Ireland similar to Korea?

Kim Tae-Woo

Both Korea and Ireland were the small minority countries in EastAsia and WestEurope.
Japan & England both had a monarchy that dominated it's neighbours.
Japan and England have a Tea Ceromony
A Monarch as the head of state...
...

Is Ireland similar to Korea?

Korea has been influenced by both China and Japan. Its early philosophy and religion and system of writing came from China - though in 1443 a new alphabetic system of writing replaced the Chinese system. Its relation to Japan has something in common with that of England and Ireland. Japanese invasions occurred at several times in Korea's history

The Japanese influence in Korea grew until in 1910 they annexed the country. Until 1945 they ruled it as a colony, much as England had ruled Ireland. During this period Japanese filled all the important government positions down to village headmen. Some Koreans were taken to Japan as slave laborers and forced prostitutes during the 1930s. Their descendants are still there, and still denied citizenship.
http://www.angelfire.com/mac/egmatthews/worldinfo/asia/korea_South.html


of Queen Elizabeth II's golden jubilee is unlikely to be celebrated, or even

denigrated, like her silver jubilee was 25 years ago

NEAR the end of Jimmy McGovern's Sunday, the Queen of England drapes a medal around the neck of the British army officer who commanded the paratroopers on Derry's Bloody Sunday. Though stiff with formality, the scene outdoes even a riotous Wolfe Tones' gig for contemptuous triumphalism. Back in 1973, when she gave Derek Wilford his medal, the queen had been on the throne for 21 years.

The crowning disillusionments of royal dysfunction, the Di dramas and the annus horribilis of 1992 had yet to unfold.




Two years later, the Pope came to Ireland and his visit, from the perspective of 2002, appears to have sparked the last great gatherings - at least on the scale of O'Connellite monster meetings - of devout, Catholic Ireland. The silver jubilee of QE2 marks a similar moment for devout, royalist England (although the "fairytale" wedding of Charles and Di in 1981 got the punters out again). With the 50th anniversary of her accession to the throne looming, the heyday of royalty has shrivelled.

There will, no doubt, be intense PR and propaganda campaigns between now and the summer to muster some support for QE2's "golden jubilee". But far more English people are focused on their soccer team's campaign in the World Cup. Mind you, a good run in Japan and Korea could sufficiently buoy England's national mood that cute courtiers could hitch the royal coach to that bandwagon. Given the likely toughness of England's group matches, that's a dodgy strategy, of course.

Still, if England were to win the World Cup, the monarchy would move to position itself centre-circle in the celebrations that would follow.


.
.

Anyway, in an England in which proportionately fewer people know their neighbours than is even the case in Ireland, the idea of expecting them to bring their tables out on to the streets to "celebrate" a woman who lives in ostentatious luxury, is absurd. Some 25 years ago, there was sufficient community and deference to make it work and a compliant media supplied the crowning exaggerations.

It too may come under severe strain soon. The investigation of drug abuses at Juventus, Italy's most revered soccer club, casts a shadow over the club's great team of the mid-1990s. With cycling and the Olympics already discredited by doping scandals, even soccer, the world's most popular game, could go into decline. By the time of a dramatic collapse, of course, the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's taking the throne will be history.

Perhaps a brilliant PR campaign will salvage some comfort for the Windsors, but 10 years on from the queen's annus horribilis, it's hard to see how. In a society atomised by forces - not least among these, anti-trade unionism - which have rendered obsolete old structures of community, the royalparty is in rag order


I
ts history was upto 1948 similar to neighbours North Korea, until the Korean war interrupted the peace.
Korea, which has a 5000 year history, has been divided into South Korea and North Korea since the end of World War II in 1945 and the subsequent Korean War (1950-53).
South Korea has qualified for the World Cup Finals six times since 1986. In accordance with the agreements reached between the two co-host countries, the opening ceremony and match will be held in Seoul.
http://www.worldcup-2002.co.uk/hosts.html


As the leaders of North and South Korea talk face to face for the first time in over 50 years, Conor O'Clery examines the parallels with Irish history
Almost half a century after the country was divided, the leader of the southern part made a historic journey north to meet his counterpart. "I shall get into terrible trouble for this," he told his host. "No," came the reply, "it is I who will get into trouble for this."

