chrome.  You can go to Youtube manually and search for title:  170812 ?????(AKMU) - DINOSAUR + Thinking out loud ???(Rehearsal) [?? ???? ? ????] 4K ?? by ??
 
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