Debunking Al-Jazeera 101 East: Don’t Believe Everything You Watch About South Korea
I always try to find a neutral standpoint on things. By neutral I mean always trying to follow the facts and not being overly defensive or pretentious about a cause, person, system, or country that I believe in. I do at times try to seek my own confirmation bias by searching for facts to support my opinions but when I fail to do so, the hypothesis usually stops at the gate of my vocal cord.
However, some media doesn’t share the same ideal. I do watch 101 East on YouTube but having been familiar with Asia — the very land that I spend almost my entire life on, I was moved to want to seek further truth in 101 East’s often degrading claims about Asia.
Some of their documentaries of Asian countries clearly do not do justice to its people. Some of these vividly depict Asian countries as scapegoats to common problems that happen across the world — alcoholism, stalking, emigration, and the list goes on. Here’re a few that I found time to write about.
South Korea’s Hangover (S11 E5) — South Korea is NOT the №1 alcohol consumer
If you’ve ever been to South Korea, most would notice that Koreans do enjoy drinking. Well, the same goes to the US, UK or even Thailand. But here’s the problem. 101 East claims that South Korea is THE BIGGEST alcohol drinkers.
Now, please allow me to spill the facts. This episode was released in 2016. However, according to 2016 to 2018 data from WHO, Seychelles is ranked first. In fact, South Korea did not even make the top 40 list. Other popular countries on the top 10 list are Germany, France, Spain and Ireland.
In an undated study by Alcohol.org, it reported that Belarus is the world champion in drinking. And where’s South Korea — not even on the top 10 list.
Still think 101 East is right? Well, according to Wikipedia’s 2016 data, South Korea is only ranked 17th among OECD countries who consume alcohol the most.
Among all the countries in 2010, the Koreans are placed on the 28th. Belarus is top followed by Lithuania, Andorra and Granada. The UK is ranked 20th while the United States managed 37th placing.
When I corresponded with East 10 reporter Steve Chao, he was kind enough to offer me the source they used which is from Quartz. Well, behold! The data from their source was taken from Euromonitor and it only analyzed 45 countries (44 countries + South Korea).
Fleeing South Korea (S06 E37) — There are more immigrants in Korea than emigrants
Another misinformation about South Korea by 101 East is in its episode about Koreans who are “desperately” trying to leave their homeland to seek better lives elsewhere.
Do you know that South Korea has net immigration of 0.2 according to Wikipedia? This means there are more people immigrating (moving in) to Korea than emigrating (moving out). In fact, Puerto Rico holds the world’s record for the most people leaving a country (-31.4 net immigration rate).
And at 05:36 in the video above, Korea DOES NOT hold the world records for alcoholism (read the facts in the previous section above), suicides (it’s Guyana) nor work schedules (Mexicans work the most, although Korea ranks #2).
One compelling argument to dispute this documentary is Koreans don’t exactly speak good English (ranked #37), thus majority can’t secure a job in a foreign country.
I’ve been to South Korea over 15 times mainly for business before I very happily married a South Korean and eventually settled down here in 2018. Since then, I have befriended many Koreans from all walks of life. And I have never ever heard of a single Korean who went abroad to search for jobs (except for aspiring flight attendants because Korean airlines are tough to enter).
The majority of them leave in search of better education. Some settled overseas for the sake of improving their children's English proficiency. Thus, you’d notice that most of them moved to native English speaking countries like the US, Canada, and Australia.
Some moved due to work transfer (think Samsung, LG, Hyundai) and some to start a new business. But most of them do plan to come back, though. I’ve seen a few who went overseas to gain overseas working experience with the hope that when they return back, they could easily secure lucrative jobs (it’s worth noting that Korea is an export-oriented country). Even my wife’s aunt and uncle can’t wait to return to Korea (from the US) once they retire.
Kimchi Crazy (S05 E31) — A pretentious documentary that mislabeled Korean food culture
What is wrong with the screenshot above? This Kimchi Crazy episode contains an inspiring and rather neutral point of view of Korean culture. It showcases the latest craze over Korean foods from meeting the kimchi grandmaster to having Korean men fascinated with cooking (yes, generally men don’t cook in Korea). A third of the show covers a relatively new online trend in Korea called “mukbang” — literally means eating broadcast). It interviews a few mukbang BJs (broadcast jockeys who broadcast themselves online) who eat lots of foods in front of the camera on live streaming sites like YouTube and Korea’s Afreecatv.
However, it’s YouTube description make a despicable attempt to tarnish Korean’s culture by labeling mukbang viewers as unhappy and lonely.
Well, hold your horses Mr. and Mrs. 101 East. The reason why Koreans watch mukbang shows is the same reason why some of you love hearing people whispering, cutting hair, tapping on something, or turning a page. It’s called ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) which is a relaxing sensation that some people get from hearing mundane and repetitive sounds. Do Koreans watch it because they are unhappy and lonely? Mukbang obsession is trending in the US so does that also make Americans unhappy and lonely? How about the countless videos of global YouTubers recording themselves whispering to the mic and camera?
Experts say it best. “I would always encourage people to do whatever makes them feel better as long as it is a healthy habit,” said self-confidence expert and relationship coach Ben Edwards. “I would obviously encourage people to be social, but I think if people feel like watching other people prepare and eat food, and it gives them some sort of satisfaction, I see no harm.”
101 East should be made of Asians, by Asians for the world
Ironically, the majority of the production crew of 101 East are Caucasians, not Asians. Perhaps their stories would have painted a better picture of Asia if most of them are from the east.