This exchange took place on January 14th, 1965, between the then Taoiseach Sean Lemass and Terence O'Neill, in the Stormont lavatory, so the story goes, and the Northern Ireland Prime Minister did indeed get into trouble as the North slipped into decades of turmoil and he found himself out of a job.

Yesterday, just over half a century after their country was partitioned, the leader of South Korea, President Kim Dae-jung, travelled north to meet for the first time with his counterpart, Mr Kim Jong-il, and no doubt both reflected on what sort of trouble lay ahead as they broke a historic logjam.

There are many parallels between Ireland and Korea, which is sometimes referred to as the Ireland of Asia. The two have a history of colonial occupation. The people of both Ireland and Korea also have an informality at odds with the more reserved social customs of the colonial power, which in Korea's case was Japan.

Prof Kevin O'Rourke of Kyung Hee University, one of the most highly acclaimed translators of Korean literature in the world, having completed 14 volumes of Korean poetry, recalls how he found the people of rural South Korea very similar to those of rural Ireland in humour and hospitality when he arrived in 1964 as a Columban Father. Recently a senior South Korean government minister related how much he identified with Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes as it described the life of poverty in which he grew up.

The most obvious shared experience is that of partition. The border between North and South Korea is, however, much more formidable than between the two parts of Ireland, where Partition was never an impediment to free movement.

The frontier in Korea is a mined, barbed-wired no man's land, across which two heavily armed forces face each other. It is guaranteed by 37,000 US soldiers. The two Koreas are technically still at war since an armistice ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Millions of families have been separated and have not seen or heard from loved ones for 50 years.

Korea's misfortune was that it was an area of greater strategic importance than Ireland, and the border became a confrontation zone between two ideologies. The division had its origins in a decision by the United States during the second World War to encourage the Soviet Union to join in the war against Japan.

When Japan suddenly collapsed, Washington decided to carve up the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones. On August 11th, 1945, two American officers, Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel, were given 30 minutes to select an appropriate boundary line. They chose the 38th parallel.

AFTER the 1950-53 Korean War, North Korea aligned itself with the Soviet Union and China, and the South became a protectorate of the United States.

The USSR collapsed and China embraced market economics. North Korea's leaders refused to abandon their communist system, and their country became an anachronism in the modern world. North Korea has all along underpinned its ideology with the ideal of self-reliance called Juche, which is "Ourselves Alone" . . . taken to its extreme.

The result is a country without computers, the Internet, mobile telephones, modern vehicles, up-to-date medicines or modern household devices. Its people are stifled by censorship and forced to live in a cult-like atmosphere of worship for the Dear Leader. Millions have died from hunger and related diseases as crops and farming methods failed in the 1990s. Its stunted children are centimetres shorter than half a century ago.

Contrast that with South Korea, the tiger of Asia, which has integrated with the global economy and, after a long struggle against military dictatorship, today enjoys democracy and freedom of expression. Where Pyongyang is a city of deserted avenues and power cuts, Seoul at night looks like a scene from the 1982 science fiction film, Blade Runner, with giant television screens atop glass office towers.

Kim Jong-il now desperately needs aid from the south, the only entity prepared to devote huge resources to alleviating its poverty. The price he will have to pay is opening up to the world. Yesterday was the first instalment.

The experience of Germany shows that a homogeneous people divided by a Cold War frontier can reunite when ideology ceases to be a factor.

