Hohleiter Portrays Korea in Eyes of Foreigners

The Korean War Baby is NOT against Korea, Koreans, or Korean Culture. In pointing out the ‘changes going Right’ on the subways and the difficulties in actually doing IT, the KWB is comparing how major changes are not easily done. Cultural differences in HOW one country does anything in the East and in the West MUST be looked at from each perspective.
It is only when Westerners learn to see things from the perspective of the modern rapidly changing Korean culture, with it’s struggles to modernize society, that they can begin to understand how even generational differences in Korea are SO different in attitudes. Like all societies, the SPIN that is put on any given story can influence huge numbers of people. It is the first reports of an event that people remember, NOT the corrections.
The following story is typical of the way that Korean Cyberspace Netizens have in the past and present driven popular opinions against anyone seemingly critical of Korea. One cannot write anything critical of Korea without becoming a target. The German “Celebrity” Vera Hohleiter has published her book, “Sleepless Nights in Seoul” in the Korean Language- to try to “Clear up the misunderstanding” from portions translated from a Korean blogger living in Germany. The KWB doubts that she will survive, her days on KBS2 “Chitchat with Beauties” are numbered…
Hohleiter Portrays Korea in Eyes of Foreigners

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
”Vera Hohleiter, a German celebrity from the popular KBS2 TV show, ``Chitchat of Beautiful Ladies,'' came under fire for her book ``Sleepless Night in Seoul'' when it was published in Germany in July.
Many Koreans were enraged and felt betrayed as Hohleiter revealed some of the negative sides of Korean society in the book. She has repeatedly said she loves Korea as she shared her experiences with other foreign panel members on the show.
Three months later, she has published her book in Korean to ``clear up the misunderstanding'' for Korean readers. She says that misunderstanding and distortions were added when parts of her book were randomly translated from German to Korean by a Korean blogger who lives in Germany.
``I didn't have any bad intentions. It was my personal experience and very subjective. The book is about what happened to me and there is no made-up story at all. But I don't mean that my opinions about Korea are the absolute truth,'' Hohleiter said in a recent press conference.”
“The 30-year-old German appeared in public for the first time after the controversy and delivered her message clearly and firmly.
She said the book was originally intended to be published for Germans who wanted to learn about Korea because there were only a few books about the country there. After it was released in Germany, the book received positive reviews from readers and critics.
The controversial parts are actually humorous from the perspectives, of Europeans but cultural difference lead to different between the lines interpretations, she said.”
“She portrays Koreans as they appear in the eyes of foreigners. Her tone of the writing doesn't seem to be hostile and is just curious about Korean culture and the way of thinking in the process of adapting herself to the differences.
Of course, the book deals with sensitive subjects. For example, Hohleiter writes that  “Korean girls are obsessed with keeping up with the popular trends of the time and therefore they predominantly wear mini-skirts. But then, when they walk up the stairways in the subway station, they make every possible effort to hide their exposed bodies. I don't understand why they even wear mini-skirts.” She pens that in Europe, fashion is a means of expressing individuality but in Korea fashion focuses on following the trend and means uniformity among peers.”
The Korean War Baby concurs but again it must be understood that the clash of cultures is what makes Korean girls in ‘mini-skirts’ different from Westerners wearing mini-skirts. It is in the mind of the woman that is the difference. To a Westerner, a mini-skirted Korean girl trying to put a small bag or purse behind her to ‘cover up’ doesn’t make sense. But to Koreans it is her attempt to show that she is ‘still a nice girl’ and not a professional. Western minds interpret from our own mindset, the Western Male thinks, “Look at that! She must be…….” Koreans think instead, “Oh, she has the latest fashion”.
No, Ms. Hohleiter’s book may hurt her more than help her. TIK-This is Korea, Westerners may only praise, never criticize in any way. It was nice to chitchat with her, until she opened up just a bit too much.