Letters to the Editor
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Korean insularity
When I visited South Korea I found that Koreans had a sense of collective responsibility that was quite admirable. I was asked many times by Koreans how I felt about thier country and they seemed to feel that it was partly thier duty to see that I formed a positive opinion of "The Land of The Morning Calm"
For instance - I stayed at a hotel in Seoul that was accustomed to mostly busineess guests who dressed in suits. Because I had long hair and wore jeans and tee shirts, the hotel manager, fearful that I'd leave without paying my bill, asked me to let him keep my passport. When I told a Korean friend about this, he asked to see the hotel manager. My Korean friend told the hotel manager that his mistrust of me was an insult, and that he would bad-mouth the hotel to his business friends if my passport was not returned at once.
My passport was returned immediately.
This is not relevant to the sad story of Cho Seung-Hui, but I am reminded of this kind of Korean "collectivist" thinking when I read reports of the shame felt by South Koreans and thier unnecessary feelings of contrition for the acts of this creepy loner/loser. (I read that there were false reports in Korea that Cho's parents had committed suicide) Every culture and race of people has self-pitying assholes like Cho who have no compassion for others, but I found Korean people as a whole to be, for all thier rigid formality, humane and generous.