Comments | hetalia_wank: So, on Korea...

fvny in hetalia_wank

So, on Korea...

Oct 01, 2011 23:32

So I saw this somewhere and it made do a double take, because it said Himaruya was racist towards Koreans because he did... something, they didn't go into detail. They also basically said fanon was much better than canon because canon was stupid ( Read more... )

Comments 26

mizu_takishima October 2 2011, 08:06:12 UTC

I heard there was a couple of reasons.

The number 1 thing that sticks out in my mind was when the people who went to court or whatever used a piece of fan art that had Korea touching Japan's breasts, which was like saying that these particular islands that are being disputed over between the two countries "belong to Korea" even though...Japan's "breasts" are... attached to his actual body? XD; (Dunno if they represent anything though)

Then there's the fact that Korea wears the girl Korean Kimono, instead of the male one. (Which only happened 'cause Himaruya changed the design from a girl, to a boy, but kept the outfit probably because it was funnier, idk)

Then there's the whole Korea always stealing things from Japan, or claiming this and that originated from Korea, and even how China & Japan find him mostly annoying, and how he acts "annoying" most of the time anyway. (I find him hilarious and adorable though)

Yeah, the Asian-relations aren't very good OTL

mizu_takishima October 2 2011, 09:40:58 UTC

It's a hanbok, not a kimono. Two VERY different things, there ( ... )

mizu_takishima October 2 2011, 09:42:42 UTC

[cont...]

To say nothing of the fact that the character is effectively in drag, sort of, all the time. The hanbok he wears is closer to the female design but at the same time even that isn't accurate. It's probably just a case of the author not doing the research, which is fair as it's a silly parody comic, but it's just another point against. Especially as Himaruya managed to get nearly everyone else's uniforms/clothing right, even from countries that aren't right next to Japan.

So, yeah. All of that. tl;dr, I know, but there's a metric ton of bad blood between the two countries, and Japan and the rest of Asia in general. Anyone trying to make the claim that "hurr durr, koreans are just pissed off for no reason because all of the other countries are doofy stereotypes, too!" really should brush up on their East Asian history.

mizu_takishima October 2 2011, 10:26:51 UTC

oh, I didn't mind the tl;dr, I'm actually genuinely curious to learn about this whole thing from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. (and it sounds like you do :D) If I tried to research it myself, I'd probably end up even more confused and maybe even misinterpret things, which I would hate to do! D ( ... )

Thread 12

hoshiko_2000 October 2 2011, 15:44:32 UTC

If I'm honest I've got to say that you should probably research the reasons and basis for the alleged racism before just complaining about Korean's for it.

The thing about the whole Korea thing is there is a definite and understandable basis for the Korean's interpreting Hetalia's Korea as 'racist'. Anyone who says that there is no reason whatsover for the Korean's to have, mistakenly or not, found Hetalia's Korea racist are just in denial big time. There are DEFINETELY reasons to back up that idea as far as Korea's perspective goes. But whether you believe Korea's character actually *is* racist or not is another question. I personally don't believe he is. Un-tactful and rather insensitive in places yes, but not 'racist', and there is definitely no malice in his characterisation. But I really don't blame Korean's for their reaction on this either, though I think the Korean government did over react a bit

fvny October 2 2011, 19:10:15 UTC

Oh, no, I hope I didn't come off as complaining about Koreans or anything! They have every right to be offended by the portrayal of their country.

Though like I said above, they weren't Korean. Although they could be half-Korean, either way they still have a right to be offended. And I really hope I don't come off as blaming them or anything. D:

hoshiko_2000 October 3 2011, 16:20:20 UTC

Oh, no, now you've clarified it it makes sense XD Sorry if I came of as arsey before. It just looked like you were slagging of Korean's without actually knowing anything about the whole Korea deal.

But even if they are just half-Korean, I still think they still have the right to be pissed. Hell, anyone who interprets Korea's character as racist has the right to be pissed. My only problem would be if nothing had actually been made out of it *by* Korea, but people were kicking up a stink on thier behalf.

bizworks95 October 2 2011, 19:43:43 UTC

Ah, the Korea thing...

I personally like to put this in the category of "Hetalia is not a direct and total adaption of history and shouldn't be taken as such". Just look at America and England's relationship vs. real life.

If anything, I don't think Korea should be nearly so fond of Japan, "breasts" or not, to be fair. I agree with the statement that if the result of his character was going to whitewash Japanese imperialism so much, then Korea shouldn't have been made into one in the first place, but no other character is held to the obligation of complete historical honesty and neither should Korea.

anonymous August 6 2020, 01:33:08 UTC

It will be very racist and disappointing for someone who knows Korean History well.

Korea groping China is the Goguryeo case, which is real since its Korean. The author didn’t do his research.
The Liancourt rocks can be debatable, but the Japanese cultural art/etc can be found to be partly true.

Also let’s talk about what Japan did to Korea and China, which was glossed over heavily.

Korea’s stereotypes are MUCH darker and heavier than the other countries. I suggest taking a brief look over Japanese-Korean relations.