Quote:
Originally Posted by Ayrahb
Something that is beginning to bother me is the willingness of S. Koreans to take responsibility for this individual's actions. Media report that Koreans in the US are being told to fast for repentance by the Korean ambassador, while the S. Korean government is holding emergency meetings on the "issue".
A Korean co-worker of mine just told me that she was warned not to travel to the US and to say to everyone that she is Chinese.
What a load of crap!
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This could be partly due to the upbringing of these people in their (Asian) culture which is very collectivist, emphasizing the "group" and thinking in terms of "us". It's very common in collectivist cultures (China, Korea, Asia in general) to view actions by an individual closely related to themselves (i.e. considered as part of the in-group, someone they can readily identify with (mostly, common ethnicity)) to absorb that individual's wrongdoings when they occur.
Obviously, this contrasts with more individualistic societies like the West, where there are clear and definite distinctions made between individuals since people are identified by who they are as an individual, rather than who they are
associated with.