In the circumstances, if the two Kims had a conversation like that between Lemass and O'Neill, it's likely the North Korean leader who would have said, "No, Kim Dae-jung, it is I who will get into trouble for this."http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opinion/2000/0614/opt2.htm

Kim Tae-Woo

South Korea’s Enthusiasm Fizzles for Cozying up to North
November 7, 2000 – The world summoned a round of applause for South Korean President Kim Dae-jung last month in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize, a bow to his efforts in human rights and in reconciliation with Seoul’s onetime enemy - North Korea. While Kim’s peace moves with North Korean Communist leader Kim Jong Il are being recognized internationally as a bold olive branch toward reducing tensions on the cold war’s last divide, some South Koreans view their president as too willing to give away the grove without getting anything in return. The highs of the unprecedented summit between the two Koreas in June have given way to the reality of painstakingly slow progress. Some 200 North and South Koreans got to meet long-lost relatives in August, only to be cut off from each other again without further opportunity for contact. http://anthro.palomar.edu/ethnicity/ethnic_3.htm

Rebuilding the railroad to re-open transportation on the divided peninsula does not appear to be getting on track quickly. While the peace prize’s announcement filled the skies with fireworks, a skeptical opposition predicts that the rah-rah will fade into the realpolitik of an unrepentant, still dangerous North Korea. Says Mr. Jeon: "We think that when the dust settles, people’s opinions will change." Like other recent winners of the peace prize, Kim appears to be more popular abroad than he is at home. Shimon Peres won the prize in 1994, but twice failed to win enough support in Israel to be elected thereafter. His co-recipient, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated months after receiving the award five years ago. Northern Ireland’s John Hume and David Trimble, the 1998 winners, have not been free from political attack, nor is their country free from violence. In a poll released Nov. 1 by the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper in Seoul, Kim’s support rate was 50.9%, down from 71.3% in August. (The Christian Science Monitor)

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the European American dominated political system in the U.S. restricted legal rights of people they defined as being African, Asian, or Native American in ancestry. Their property and voting rights were limited and they were treated as 3rd class citizens. Similarly, in Japan today, 2nd and 3rd generation resident Koreans are given only limited citizenship rights--they are not allowed to be Japanese.
Even European immigrants, such as the Irish in the 19th century, were commonly portrayed in the press as being dirty, stupid, alcoholic, and violent. Before the Civil War in the southern states, Irish immigrants were hired for construction jobs that were considered too risky for black slaves because they were monetarily valuable, unlike the Irish. Even in the mid 20th century, unemployed Irishmen in some parts of America were faced by signs saying "No Irishmen need apply."

http://kn.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/01/29/200201290043.asp
divided nation, a history of colonial occupation and love for alcohol are only three reasons why Korea is sometimes referred to as the Ireland of Asia.
Granted, the Republic sports red and blue, and the Irish green and white. Koreans favor clear soju, and the Irish a darker ale. Nevertheless, with so many similarities between both countries' history and culture, is it any wonder why Koreans have embraced the hit Irish dance production, "Spirit of the Dance?"

Borne from the popularity of Irish dance music heard in Spirit's predecessors such as "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance," "Spirit of the Dance" distinguishes itself by incorporating salsa, flamenco and pop into its original score of Irish step dance.

.

The love story between the dance spirits and "Danny Boy" remains constant, alternating between poetry and singing numbers performed by a cast of 30 dancers. The physically demanding production requires that dancers alternate between numbers. "This show was not designed to be performed every day by the same dancer," Young says.



The bright colors and stunning costumes parallel Korea's own native wardrobe of colorful hanbok and shiny accessories.

Who can miss the dramatic similarities of the story line, filled with spirits from the other world, tragedy, "han," or the Korean expression for longing, and love - all too familiar in Korean mainstream literature.

One newspaper review said, "Precision, accuracy, timing, power, beauty and emotion are all the words necessary to describe the breathtaking Spirit of the Dance." Many observers of the Korean people and culture have said the same.

Outside of the show, the Irish have made a significant impression on Korean society. One of Korea's most highly-acclaimed translators of Korean literature, having already completed 14 volumes of Korean poetry, is Irishman Kevin O'Rourke of Kyunghee University. Many Koreans would undoubtedly relate to Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes - from the "Die for Ireland" to the woeful Angela.

