the "ask an asian" thread.

[kauflust]

I have another question for Asians: Why does Kenneth Eng come off as such a fucking nut?

examples a, b, c, d, e

[DaBestSpoona]

but, this wasn't the case a few years ago. someone in tokyo asked my wife if it was true that okinawans walk around in bare feet.

LOLZ

One time I told a girl in Yokohama of all places that I was from and born in NY, she was surprised such people(asians in america) exist. I think the exact sentence was "there are others like you?" I experienced this a few times before in small towns in the country side that foreigners rarely goto which is kinda understandable, but Yokohama is a big city next to Tokyo.

[duofold]

I have another question for Asians: Why does Kenneth Eng come off as such a fucking nut?

[/url]

heh, heh...I just stumbled upon this controversy. At least he's an across-the-board, equal opportunity offender.

But once the pc/racist outcry reflex lets go, carefully consider his points. Are they valid at all? What are your experiences with respect to his examples?

One immediate example - if Rosie would've parodied 'ebonics' on whatever show, would reaction from the show/station execs been more swift and decisive?

I think so. And there are countless others which show the disparity in how conscientiousness is applied toward all other races in America vs. Asians.

[mizanation]

jmatsu - i totally agree with you that there will always be discrimination against zainichi and other people of foreign descent in japan. it's an ugly part of japanese society. it's too bad because some of the greatest contributors to japanese culture have been of foreign descent, many of korean descent: mas oyama, rikidozan, sadaharu oh, the list goes on and it is growing all the time.

spoona - yeah, you will be surprised how ignorant japanese people can be even in the big cities. asians who are born anywhere outside asia are treated like this. i have an american friend who ran up on an east asian in south america assuming that they were a tourist. the guy only spoke spanish and was pretty offended at being treated like a foreigner by a foreigner in his own country.

when i was in london, an african dude was hassling me to buy a fake watch. he kept on following me and at the end i pushed him away and said, "get the fuck away from me, i don't want to buy your fuckin' watch." he said, "what? why are you talking with a fake new york accent? you're just a fuckin' chink." the irony of that statement made me walk away chuckling.

[poly800rock]

jmatsu - i totally agree with you that there will always be discrimination against zainichi and other people of foreign descent in japan. it's an ugly part of japanese society. it's too bad because some of the greatest contributors to japanese culture have been of foreign descent, many of korean descent: mas oyama, rikidozan, sadaharu oh, the list goes on and it is growing all the time.

spoona - yeah, you will be surprised how ignorant japanese people can be even in the big cities. asians who are born anywhere outside asia are treated like this. i have an american friend who ran up on an east asian in south america assuming that they were a tourist. the guy only spoke spanish and was pretty offended at being treated like a foreigner by a foreigner in his own country.

when i was in london, an african dude was hassling me to buy a fake watch. he kept on following me and at the end i pushed him away and said, "get the fuck away from me, i don't want to buy your fuckin' watch." he said, "what? why are you talking with a fake new york accent? you're just a fuckin' chink." the irony of that statement made me walk away chuckling.

you can also walk around southeast asia w/o being hassled by touts and suit dealers as well. it's a double edged sword

[djrajio]

when they released a study in japan about how natto also helps people lose their weight, natto sales exploded, allegedly.

Yes. Apparently a few months later though, it was revealed that the entire study was fabricated and completely onfounded....

Edit: Didn't see miz's post...

[Guest jmatsu]

Yes. Apparently a few months later though, it was revealed that the entire study was fabricated and completely onfounded....

Edit: Didn't see miz's post...

i heard about this too. but natto can't be have that many calories, can it??

yo i'll be back next monday. konpa for sure!!

[mizanation]

natto has to be good for you. anything that smells and tastes that funky HAS to be fucking good for you.

[djrajio]

So is pussy.

jmatsu, drop me a line/e-mail when you have a chance...

[Guest youngteam]

sour plum. also horrific.

[bangbangbang]

Durian. Ghastly tasting, but handy weapon.

[DJ_Flame]

Durians are heavenly. And so are durian flavored pastries and ice cream.

Also, sukonbu is great for those lazy, "I'll watch DVDs all day" days.

