South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life • Hacker News Board

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#101

Post by briandear » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:18 AM UTC

eartheaterrr wrote: post #88

calvinbhai wrote: post #29

Question for South Koreans here: Is this real or is this report just the usual exaggeration by western media? Asking because Reuter’s has a biased reporting for anything related to India, and I’m wondering if they have a similar lens / filter for South Korea. (I’m from India in US)

This seems to be a cheaper, ascetic equivalent, of the classic meditation retreat, which is already popular in both the East and West. Marketing it as a prison puts a quirky twist on it. This makes for an interesting article, which also fits Western stereotypes.

Except the bureau chief of Reuters is a Korean, and not a person prone to sending stereotypes over the wire.

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#102

Post by briandear » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:23 AM UTC

bane wrote: post #89

calvinbhai wrote: post #29

Question for South Koreans here: Is this real or is this report just the usual exaggeration by western media? Asking because Reuter’s has a biased reporting for anything related to India, and I’m wondering if they have a similar lens / filter for South Korea. (I’m from India in US)

Like most news, there's quite a bit of truth, with a bit of "hook" to draw the reader in. South Korean study culture, especially to get into University, bass a bar exam or get a public service job is really quite unreal. There are blocks of "prison" like apartments with surrounding quiet zones in many areas. They exist simply so people can escape home life and study 24/7 (mostly rote memorization exercises) in order…

> Many companies simply just waste employee time making them sit around or do busy work in order to appear that they're actively engaged in business activities.

Incredibly true. When I worked there, I had to literally sit at my desk until 8pm despite being done with work by 6 simply because 8pm for my office was the “end of working hours.” Then off to a Soju-fueled dinner with coworkers whether you wanted to or not which would often degrade to a session of mandatory fun at the Karaoke. Rinse and repeat. I love Korea, but the work culture can be brutal. Hopefully that has changed a bit.

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#103

Post by dialogbox » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:24 AM UTC

wnevets wrote: post #99

duchenne wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been living in Korea for many years. I have never heard about it. I asked my Korean colleagues about it. They have never heard about it and they think that it is weird.

Do people actually think they'll die if they sleep with the fan on? Thats pretty weird to me.

Yes, we did until 5 to 10 years ago. Not anymore. Some incorrect information from TV made people believe like that from maybe 70s.

edit: What really happened was, some very old people died because of hypothermia by fan when the fan was just introduced in South Korean market. At that time, no one knew about hypothermia so people believed it was suffocation. That became the urban myth.

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#104

Post by umichguy » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:31 AM UTC

christophilus wrote: post #37

rb808 wrote: post #7

Actually sometimes I really fantasize about a 3-6 month stint in prison - am I the only one. Surely it can't be that bad If Martha Stewart can do it. Imagine no commuting or on call support or social engagements or children's homework or chores. bliss.

You could do an extended stay at a monastery... Probably a more pleasant experience.

Or at an Ashram somewhere. There's probably lot better alternatives to prison, just to get "away from it all." Plus, in places like these, you can do some good via service to others.

/a cousin of mine who has a fancy PhD from Stanford left his $$$ job in AI research back in the mid-00s to go and live in a couple of ashrams and monasteries in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Still lives there, haven't spoken to him in a decade.

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#105

Post by hnzix » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:39 AM UTC

duchenne wrote: post #91

calvinbhai wrote: post #29

Question for South Koreans here: Is this real or is this report just the usual exaggeration by western media? Asking because Reuter’s has a biased reporting for anything related to India, and I’m wondering if they have a similar lens / filter for South Korea. (I’m from India in US)

I have been living in Korea for many years. I have never heard about it. I asked my Korean colleagues about it. They have never heard about it and they think that it is weird.

The article isn't saying the "prison retreat" thing is common, it's a meta commentary on the stress of Korean corporate life.

I have seen a question on HN about Japanese "Black Companies" before, and I believe patio11 said that they were an actual thing. So I'm not surprised a similar culture of overwork exists in South Korea.

(My only direct experience of South Koreans is that they always kick my ass at online games).

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#106

Post by imajoo » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:48 AM UTC

bane wrote: post #89

calvinbhai wrote: post #29

Question for South Koreans here: Is this real or is this report just the usual exaggeration by western media? Asking because Reuter’s has a biased reporting for anything related to India, and I’m wondering if they have a similar lens / filter for South Korea. (I’m from India in US)

Like most news, there's quite a bit of truth, with a bit of "hook" to draw the reader in. South Korean study culture, especially to get into University, bass a bar exam or get a public service job is really quite unreal. There are blocks of "prison" like apartments with surrounding quiet zones in many areas. They exist simply so people can escape home life and study 24/7 (mostly rote memorization exercises) in order…

>5 days vacation per year

What kind of company is this? I work in Korea and talking with other Koreans here there is a mandatory minimum by law. Asking for a day off is normal, but 5 days? That's extreme.

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#107

Post by goldfeld » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:49 AM UTC

kbos87 wrote: post #94

Whenever I feel like my life is too driven by work and guilt driven by capitalism here in the US, a glance eastward is a great level setter.

Just because the US brand of capitalism created an even more depressive monster doesn't make the US look too good.

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#108

Post by imajoo » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 5:50 AM UTC

rb808 wrote: post #7

Actually sometimes I really fantasize about a 3-6 month stint in prison - am I the only one. Surely it can't be that bad If Martha Stewart can do it. Imagine no commuting or on call support or social engagements or children's homework or chores. bliss.

Then you should just go and break some laws if you think it's that much bliss.

I can say from personal experience that it was not bliss in any way for me.

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#109

Post by duchenne » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 6:08 AM UTC

wnevets wrote: post #99

duchenne wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been living in Korea for many years. I have never heard about it. I asked my Korean colleagues about it. They have never heard about it and they think that it is weird.

Do people actually think they'll die if they sleep with the fan on? Thats pretty weird to me.

Yes, that used to be a common misconception in Korea until recently. It is completely false but such rumors can get viral very quickly. There are also many such misonceptions in the West. For instance, in the West, many people still believe that different areas of the tongues are used for different tastes (sweet, bitter,...). You can find more such things in this famous wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconception...

Re: South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life

#110

Post by bane » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 6:21 AM UTC

imajoo wrote: post #106

bane wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like most news, there's quite a bit of truth, with a bit of "hook" to draw the reader in. South Korean study culture, especially to get into University, bass a bar exam or get a public service job is really quite unreal. There are blocks of "prison" like apartments with surrounding quiet zones in many areas. They exist simply so people can escape home life and study 24/7 (mostly rote memorization exercises) in order…

>5 days vacation per year What kind of company is this? I work in Korea and talking with other Koreans here there is a mandatory minimum by law. Asking for a day off is normal, but 5 days? That's extreme.

You are correct that the law states 15 days minimum with a cap somewhere like 25. But it's wildly violated and many South Koreans never get to exercise all of the days, or are artificially limited as to how large the blocks of time might be.

He works for a supplier of industrial equipment.