And the similarities go on and on. Koreans may identify more with the Irish than Americans or other Europeans.

By Elizabeth Pyon

Kim Tae-Woo

Sean O'Casey (1880–1964) : Irish. Playwright. O'Casey is best known for his tragicomic dramas set in the poor neighborhoods of Dublin during the Irish uprising against the British and the subsequent civil war.
Three-One Day (Samil-Jol) : Korea. From 1905 to 1945, Japan dominated Korea. This day commemorates the March movement of 1919 of massive demonstrations against Japanese rule. The movement was suppressed and Korea, although divided at the 38th parallel, became independent only after the end of World War II.



The 2000 award, which was to given to Kim Dae Jung, a man who has dedicated his life to working for peace and reconciliation between North and South Korea. Whether or not he is able to win such reconciliation, I feel that Kim Dae Jung is entirely worthy of this award. In the days when North Korea was run by a very authoritarian, militaristic government, he was put in jail, convicted and sentenced to death, and at one point he was even abducted by secret agents who bound him, gagged him, took him to their boat and were going to throw him into the ocean. Here is a man who was persecuted, who was dealt with very severely because of his ideals of reconciliation and peace. Now he's been elected

"Improved relations between Japan and North Korea will serve our (South Korea's) national interests and will have a great impact on regional security and the development of South-North relations," Kim said after the first round of talks Saturday at a hot spring resort southwest of Tokyo.

During the first meeting between Japan and South Korea since a historic June summit between the Koreas, Kim said Japan was crucial to improving relations with the North.
http://europe.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/east/09/23/japan.skorea.01/
The apology question
Two years ago, when Kim Dae-jung made his first trip to Japan as president, talks were dominated by a proposed Japanese apology for its brutal military annexation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-1945.

During the occupation, the Japanese banned Koreans from using their own language and forced them to use Japanese names. Thousands of Korean women were made to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese army. But on Saturday both leaders barely touched upon historical issues, agreeing to coordinate their nations' advanced technology skills in a newly formed alliance

http://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/SLAVES.TXT
69 percent of Montserrat's white inhabitants were Irish.(5)
Lenihan writes: in 1650 "25,000 Irishmen sold as slaves in Saint
Kitt's and the adjoining islands, petitioned for a priest..."(6)

According to Sir William Petty, 850,000 were wasted by
the sword, plague, famine, hardship and banishment during the
Confederation War 1641-1652. At the end of the war, vast numbers
of Irish men, women and children were forcibly transported to the
American colonies by the English government.(7) These people were
rounded up like cattle, and, as Prendergast reports on Thurloe's
State Papers(8) (Pub. London, 1742), "In clearing the ground for
the adventurers and soldiers

Estimates vary between 80,000 and 130,000 regarding the
amount of Irish sent into slavery in America and the West Indies
during the years of 1651 - 1660: Prendergast says 80,000(17);
Boudin 100,000(18); Emmet 120,000 to 130,000(19); Lingard 60,000
up until 1656(20); and Condon estimates "the number of Irish
transported to the British colonies in America from 1651 - 1660
exceeded the total number of their inhabitants at that period, a
fact which ought not to be lost sight of by those who undertake
to estimate the strength of the Celtic element in this
nation..."(21)


A wide variety of commodities left Ireland during 1847, including peas,beans, onions, rabbits, salmon, oysters, herring, lard, honey, tongues,animal skins, rags, shoes, soap, glue and seed.

The most shocking export figures concern butter. Butter was shipped in firkins, each one holding nine gallons. In the first nine months of 1847, 56,557 firkins were exported from Ireland to Bristol, and 34,852 firkins were shipped to Liverpool. That works out to be 822,681 gallons of butter exported to England from Ireland during nine months of the worst year of "famine".