[ghostdeini]

I had a gigantic bowl of natto with my supper earlier... thanks to this thread.

rather than eating it plain, I throw in bonito flakes (sp? dried tuna flakes? it's about as thin as tissue paper and shredded up really finely for those of you who didn't know). then I like to add some chinese yellow mustard, a couple drops of hot pepper oil, some finely-chopped asian vegetable that is like chives, definitely related to onions. then I add a liberal amount of soy sauce

then I mix it up, toss it over some rice, sprinkle sesame seeds all over it and dig in. it's awesome

[Guest youngteam]

has anyone ever tried that korean dish where it's intestine stuffed with rice soaked in cow blood? i tried it because i promised myself i'd try anything at least once. i'm sure it's the most vile thing i'll ever put in my mouth, unless i ever end up in a maximum security prison.

[Guest youngteam]

ghostdeini -- breath mint?

[almondcrush]

ive been told natto is a love it or hate it sort of thing, but im pretty ambivalent towards it

if im hungry and its there ill def eat it over rice with some soy sauce or mustard

but i dont recall ever craving it

the way i feel about natto is sort of the way i feel about salad dressing i guess you could say

[corporategrunt]

An interesting thing about the status of Zainichi Koreans in Japan is that there are surprisingly many of them who are very successful celebs in Japan. Equal treatment, admissions to good schools and hiring at top tier firms are not always guaranteed despite the fact considerable amount of people change their names to better fit in (which is a tragic action by itself).

I don't know if it's the parents pushing their kids into world of acting/singing, or perhaps it is the slightly different facial features that make them stand out to be viewed as better looking - either way there are pretty good amount of successful Japanese celebs who are of Korean descent. It is unfortunate that Japanese society doesn't allow for them to come out and accept their heritage - it really pisses me off as a Japanese person when I read Japanese fucktards making snarky comments about these people on message boards like 2ch.

[Liberation1945]

soondae, vile?!?

wwwwhhhhhhaaaaaaaaattttttt. that along with jokbaal(pigs feet) and soju has made me happy on some lonely lonely nights.

[mizanation]

I had a gigantic bowl of natto with my supper earlier... thanks to this thread.

rather than eating it plain, I throw in bonito flakes (sp? dried tuna flakes? it's about as thin as tissue paper and shredded up really finely for those of you who didn't know). then I like to add some chinese yellow mustard, a couple drops of hot pepper oil, some finely-chopped asian vegetable that is like chives, definitely related to onions. then I add a liberal amount of soy sauce

then I mix it up, toss it over some rice, sprinkle sesame seeds all over it and dig in. it's awesome

that sounds great, man. it's all about how your freak it. natto + kimchee over hot rice is really good also.

[mizanation]

An interesting thing about the status of Zainichi Koreans in Japan is that there are surprisingly many of them who are very successful celebs in Japan. Equal treatment, admissions to good schools and hiring at top tier firms are not always guaranteed despite the fact considerable amount of people change their names to better fit in (which is a tragic action by itself).

I don't know if it's the parents pushing their kids into world of acting/singing, or perhaps it is the slightly different facial features that make them stand out to be viewed as better looking - either way there are pretty good amount of successful Japanese celebs who are of Korean descent. It is unfortunate that Japanese society doesn't allow for them to come out and accept their heritage - it really pisses me off as a Japanese person when I read Japanese fucktards making snarky comments about these people on message boards like 2ch.

yeah, there are so many korean-japanese who are successfull in sports and entertainment. also, so many of the pachinko parlors are owned by koreans now. plus, substantial amount of government financial assistance. koreans in japan are doing pretty well now. too bad that they are still discriminated against (in japan and i've heard also in korea).

ethnically, mainland japanese people are descended from korean people (among other ethnic groups). the japanese royal family is most likely of korean ancestry. people really shouldn't make such a big deal anymore.

[dismalfuture]

many people really love korean drama, food, stars, etc. but do they really love koreans? i don't think so. i think zainichi still get a lot of discrimination in japan, although they do get a lot of government assistance--but that's another discussion...

I'm curious as to what kind of government assistance Zainichis recieve... I've had three Korean-Japanese girlfriends in the past and each one has basically made it seem like a grim situation; no real rights nor benefits.

Some douchebag like Reischauer or some asshole similar wrote a book a long time ago that separated Zainichis into 4 different tendencies, a total crock of shit. However, he did convey the fact that Zainichis are stuck in a hard place with noone to help them but themselves, which is pretty much true.

