Koreans, Americans Differ Over Collective Guilt
Title
Koreans, Americans Differ Over Collective Guilt
Description
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The latest Virginia massacre has shown that Koreans and Americans tend to handle cases of violence differently.
Many Koreans have shown a collective guilt after the killer was found to be of Korean descent. But many Americans have said Koreans have no reason to feel guilty for the killing.
``I understand why some Koreans are feeling a collective guilt, and I think in some context it makes sense. But Korea is not the United States and what makes sense in Korea sometimes doesn't work the same way in the U.S,'' said Thomas Kim, executive director of the Korea Policy Institute (KPI) and professor of Politics & International Relations at Scripps College.
In an e-mail interview, the Korean-American political scientist said, ``No white American in the U.S. felt the need to apologize because a white person _ U.S. military veteran Timothy McVeigh _ killed hundreds in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Kim also used as an example the two school girls run over by a U.S. tank in 2002, which stirred civic group activists to organize anti-American rallies in Korea.
``When the two girls were run over by a U.S. tank, Americans did not feel any collective guilt. Americans weren't even aware of it,'' he said.
He and many other Korean analysts said Americans viewed it as a pure car accident, which angered Koreans at that time. The misunderstanding came out cultural differences between the two countries.
The U.S. Embassy in Korea last week categorized the Virginia incident as a domestic issue for which Koreans do not need to feel any guilt. Washington has shown reluctance over Seoul's plan to dispatch a condolence mission to the United States and to have public offices fly their flags at half-mast.
President Roh Moo-hyun expressed his deep condolence for the victims and the family members three times to apologize for the fact that the shooter is an ethnic Korean.
In its latest edition, Time Magazine reported that South Koreans' collective sense of regret and guilt has manifested itself since the massacre at Virginia Tech.
The magazine said ``The strong tendency of Koreans to perceive the tragedy in terms of Korean nationalism, in which the group trumps the individual'' is behind the unique national sentiment.
Kim pointed out, ``There are innocent people who are victimized every day by young men from all different backgrounds, and what they share is having grown up in a society that glorifies violence and allows easy access to guns.''
He added it is time to shift the focus of the issue from ethnicity to finding the structural causes to prevent the reoccurrence of the tragic incident.
``Rather than focus on his race or ethnicity, we need to address why so many troubled young men in the United States feel that violence is their only outlet. Only then can we address the systemic causes of violence in the U.S,'' Kim said.
Christine Ahn, fellow at the KPI, said Saturday on the MSNBC Today Show that it has been taboo for Koreans to speak publicly about mental illness. She also pointed out that it has only been in recent years that Americans have begun to discuss the issue openly.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
--
Original Source: Korea Times
<a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/nation_view.asp?newsIdx=1539&categoryCode=116
">http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/nation_view.asp?newsIdx=1539&categoryCode=116</a>
Staff Reporter
The latest Virginia massacre has shown that Koreans and Americans tend to handle cases of violence differently.
Many Koreans have shown a collective guilt after the killer was found to be of Korean descent. But many Americans have said Koreans have no reason to feel guilty for the killing.
``I understand why some Koreans are feeling a collective guilt, and I think in some context it makes sense. But Korea is not the United States and what makes sense in Korea sometimes doesn't work the same way in the U.S,'' said Thomas Kim, executive director of the Korea Policy Institute (KPI) and professor of Politics & International Relations at Scripps College.
In an e-mail interview, the Korean-American political scientist said, ``No white American in the U.S. felt the need to apologize because a white person _ U.S. military veteran Timothy McVeigh _ killed hundreds in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Kim also used as an example the two school girls run over by a U.S. tank in 2002, which stirred civic group activists to organize anti-American rallies in Korea.
``When the two girls were run over by a U.S. tank, Americans did not feel any collective guilt. Americans weren't even aware of it,'' he said.
He and many other Korean analysts said Americans viewed it as a pure car accident, which angered Koreans at that time. The misunderstanding came out cultural differences between the two countries.
The U.S. Embassy in Korea last week categorized the Virginia incident as a domestic issue for which Koreans do not need to feel any guilt. Washington has shown reluctance over Seoul's plan to dispatch a condolence mission to the United States and to have public offices fly their flags at half-mast.
President Roh Moo-hyun expressed his deep condolence for the victims and the family members three times to apologize for the fact that the shooter is an ethnic Korean.
In its latest edition, Time Magazine reported that South Koreans' collective sense of regret and guilt has manifested itself since the massacre at Virginia Tech.
The magazine said ``The strong tendency of Koreans to perceive the tragedy in terms of Korean nationalism, in which the group trumps the individual'' is behind the unique national sentiment.
Kim pointed out, ``There are innocent people who are victimized every day by young men from all different backgrounds, and what they share is having grown up in a society that glorifies violence and allows easy access to guns.''
He added it is time to shift the focus of the issue from ethnicity to finding the structural causes to prevent the reoccurrence of the tragic incident.
``Rather than focus on his race or ethnicity, we need to address why so many troubled young men in the United States feel that violence is their only outlet. Only then can we address the systemic causes of violence in the U.S,'' Kim said.
Christine Ahn, fellow at the KPI, said Saturday on the MSNBC Today Show that it has been taboo for Koreans to speak publicly about mental illness. She also pointed out that it has only been in recent years that Americans have begun to discuss the issue openly.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
--
Original Source: Korea Times
<a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/nation_view.asp?newsIdx=1539&categoryCode=116
">http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/nation_view.asp?newsIdx=1539&categoryCode=116</a>
Creator
Kang Hyun-kyung
Date
2007-10-11
Contributor
Haeyong Chung
Language
eng
Citation
Kang Hyun-kyung, “Koreans, Americans Differ Over Collective Guilt,” The April 16 Archive, accessed April 26, 2024, https://april16archive.org/items/show/1448.