Yet, something like Columbus Day which affected 2 continents, and slightly more people, isn't even honored by Google.

Well, for starters, Columbus Day is actually October 12 (this coming Wednesday). I don't know Google's policies on that (e.g., should they honor MLK on January 15 if his actual birthday doesn't fall on the third Monday in January when we get the day off?), but there's that.

Has Google never honored Columbus Day? And are you saying that as long as they don't honor Columbus Day in those two continents, then they shouldn't honor Hangul Day in the local Korean market?

I guess I should ask: Is Hangul Day associated with genocide and virtual extinction of many tribes of people and therefore shouldn't be honored? I mean, is it an even-steven kind of thing?

And which two continents are you referring to? North and South America (those that were invaded)? North America and Europe ("discovered" and "discoverer")? Europe and Africa (which saw a huge portion of their population eventually go to the Americas)?

I'd say Columbus's discovery affected four continents, adversely so for the people already there on at least two of them. By contrast, the rise of the Nazis only affected two, and one of those just a little. ;) Does Google honor V-E Day? Kristallnacht?

Does Google honor the mass deaths in the mines at Potosí under colonial rule?

Now, you get the "point!"

How does Google pick and choose who and what gets honored? And, how do they, or anyone for that matter, survive the instant tidal onslaught of knee-jerk backlash in this politically correct world that runs amok at the slightest hint of any idea or past action that does not fit into the supposed injured party's "superior" and "always right" world views? Cray, maybe I shouldn't have used amok as I am not Malay, if I really want to be pc.

I have no problem with Google honoring the Korean language in the South Korean market, but I am reasonably sure that it was some Google employee at "google.co.kr" who came up with the plan as it didn't work its way into other, much larger, Google markets.

I have no problem with Google honoring the Korean language in the South Korean market, but I am reasonably sure that it was some Google employee at "google.co.kr" who came up with the plan as it didn't work its way into other, much larger, Google markets.

Why would they promote Hangul Day in other markets? It's about serving their business interests. I think they do need to be sensitive to their consumers, so of course, political correctness must be a consideration. But it really is up to their discretion as long as they stay within legal/moral restrictions. It's not about advancing any political cause. That's not really the job of a company like theirs.

John from Taejŏn wrote:
Now, you get the "point!"

Well, I think I got that point before you wrote your first comment. But truth be told, it didn't sound like you were engaging in intellectual curiosity about what makes Google tick, but rather, making a statement critical about Google itself for failing to live up to the standards of conservative America, which collectively thinks that it's somehow un-American to point out the moral dilemma of honoring someone whose very acts of fame heralded an age of genocide and extinction of peoples.

Columbus? And the reason we should bother honouring him is...what? Well, let's see, he wasn't even the first European to stumble upon N. America, that honour belongs to the Vikings. Second, the fool believed to his dying day that he had made it to Asia. It was the Portuguese who figured out that they had a new continent(s) on their hands. In short, Columbus arrived at the party late and didn't even know he was at the wrong house. Yup, worthy of celebration.

Bringing up political correctness is WAY off-tangent to the topic. This is a post showing a light appreciation of how Google chose to celebrate a Korean holiday. Bringing up the fact that it was probably initiated by someone at Google Korea and not the main headquarters just sounds like kvetchpatry to me. "Don't be so happy. It was only the Korean office that would care enough to honor it." Why be such a wet blanket? Why rain on someone else's parade? Why can't you let someone appreciate something small like that? I guess some people are just addicted to complaining. There is a place for that. This is not the time OR place. People who look for the wrong in everything really show an inability for goodwill. But in this case, it is more about projection and how you feel and unfortunately, you made this post your target. Complaining a lot about things does not make one more concerned or aware of what is going on. It just shows that you have a bitter attitude. And, yes, I am complaining about your comment, but in this case, it is justified as your comment was way out of line.

Douglas wrote:
In short, Columbus arrived at the party late and didn't even know he was at the wrong house. Yup, worthy of celebration.

Well, to be fair, Columbus's accidental discovery did ring in the new era which eventually led to the formation of many countries, along with mass exploitation, colonialism, genocide, tribal extinctions, etc., etc.

Like it or not, Columbus's story is part of the national origins narrative of many countries, especially the US. That Cristoforo Colombo of Genoa is an icon of Italian-Americans muddies the situation: this significant group has few icons in American history compared to the WASPs, and so his status is raised even more.

Leif Ericson may have been there five centuries earlier, but in many ways he was five hundred years forgotten. Heck, the Chinese may have even beaten the Vikings, but what was the result? It was Signor Colombo whose "discovery" meant lasting contact that connects us directly with the US's origins as a nation-state and eventually our modern era.

But it's not without controversy, and if Google chooses to highlight the positive and/or the obscure, then so be it. Frankly, I would have liked to see them do something to honor "Discoverers Day" (which is what we call it in Hawaii) with something to do with Polynesian seafarers.

kushibo, please post this comment instead of the first one. Too many typos in that one. Thanks.

Mainly, I wrote what I did to see if I could get any bites in this really pretty decent blog that has been nearly dead (comment wise) over the last several months and writing anything even remotely negative or off-putting about South Korea seems to do that.

kushibo seems to put in a lot of hard work here, so I just upset the apple cart a little to see what would fall off (or into it as the case may be).

And, kushibo's last remarks said it best about the "discovery" of the Americas. If it wasn't Columbus, it would have been someone else. Hell, if the Mayans or Incans would have been a bit more advanced, they could have gone and done the same thing and colonized/plundered Europe, Africa, or Asia. They just weren't the right people at the right time with the right weapons and diseases to do it.

And just think, without Columbus, would we have ever had the likes of Steve Jobs, Willis Haviland Carrier, Henry Ford, etc. to have given us the truly lives of leisure that we live in today even though millions perished and suffered because his opening up of the New World?

Yeah, so every time I answer a video call on my iPhone, turn on my air conditioning, and drive my inexpensive car down the open road (not so much in heavy city gridlock), I do actually thank Columbus in some small way for ushering it all in.

As some genius once said, "Life sucks and then you die." Well, at least thanks to what a lot of great people were able to accomplish by the opening up of the New World, my life doesn't suck quite as much as it could have.

John from 大田 wrote:
kushibo, please post this comment instead of the first one. Too many typos in that one. Thanks.

Unfortunately, John, Blogger doesn't give me the tools to remove that sentence.

Mainly, I wrote what I did to see if I could get any bites in this really pretty decent blog that has been nearly dead (comment wise) over the last several months and writing anything even remotely negative or off-putting about South Korea seems to do that.

This blog, despite getting about half a million hits by now, has never been a big generator of comments. Interestingly, when a site like The Marmot's Hole highlights a post from here, the same topic gets more comments at TMH about my posts than my post actually does (e.g., 32 hits at TMH vs 9 hits at MIAAP).

kushibo seems to put in a lot of hard work here, so I just upset the apple cart a little to see what would fall off (or into it as the case may be).

Ha ha. You do realize you're outing yourself as a troll, right? ;)