If the other three months of exports were at all comparable, then we can safely assume that a million gallons of butter left Ireland while 400,000 Irish people starved to death!
http://www.nde.state.ne.us/SS/irish/irish_pf.html

"Comfort women" is a euphemism for wartime sex slaves, and during the summit, Korea demanded an apology for the mass rape of thousands of its citizens by the Japanese military during the second World War. Five years later, Korea, and hundreds of surviving former sex slaves from China and the Philippines, still seek an apology. Japan's Comfort Women details their plight.

Using personal accounts and records from US and Australian military archives, Yuki Tanaka uncovers the horrors of the military brothels of Asia, where women were forced to have sex with up to 50 soldiers per day. He documents the spread of the "comfort" system from Manchuria to the tip of the Dutch East Indies and analyses the psychological and physical consequences of the rapes.

But Tanaka's work also reveals the disturbing relationship between war and the sexual exploitation of women. Importantly, he uncovers Allied complicity in state-sponsored prostitution and numerous instances of sexual violence committed by the US and British Commonwealth forces during the occupation of Japan.

Tanaka, himself the son of a Japanese military man, was one of the first Japanese historians to tackle the controversial "comfort women" issue. The publication of his 1996 book Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes
Not surprisingly, the visit drew harsh criticisms from Asian neighbors. North Korea condemned Koizumi’s visit by calling it “an insult to those countries and peoples that fell victim to the Japanese imperialists’ aggression” and “nothing but an expression of his intention to embellish and repeat Japan’s crime-woven past,” said “Rodong Sinmun,” organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

Current Japan Primeminister worships War criminals!!

South Korea’s governing Millennium Democratic Party said the visit was like “throwing a dagger at Asian countries.” “We will not spare any effort to condemn and block the ghost of Japan’s resurgent imperialism, in solidarity with other Asian countries.” The largest opposition Grand National Party also lambasted, describing Koizumi’s act as “stupid behavior that has gained just some support in Japan at the expense of losing worldwide support.”

There were also demonstrations in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur. In Manila, former “comfort women” for the Imperial Japan Army during the last war angrily said the visit “honors the Japanese soldiers who raped women.”



Implications of Shrine Visit



Yamasaki Taku, LDP’s Secretary General, said that he made “an anguished decision; but there was no alternative.” Nationalist Diet men including a nonpartisan “Association of Representatives for Prime Minister Koizumi’s Visit to Yasukuni Shrine” and ultra-rightist Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro, accused Koizumi of “bowing down to external pressure” and “damaging national interest” by his failure to visit the shrine on August 15 as he had pledged to. Apart from such “a storm in a teacup,” Koizumi’s shrine visit in itself to worship the spirits of the war dead including war criminals enshrined in the shrine had much more serious historical implications — surpassing his personality — given a wide gulf between his explicit statements and ambiguity in deed, the hidden history of the shrine, in particular.


Japan's neighbours have reacted angrily after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited a controversial shrine honouring Japan's war dead, including executed war criminals
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1488000/1488305.stm
14th of May 2002

It is like visiting a Cathedral erected to Hitler in the middle of Berlin.

Koizumi is like the Rev. Ian of Northen Ireland.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's announcement that he plans to visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine was bound to anger neighbouring Asian countries, which were the victims of Japanese military aggression.

Yasukuni Shrine - which means 'peaceful country' - was founded in 1869 under the orders of Emperor Meiji and is dedicated to the souls of all those who have fallen in battle for Japan since that time.

At the centre of the shrine's controversy is the fact that it venerates all of Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals.

Kim Tae-Woo

Koizumi?s War Shrine Visit Adds Fuel to Flames of
Asian Anger. By Choe Kwan Ik, PK Editor. ...
http://www.korea-np.co.jp/pk/167th_issue/2001082502.htm

Mountjoy Mugger

Err, wtf has this to do with this Forum?

Kim Tae-Woo

Wtf
Ooops sorry, got a bit carried away!

Seems Korea has some of that fighting Irish spirit.