I can't imagine what it'd be like to be Korean-Japanese, rather than Korean-American, but I know it must be hard. When my girlfriend wanted to come visit me in America once, she hit a wall when she found out Japanese tourists were allowed into the US pretty freely, while Korean passports had to apply for visas, which were usually rejected. This is for someone born and raised 3rd generation in Japan, coming from Japan, the only difference being the green passport rather than a red one.

The same happened when she came to Korea with her green passport for the first time, only to find out she has a blank dummy residency number (Koreans and resident aliens are issued a number that includes DOB and a random number like 811225-1XXXXX, hers was 000000-000000), which pretty much blocked her out from doing anything over here too.

I've heard of a lot of Korean-Japanese making in the entertainment industry and the arts, but I actually hear more about Korean-Japanese kids who end up boxing or being (really good) fighters. Almost every Korean-Japanese kid I know whose gone to a Japanese school ended up being fighters to survive, some turning into amateur and collegiate boxers... I knew a guy who was probably one of the nicest people I've ever met, real softy, who was a boxer and ran real estate for the yakuza in his younger years.

[seraphim]

Been lurking, but just had to say I had a fabulous Korean born boyfriend, and his mom was fascinated w/ my blonde hair/ green eyes . But she DID not want me to marry her son, no way in hell. I felt I wasn't good enough for him. Oh, I'm not goth,fat, have never seen the crow.

late reply but..

I love the fact you felt you had to mention that you weren't fat

and yeah, the disapproval is bizarre. Spike's mum (cantonese from singapore), despite really liking me, still has this ingrained thing that makes her disapprove of me for being from a working class/poor background, not being in the right social circles, being white, etc. S'fucking weird. Also, I use chopsticks better than her, which I don't think helps.

[Vitamian]

Do Japanese citizens of Korean descent have different colored passports?

[englandmj7]

Speaking of non-Japanese folks in Japan. I read some thing the other day on the makeup of the foreign population living there and it noted something like 15% of foreigners there are Brazilian.......crazy. I just thought the Brazilian strippers I met in Roppongi were an anomaly.

[BTT]

Okay, I'm gonna tell everybody know. There is no such thing as Asian parents liking you, but hating you because that you are white, poor, stupid, retarded, dumb and hyphy or whatever reason. If you sense that they have a slight hate for you, they hate you and they don't just hate you, they hate you with a passion; a deep unforgiving kind of hatred. The only way to get rid of this hatred is to change to their race, go to stanford and then make more money then them.

Traditional Asian parents are all about pride and face. Have you ever wondered why Asian parents fight for the bills when they want to pay for dinner? It's not because they want to be the super friendly but they don't want people to look down on them, thinking "Oh I have more money than this gook family". Showmanship of money. So, next time when you're with your boyfriend/girlfriend of the asian descent and the parents are liking you but has that weird smirk and randomly speaks the language so you can't understand it and your boyfriend/girlfriend are like "eh". They're talking shit. Mad Shit, diarrehea all over kind of shit. I know this because my mom tells me this shit all the time and how easily you could tell when other aZnS is fronting like a bitch.

[seraphim]

gee, BTT, your honesty has just ruined my ability to be in the same room as the woman who pushed my boyfriend out, an ability I'd only just really developed.

[Vitamian]

Indeed, Asians gossip in a scathing manner that is only rivalled by white gay men.

[corporategrunt]

Speaking of non-Japanese folks in Japan. I read some thing the other day on the makeup of the foreign population living there and it noted something like 15% of foreigners there are Brazilian.......crazy. I just thought the Brazilian strippers I met in Roppongi were an anomaly.

Many Brazilians work in factories for companies such as Toyota - there is a huge Brazilian population in Aichi Pref for that reason. It is a pretty big social issue because unlike American public schools, Japanese schools rarely admit foreign students. These are poor factory workers so sending their kids to ritzy international schools is out of the question for most (not even sure if there is any around them factories). In many cases kids just stay at home and never get any education whether it be Brazilian or Japanese.

[englandmj7]

Many Brazilians work in factories for companies such as Toyota - there is a huge Brazilian population in Aichi Pref for that reason. It is a pretty big social issue because unlike American public schools, Japanese schools rarely admit foreign students. These are poor factory workers so sending their kids to ritzy international schools is out of the question for most (not even sure if there is any around them factories). In many cases kids just stay at home and never get any education whether it be Brazilian or Japanese.

Ah hah. Hence the large number of Brazilian strippers.

[ang_kangkong]

I think my whole extended family's okay with my girlfriend and she from PR.