Chinese pop culture/entertainment is a lot less accessible for westerners than Japanese or South Korean media. That results in a lack of soft power and Chinese culture seems more foreign and daunting to try to understand. But I agree that China is more impressive than Japan. Wignat weeaboos are so cringe. And many of the Chinese FOBs I w…
Chinese pop culture/entertainment is a lot less accessible for westerners than Japanese or South Korean media. That results in a lack of soft power and Chinese culture seems more foreign and daunting to try to understand. But I agree that China is more impressive than Japan. Wignat weeaboos are so cringe. And many of the Chinese FOBs I worked with when I was in healthcare were quite brash and straightforward, including the women. Koreans are the reserved ones; they are like turbo-WASPs, right down to the mainline Protestantism. I’ve always admired the opulent, slightly vulgar aesthetics of rich Chinese people. IMO East Asians in the US tend to be fairly meritocratic and I usually enjoyed having them as coworkers. Also a lot of FOBs are racist which is funny lol
Koreans are the least passive East Asians. People literally pull passersby off the street and drag them into cult churches. People cuss each other out in public, and guys spit on the sidewalk. People talk on the metro and get publicly drunk on holiday nights. Koreans are rightly stereotyped as overly emotional, explosive, and obsessed with ostentatious displays of wealth. The country also has the most tumultuous politics. Koreans are the French of Asians, Japanese the Germans/Scandinavians, and Viets the Italians.
Chinese have had a run with soft power in the form of Hong Kong movies in the 80s and 90s, and boba’s a Taiwanese creation
Fair points. I have heard the stereotype that Koreans drink a lot and can be very emotional. I definitely don’t think they are passive! To me, aesthetics of k-dramas and movies register as very luxurious but also tasteful. Also I was kinda stereotyping based on my experiences with Christian upper-middle class Korean Americans and how they act in mixed company. I’m sure you’re correct about Koreans in Korea, though. The analogy to France is a good one.
Chinese shows and movies are just way harder to find in translation. SK deliberately makes its pop culture accessible to foreigners.
Most Korean Americans are evangelical rather than mainline, and the churches tend to be money-generating machines that rely a lot on charisma. A lot of second gen Korean Americans are hood Asians though this subculture may have declined as LA's priced people out. So, I've always seen Korean Americans as having the vain and bold sensibilities of the home country in contrast to the reserved and polite behavior of Japanese people.
Interestingly a lot of Korean pop culture is designed specifically to be marketed overseas rather than domestically. Hence, a lot of the most popular K-pop idols aren't Korean (Lisa's Thai and Hanni's Australian for instance).
Chinese pop culture/entertainment is a lot less accessible for westerners than Japanese or South Korean media. That results in a lack of soft power and Chinese culture seems more foreign and daunting to try to understand. But I agree that China is more impressive than Japan. Wignat weeaboos are so cringe. And many of the Chinese FOBs I worked with when I was in healthcare were quite brash and straightforward, including the women. Koreans are the reserved ones; they are like turbo-WASPs, right down to the mainline Protestantism. I’ve always admired the opulent, slightly vulgar aesthetics of rich Chinese people. IMO East Asians in the US tend to be fairly meritocratic and I usually enjoyed having them as coworkers. Also a lot of FOBs are racist which is funny lol
Koreans are the least passive East Asians. People literally pull passersby off the street and drag them into cult churches. People cuss each other out in public, and guys spit on the sidewalk. People talk on the metro and get publicly drunk on holiday nights. Koreans are rightly stereotyped as overly emotional, explosive, and obsessed with ostentatious displays of wealth. The country also has the most tumultuous politics. Koreans are the French of Asians, Japanese the Germans/Scandinavians, and Viets the Italians.
Chinese have had a run with soft power in the form of Hong Kong movies in the 80s and 90s, and boba’s a Taiwanese creation
Fair points. I have heard the stereotype that Koreans drink a lot and can be very emotional. I definitely don’t think they are passive! To me, aesthetics of k-dramas and movies register as very luxurious but also tasteful. Also I was kinda stereotyping based on my experiences with Christian upper-middle class Korean Americans and how they act in mixed company. I’m sure you’re correct about Koreans in Korea, though. The analogy to France is a good one.
Chinese shows and movies are just way harder to find in translation. SK deliberately makes its pop culture accessible to foreigners.
Most Korean Americans are evangelical rather than mainline, and the churches tend to be money-generating machines that rely a lot on charisma. A lot of second gen Korean Americans are hood Asians though this subculture may have declined as LA's priced people out. So, I've always seen Korean Americans as having the vain and bold sensibilities of the home country in contrast to the reserved and polite behavior of Japanese people.
Interestingly a lot of Korean pop culture is designed specifically to be marketed overseas rather than domestically. Hence, a lot of the most popular K-pop idols aren't Korean (Lisa's Thai and Hanni's Australian for instance).