Michael Owen bundled the visitors in front after 25 minutes but an improved Korean team looked the better side after the break and Park Ji-Sung headed them level on 52 minutes.

There were some plus points, with Owen Hargreaves producing an industrious midfield display, and Joe Cole showing flashes of wizardy, but Emile Heskey and half-time substitute Teddy Sheringham were wholly ineffective.

Danny Mills had been given the nod ahead of Wes Brown as Eriksson opted for a 4-3-3 system. Darius Vassell was given the chance to stake a claim alongside Emile Heskey and Owen. Nigel Martyn was also given the nod in goal.

Some good work from Owen Hargreaves released Owen, whose attempted lob was weak and off target. But a Korean defender mi**** his attempted clearance straight into Vassell which in turn forced Choi Jin-cheul to hack off the line.

Scholes released Heskey, whose poor first touch took him away from goal. The Liverpool man still managed to cross but Hong Myung-Bo calmly headed away from danger.

England went in front as Heskey's short pass gave Scholes a yard of space inside the penalty area. Although Lee Woon-jae flew out to block the Scholes' effort, the rebound skewed sideways and Owen pounced ahead of Lee Young-pyo to bundle the ball home.

England were starting to dominate, but gave Hong Myung-Bo too much room and his 35-yard effort moved alarmingly in the air, forcing Martyn to make an athletic fingertip save.

Sev-Goran Eriksson made seven changes at the break, and also switched Hargreaves into the centre of midfield in a revised 4-4-2 formation, Mills, Vassell and Heskey the only other men not to be withdrawn.

Korea earned a succession of corners and from one of them found an equaliser. Choi outjumped Martin Keown to flick on Lee Chun-Soo's outswinger, then Park Ji-Sung sent the ball flying past David James after he had evaded Teddy Sheringham's weak challenge.

With 13 minutes remaining, Yoo Sang-Chul brought down Hargreaves by the right touchline, but Vassell was unable to direct his header from Cole's free-kick towards goal.

There was even more cause for concern when Hargreaves limped towards the touchline after being caught in a tackle, although he recovered enough to finish the game.

David James failed to hold Park's shot but there were no home players following in to take advantage.

Korea have just as much as a chance that Sweden, England or Nigeria have of lifting the World Cup.
We also play with a home advantage, and Sweden/England's group is a lot tougher.

Kim Tae-Woo

Final Score

Korea 1 England 1
The South Koreans' encouraging performance followed their 4-1 thrashing of Scotland last week.


Korea Cha Cha Cha
Korea Cha Cha Cha

Kim Tae-Woo

Watch out we're going all the way!

Kim Tae-Woo

denmark 2-1 cameroon

Friendly result

Jake

Yer mad as a brush Kim............

But I like it

Kim Tae-Woo

Many fans were quick to remind reporters that the South Korean victory was the first win for Asia in this tournament -- Asia's first World Cup -- after Saudi Arabia and China were crushed and Japan drew.


Yang Hye-ran, a 20-year-old college student, said she had predicted the victory and score.


"I told everyone that we would win by two to zero," she said.


"The next matches, with the U.S. and others, we will win every match, every match, every match! We will reach the final!" she said.

Lex_Diamonds

If you think im going to read all that your very, very much mistaken :eek:

Thorbar

Can I suggest posting links instead of copying and pasting all that? Also what has Korea having a fighting spirit have to do with footy?

Kim Tae-Woo

What has a fighting spirit got to do with...
You must have missed the Ireland Vs Cameroon match

If You're Irish... Or If You're Not

By Eoghan Sweeney
Staff Reporter
Things have definitely come quite some way since my first visit to Korea over 10 years ago.

At that time, telling someone you came from Ireland elicited any of a variety of responses, none very encouraging. Commonly, you would be asked ``What island?'' (a result of the difficulty of pronouncing r followed by l in Korean), or treated to the observation that you were apparently a ``British gentleman.'' If not the most likely result was a puzzled pause, often ended by the proclamation ``Ah, yes! You know IRA?''

