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Japanese? Korean???

Taiwanese baseball fans talking to an American guy in an elevator:

[via Sparkling Korea]

38 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - June 6, 2008 at 5:22 pm

Categories: General Japan Tags: taiwan, yankee

Mark

A simple honest mistake by the American fellow. To speak frankly I don’t understand why many people from various East Asian countries get so incensed over simple confusions concerning where they are from. I myself am from Kenya, and if someone were to think I was Ethiopian, Tanzanian, or even Nigerian or South African I would not be bothered by it nor do I know of any other African friends who would.

ChocolateFruitFish

Maybe not. Which is good. But I guess the issue is the whole it’s-all-the-same-whatever-it-doesn’t-matter feel to it. I don’t really get mad but I do get irritated. Because though there are some big and small similarites, there are also HUGE differences. Just recently in class some kids assumed that the movie we were watching on Pearl Harbor was on Chinese people. But the sound of the Chinese and Japanese language are so different. Obviously, I’d maybe get not knowing since a lot of people my age don’t really explore other cultures enough to know, but… it was Pearl Harbor. I guess maybe it doesn’t need like a OMGIHATEYOU, but it’s irritating when a person confuses a Korean text with a Chinese one. Because it’s so distinct. So to a person, it’s like saying someone from Scotland, England, Australia and Ireland are automatically American. Or someone from Mexico is from Spain because you don’t know. It gives off the impression of ‘I could really care less.’ While I do feel for the guy as it seems like a genuine mistake he feels sorry for, there’s pride in where you come from and what your background is. So it’s understandable that it can be annoying to a person to whom the differences are kind of obvious. I’m not saying no one makes these mistakes, but it’s a frustration because- ‘It’s so obvious.’

Kevin

If there are people (albeit stupid people) shown on the Leno show that can mistake Australia for Iraq, I think we still have a long way to go before people can understand the difference between Chinese and Japanese.

mortonsalt

it’s not that thy are really that stupid. it’s just that they are playing dumb, because if they actually got any of the answers correct they wouldn’t show it on TV.

Mark

I completely agree with you ChocolateFruitFish but admittedly I have long gotten used to that sort of ignorance, as I find it’s worse for Africans since many people in the West seem to speak of Africa as if it were a country and not a continent made up of over 50 nations. The point I was making is simply that I feel, judging from past experiences, that some people take situations like the above a bit too far and overreact over honest mistakes by taking the mistake as some sort of latent form of racism when it’s purely ignorance. I’m not referring to the people in the video though, they’re reaction wasn’t excessive or anything.

ChocolateFruitFish

You know, I really think some people mostly don’t really care. I feel like 1/3 do but just didn’t know. I think when people don’t feel it’s necessary, they are just as happy to think about nail polish, Britney Spears, and the O.C. At least, it seems that way in my school. Example: A girl in class asked who the Dali Lama is (in highschool) while a guy proceeded to confidently tell her that he was the religious leader of Thailand. Then Taiwan. All the while I keep saying Tibet. Until it’s like. ‘IT’S TIBET.’
Granted, I guess I overreacted since okay, they are all ti and tai sounds. But I hate it when people assume all Americans are stupid and I hate it even more when people go on television and ‘Prove’ it right. Really, I don’t think it’s a question of stupidity, but more of I’ve never needed to know/care so I don’t. Or I haven’t had the opporunity. But nevertheless, I’m grateful they asked since, at least now they know/had a desire to know? I guess more or less the frustration is ‘How can you not know?!’ T^Tp I’m trying to be understanding since everyone has to start knowing something sometime in their life but… It’s really disheartening.

Sweetwater

Those Taiwanese people were upset not because the guy thought they were from South Korea but because the New Yorker seemed to believe the Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang, a national hero of Taiwan, was from South Korea.

131172

Haha. Funny expression from the caucasian after the fans reply. Guess Wang is not as famous as how the Taiwan media hyped him to be.
Sandy

I can sympathise. My sister, in a similar elevator incident, was asked by an American if they speak Dutch or German in Scotland.
ダビ

Hahaha!
http://eleclutier.blogspot.com Elec

Funny, common situation. Personally, I like when random people make small talk to strangers, and like it even more when people clearly learn something from it. I thought the American guy’s “I gotta look some stuff up!” comment was pretty cool too, actually.
Josh

Wait, Taiwan is its own country!?
http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

Reminds me of how all white people are assumed to be American when they’re in an Asian country. We’ve all “gotta look some stuff up!”
toru

Actually, there is a little twist in this thing.

