Quotes & Sayings About Korean Culture

Basically, Koreans are the Marlboro Men of Asia. — Euny Hong

Ko Un's poems evoke the open creativity and fluidity of nature, and funny turns and twists of Mind. Mind is sometimes registered in Buddhist terms - Buddhist practice being part of Ko Un's background. Ko Un writes spare, short-line lyrics direct to the point, but often intricate in both wit and meaning. Ko Un has now traveled worldwide and is not only a major spokesman for all Korean culture, but a voice for Planet Earth Watershed as well. — Gary Snyder

Suicide in Korean culture is a highly emotive means of protest. The regime regards it as a form of defection. — Hyeonseo Lee

I'm sure mothers are important across every culture, but particularly in Korean society, the role of the mother is of great importance. — Bong Joon-ho

It seems Korean women are enjoying a passive and fragile status, intoxicated by appearance. Not only feminism, but any serious discourse ends up being swept away by popular culture in Korea. — Kim Hyesoon

let us start by picturing the Japan archipelago lying in the sea by the Chinese mainland. If its proximity allowed it to become part of the Sinosphere and acquire a written culture, its distance benefited the development of indigenous writing. The Dover Strait, separating England and France, is only 34 kilometers (21 miles) wide. A fine swimmer can swim across it. In contrast, the shortest distance between Japan and the Korean Peninsula is five or six times greater, and between Japan and the Chinese mainland, twenty-five times greater. The current, moreover, is deadly. . . . Japan's distance from China gave it political and cultural freedom and made possible the flowering of its own writing. — Minae Mizumura

The most difficult part ot traditional taekwondo is not learning
the first kick or punch. It is not struggling to remember the
motions of a poomsae or becoming aquainted with Korean culture.
Rather, it is taking the first step across the threshold of the dojang
door. This is where roads diverge, where choices are made that
will resonate throughout a lifetime. — Doug Cook

Culture and tradition have to change little by little. So 'new' means a little twist, a marriage of Japanese technique with French ingredients. My technique. Indian food, Korean food; I put Italian mozzarella cheese with sashimi. I don't think 'new new new.' I'm not a genius. A little twist. — Masaharu Morimoto

In Korean, my lyrics are witty and have twists. But translated into English, it doesn't come over. I've tried writing in English, just for me, but it doesn't work. I've got to know everything about a culture, and I don't. — Psy

Korean feminism has been swept away by popular culture. It became a sort of old-fashioned trend or a joke. — Kim Hyesoon

For women in my family, in Korean culture, women are really valued in their youth, and then when they get older, it's like they almost become irrelevant. — Margaret Cho

Brian Myers takes a fresh approach. He largely ignores what the regime tells the outside world about itself, but concentrates instead on what North Koreans themselves are supposed to believe, paying special attention to the North Korean narratives and mass culture, including movies and television shows. ( ... ) There are few books that can give the world a peek into the Hermit Kingdom. The Cleanest Race provides a reason to care about how those in North Korea see themselves and the West. It is possibly the best addition to that small library. — Andrei Lankov