Thankfully, these days U2, Liam Neeson and Roy Keane tend to feature a bit higher on the list, although I am still accosted by people who ask me whether `Braveheart' is a strictly accurate rendition of Irish history.

In fairness, though, the average Korean knows a lot more about Ireland than Irish people know about Korea. Which is a pity really; we have much in common.

Koreans were long ago famously described as ``The Irish of the Orient,'' at the time probably a less than laudatory nickname, based largely on fiery temperaments and a fondness for imbibing large quantities of what the Irish call ``the quare stuff.''

But it goes considerably deeper than that. Indeed for many Irish who come here, the similarities make Korea an easier place to settle than many countries closer to home.

The most obvious parallels come from the shared historical experiences. Take for example the story of two leaders fighting for their country's independence:

One is convinced that only armed struggle will win freedom. The other insists that politics must prevail, and looks to the U.S. for assistance. Independence is followed by partition, and then by the mysterious assassination of the man who had lived by the gun. The wily old politician goes on to lead the new state.

The story of Michael Collins and Eamon DeValera; or Syngman Rhee and Kim Ku?

The experiences of colonialism, and later on partition, have left their mark on the psyche of each nation. Koreans talk of the uniqueness of ``han,'' the national characteristic described by author Park Kyong-ni as a feeling of ``both sadness and hope at the same time.'' But when, thanks to Professor Hong Myoung-hee, I first came into contact with that feeling through the literature of Kim Tong-in, Ha Keun-chan and others, I found it impossible to avoid comparisons to J.M. Synge and Sean O'Casey.

Both countries also have a history of emigration that led to the formation of overseas communities famous for being fiercely protective of their own.

But although both tend to socialize largely among themselves overseas, it tends to be easier for natives of the host country to enter into the daily life of the Irish communities.

Those who want to taste a little piece of Ireland, half a world away, have the perfect chance this weekend.

This Sunday is March 17, and to Irish all over the world, that means St. Patrick's Day. Originally a religious feast honoring the Welshman believed to have brought Christianity to Ireland, ``Paddy's Day'' has grown to become Ireland's national day and is in many cases celebrated with more largesse and revelry among Irish communities overseas. Quite what the Saint would have made of green beer is anyone's guess.

Seoul's first taste of such festivities took place in 2001, and was such a success that a greatly expanded version has been organized this year.

For anyone who has ever wondered what all the frivolity is about, the 2002 St. Patrick's Day celebrations provide ample opportunity to join in.

For the culturally-inclined, Sunday morning's Irish concert and poetry brunch at Itaewon's Three Alley Pub are as good an excuse as any to get involved in proceedings. The music continues as the day builds toward the supposed centerpiece of the celebrations, the St. Patrick's Day Parade, which starts at 2 p.m. at the west end of Itaewon.

I say ``supposed,'' because the real highlight is more likely to begin at 5 o'clock with, oh dear, the Pub Crawl (Somehow I knew we'd end up back with that shared cultural characteristic).

The Irish equivalent of Korea's ``il-cha, ee-cha, sam-cha . . .'' is scheduled to take in seven bars, but the best part is that guilty consciences can be assuaged by the knowledge that it's raising money for charity.

For further details, check the official website (www.seoulshamrock.co.kr).

zAbbo

Jaysis we get the message

You on commission or whats the story?

Dustaz

i have no idea what your talking about, and i dont care.
**** off back to korea and dont expose us with your ****ing tripe again.

thank you

edit: Some people may construe this post as racist. Its not. It is however idiot-ist.

strat

how very very odd
also gg dusty - pld

TetsuoHashimoto

Hey Dustaz who the hell is "Us"??

I found the thread long winded but informative. If you don't want to read it then Shut up. I've got an even better idea.

Why don't you F*ck off back to your SH*tty Ireland Offline Forum, Ireland Offline HA HA!