1) Korea has tendency to recognize world’s famous Asian as Korean descendant.(from Kitano Takeshi to Miki Ando and Daisuke Matsuzaka. They all rejected and many Japanese are not happy about the claim)

2) Korean media(or something) tried to claim Chien-Ming Wang is a Korean descendant.

3) Taiwanese TV picked up the story. (and obviously Taiwanese are not happy about it.)

Probably these guys in the video new that. That’s why they strongly objected.

…

It’s a very narrow perspective don’t you think? Claims that many Koreans won’t be aware if you make these kind of accusations in front of them (which I doubt except behind of your computer). And Koreans don’t know and don’t care about Taiwanese.

toru

It’s Ok you don’t know. Keep it that way for your spiritual health.

ed

Regarding Koreans trying to claim famous Asian people as their own…I think that Japanese and Chinese like to perpetuate this idea to further prop up their own sense of pride and diminish Koreans. I think it’s all exaggeration.

Regarding Takeshi Kitano, he states in his website that his grandfather is Korean. Actually, he reveals this during an interview at Pusan Film Festival. Just read it for yourself.
I don’t think it’s really flattering to Koreans in this case, since it is revealed that Kitano’s mother used to chastise him about being part-Korean whenever he got into trouble, as if she were cleansing herself from any responsibility, and blaming Takeshi’s bad behavior on his Korean blood. It’s actually pretty funny.

Miki Ando, Daisuke, etc…I think that’s exaggerated rubbish. There’s always some fool out there who talks shit, and then the entire culture gets blamed. It’s sort of like a hobby for these Japanese and Chinese bloggers to vent about Korea. “Korea developed the sky, the earth, the pyrimids of Egypt,” blah, blah, blah. C’mon.

I think everyone knows that Asians are ALL propaganda manufacturing fools. History, for example, is different depending on who you ask. Chinese, Japanese and Koreans are all guilty of this nonsense in the same way.

Anyway, regarding Wang…these stupid Taiwanese people over-reacted. Anyone who over-reacts in this way to innocent, friendly chit-chat is ironically displaying the exact same repulsive characteristics that he is accusing Koreans or anyone else of having. He belongs to us! LOL!

So, all of you Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese(who are
no longer Chinese? – Don’t dare call them Chinese, LOL!) relax!

みそかつ

Funny how you deflect the issue by saying it’s Japanese and Chinese who like to “perpetuate” this idea to “prop up their sense of pride.” It’s Koreans who are the ones who try to appropriate cultural things like sumo, judo, kendo, sushi, samurai, etc. and claim them as Korean. Not long ago on Youtube there was even this Korean professor who even claimed that Confucius was Korean. WTH?!

And why would the Japanese and Chinese even bother doing that? Those two cultures historically have always been more popular, richer and arguably have more cultural contributions to history than Koreans have or will ever have. Koreans know this, and again it’s the usual inferiority complex arising from being a former colonial servant of China and Japan. I know it’s hard, but please try to argue logically rather than just using lame-ass deflections of any criticism of Korea or Korean culture. It’s really predictable.

Yeah, and you call them “stupid Taiwanese people” because you didn’t like their reaction. Typical emotional, name-calling knee-jerk response. Are you Korean, by the way?

Bob

Yeah I agree that mistakes can be made but I think his last comment, “Korea is Taiwan?” or something to that effect just showed how ignorant he was and that’s why it’s annoying. Otherwise it’s not something to get worked over about.

I once overheard a girl flirting with a guy asking where he came from to which he replied Scotland and then she asked him if he spoke Scottish.

ダビ

There is a Scottish language you know. It’s called Scottish Gaelic.

LOD

To make things worse, there is even another language called Scots, which is completely different from Scottish Gaelic. And Scottish English, the English dialect, is different either from Scottish Gaelic or Scots.

Ryry

I don’t get it. We’re all from the same planet, and mistaking countries and races just shows you how misinformed, uninformed, and unenlightened people can be.

