The Koreans

In the book mentioned in my earlier entry, Korean-Chinese writer 金文学 (김문학?) characterized the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans in the following way.

"韩国人 - 情, 日本人 - 礼, 中国人 - 义

Translated: "Koreans - emotions/sentiments, Japanese - etiquette, Chinese - loyalty."

The writer also had this to say about the Koreans:

"在东方三国中, 没有哪一个民族象韩国人那样多情, 热情. 韩国人自己自夸为 "情的民族". 诗人徐延柱曾说: 如果说情字有商标的话, 那肯定是 "made in Korea." 我在韩国遇见的很多人都坦白地说: "我们大韩民族是世界上最多情的民族."

Translated: "In the three East Asian countries, none are as emotional and warm-hearted as the Koreans. The Koreans themselves even praised themselves as "an emotional people". Poet Xu Yanzhu (what is it in Korean?) said, if being emotional comes with a trademark, then it is most certainly "made in Korea". In Korea, I have also met many people who said candidly that "we Koreans are the most emotional people in the world."

Hail hail.

For the record, the writer also provided a Chinese translation of the Korean national anthem.

"直到东海水枯, 白头山石烂, 上天永保我疆土! 无穷花三千里锦绣江山, 大韩人团结一致, 永保大韩, 愿我大韩民国万万年."