Dustaz

Originally posted by TetsuoHashimoto
Hey Dustaz who the hell is "Us"??

"us" are the people who dont want to read socio ****ing political essays in a sports forum. Theres a perfectly good politics section for this sort of thing.

"us" are the people that understand what a 'hyperlink' is and how it is best utilised.

Thanks for your time, i shall pass on your best wishes to the ioffl committee.

BJJ

And the winner of dry @ss d1ck-head of the year goes too......


Dustaz

JarJar bink

I must say Japan, Korea and China have been a suprise in this world cup and provided good entertainment. China played crap but gave a good shot against Brazil and Turkey hitting the post twice when playing the Brazilians.

Who knows maybe Korea with their fanatical supporters do have a chance against Italy. I can see China doing better next year.... Well doing better than Portugal, Argentina and France who stood at the bottom of the group

JarJar bink

PS It's true "Dustaz" you are a ****!

Someone should post a poll for the most racist dumbest As-hole of a moderator, Dustaz gets my number 1 vote!

richindub2

I agree with dustaz, who the fuck cares?

edit: just noticed you went on about this in another thread( http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51960 ) too, why bother?

Littletinyman

ROFL, what's with all the Dusty bashing? He was a bit blunt, but for the love of GOD this stuff does not belong on the Soccer board.

El Marco

Im also with Dusty, that novel was borderline spammage and I don't really care about what it has to say.

BJJ

Yep I have enjoyed watching the Korean and Japanese games. Both teams nver quit & battled hard for possesion during the games. I think both teams are very proud of their nation and happy to play for their country unlike Figo or Costa.

Most of the European teams couldn't cope with the pace of the Asian sides. Korea Italy should be a great

I'm against Dustaz on this one, there's ways to make a complaint, but what Dustaz said was borderline Racism.

Dustaz you're a ****!

zAbbo

Ok heres the facts that kim tae muppet is posting stuff that is already on the internet(as in he`s copying and pasting). Now wouldn`t it be easier to just link us to the actual web page instaed of pasting in pages of tripe.

So why wasn`t this delt with by the soccer mods, Dustaz like myslef commented on this muppetry during the thread(albeit Dustaz`s approach was different)

Also Kim Tae hasn`t yet defended himself, Maybe because he can`t find suitable retorts from seolshamfest(:D) to copy and paste from.

Just the facts ladies and gents.

TetsuoHashimoto

I fully agree posting link would have been much better than the near-spamming of this thread.

But reading Dustaz's comments with his childish Racsit remarks certainly left a lot to be desired!

Originally posted by Dustaz
.
**** off back to korea and dont expose us with your ****ing tripe again.

.

Reading this type of Racism just p*sses me off!

Enough about this!!

What are the odds on Japan winning the World Cup??

zAbbo

Same odds as Kim Tae Twat not getting Flamed again

TetsuoHashimoto

Just a question as my English isn't great
Do you Irish use Twat to describe a womans privates?

Clintons Cat

no we use the word twat to describe a certain type of cretinous poster.

Pigman

Yeah , twat is another word sometimes used to describe the quim, the muff, the pussy, the Stinkhole, Cum Crack, hairy hatchet Wound, box, crack, pie, furry cup, gee, growler, slit, stench-trench, cun.t.

Clintons Cat

:rolleyes:

Dustaz

Again, sorry if people thought i was being 'racialist' maybe i should make myself clearer.

Hes an idiot. This much is clear. Judging by the nature of the post, hes also Korean. This makes him a Korean idiot. I do not think hes a tosser because hes from korea, I think hes a tosser becuase of his incredible studpidity and the assumption that everyone opening this thread would want to read 12 pages of utterly unimportant twaddle. If he were to go to korea or (and this is too much to hope for) the rings of alpha ****ing centuri , this would suit me just fine.

BJJ

Dustaz judging by your rubbish, you also seem to be quite the idiot, Spelling, Grammar, Syntax....


PS
Well done Korea!

It was nice to see a few Irish flags at the match.