Zanibas

That’s a bit harsh for making a mistake…He had the guts to admit he was wrong, and he got the general area right! Really, who would guess “Taiwanese” first? Heck, if I had to guess, I would think Chinese first (probably a bad move if anyone was pan-green there), then Korean, and Japanese. Since I’m Filipino, I have some experience with the different dialects, but Taiwan is not on one of my 1st guesses.

But let’s see people test on Southeastern countries, see if they can get them right! Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Phillipines get mixed up plenty!

Ryry

Making a mistake? He said he thought that Taiwan and Korea are the same. That shows that he was [i]misinformed[/i]. It wasn’t just about mixing up races/nationalities. And the general area…? Anyone can see that they were east Asian.

Rob

Somewhat agree with you on this, it’s one thing to not know where Chien-Ming Wang is from or to assume that some random Asian people are fans of Hideki Matsui (regardless of the one lady in the video actually WEARING a Wang jersey) but to think Taiwan is Korea is an entirely different issue. Guy just needs to brush up on his geography, or watch the news a little more. Taiwan does show up on the radar here every so often in regards to their situation with China.

Lana

Dang, they REALLY objected to the Korean thing!
me

lol @ all the American here who are blissfully unaware of their own country’s populous’ ridiculous world geographic and cultural ignorance; especially when compared against other countries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8SuCBHqXtQ

Rob

The only thing ridiculous here is the idea that you seem to think this is something exclusive to Americans.

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

It’s trendy to make fun of the U.S. and its citizens because they’re so prominent on the world-stage. It’s very easy to ignore that many white people from outside the U.S. think Asian=Chinese, and many Asians think that Africa is a country, and so on. It’s circular ignorance, and it shouldn’t be blamed on stupidity. We should try to remedy it, instead. All of this finger-pointing and name-calling is petty, and pointing out the faults of others without trying to help them is just a sign of insecurity.

oskinny1

After living in North America, Europe and Asia, I have to say that ignorance is universal. Many people think that Africa is a country, that all white people must speak English and are from America and that all Asians are Chinese.
I have also noticed that most nations news programs seem to have features like “Stupid American news” and the like so of course everyone thinks Americans are stupid (and the US does have its fair share).

As for being angry about being mistaken for Korean, I think most developed Asian nations know how many Koreans are and would take great offense to the accusation.

Zanibas

Notice how most of them tend to leave out statistics of how many people they tested or the % of people who got it wrong.

I believe those programs only show the people who get it wrong (as to exaggerate using imagination), or actively SEEK the people who get it wrong.

Shows such as that just reinforce the stereotypical hate that goes ’round the world these days (of course excluding Jay Leno, making fun of ourselves is always funny ^_^).

Lei

ignorance about the rest of the world is actually more prominent in the US. I am chinese and when I went there i had the exact same experience. Are you Japanese? Are you Korean? etc. Though its fine by me because I too have difficulty in differentating the european and the south american races
annie

I don’t care even though I will be silently annoyed. I can’t tell the diff. between a French and a German. Besides, most Asian players in baseball are usually Japanese or Korean.

No big deal.

I bet most Asian if not all Asian can’t tell the diff. between a Swedish and a German last name.
Aekutopia

I’m from Thailand, but sometimes some Westerns or even other Asians are likely to misunderstand as Taiwan. I didn’t annoyed coz the sound are quite similar in the same way between Austria and Australia.
aaa

Notice the subtle racism of some of the post here probably by the Japanese posters. Baseless accusations like “Koreans are trying to steal Ching” or that “no one wants to associate Koerans”. Notice that all these claims come from people with their own petty hatred. All claims based on their own perceived prejudice.

Its not due to racism. The white guy thought they were Matsui fans to which they said no(no mention of being Japanese or associating with the Japanese). They told him that they were Ching fans. The white guy thought that Ching was a Korean guy to which the Taiwanese fans protested loudly not because of racism but because of the fact that Ching was national hero in Taiwan. And im pretty sure those fans would have protested just as loudly if the guy stated that their national hero was anything but Taiwanese.
mortonsalt

why?
Rob

Because Tre says so, dammit!
ダビ

Could we get rid of this comment please? Don’t want japan probe to turn into 2ch..

Japanese? Korean???

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