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Welcome to Kevin's English room podcast. Hi. Hey, I
Want to talk to you about
Thank you for not digging down on the opening there, okay
You're just like I'm sitting a slump. Yeah
No, yeah, thank you poking you not poking you not putting a pause on that. Yeah. All right. Um, I
Do you think that see
There's just I see. I don't know this me this seems like a taboo topic to talk about
This seems like a like a what what?
What what's the word? Um, a stigma. Oh, he's like a stigma for some reason. Okay, but I feel like
Japanese people are looking up
to
Western countries and they're looking down on other Asian countries. What do you think about that? Okay?
this is okay, this is a very
I feel very like
Stigma around this topic and I feel like you know, I don't want to I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings here
Of course, I just I'm just talking in general very like like, you know
You know stereotypically what I feel like people are feeling and in culture. Yeah, so yeah, just a disclaimer there
Okay, but okay. What do you how do you feel about that?
Do you agree? I?
okay, first of all like me personally, I don't I
agree with that
I mean
I don't I don't look up to all these Western countries and I know I don't look down all these Asian countries that same
To you, right? So we agree on that point like on a personal stand. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
But in a in a general society kind of like yeah general like the collective
Stereotypical vibe now we have. Yeah. Well, I think it's very
You know difficult
matter and I
Like for me, I think it's really deeply related to this to the war. Okay, so
Japan
We we have lost today to the Western country. I mean the United States or the West or Western countries
so after that they
started to
Educate Japanese people. All right, there's a I don't know if you know about those history things. I actually not
Okay, because I don't know how United States are
telling those history to the
kids, but in Japan we learned that there's a
guy called Makasa-san, you know Makasa-san? No, Makasa
came and
You know GQ that's called team called GQ and they started to
kind of
modernized Japan like set up laws set up
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Like so many rules educational systems and everything and
Through those period like I I think that's my personal thinking but I think we
kind of forced that those Western people are
someone who
teach us something new
Like like new culture Wow new systems new new new
things yeah, and
They told us that
That's that good thing. That's the cool thing. Uh-huh. So
So get it Japan, you know kind of vibe. Mm-hmm. So
so that still
in our
Blood. Yeah kind of still in educational system
Still in a marketing system, maybe right publicity system, maybe but in a little since are
Still here are getting less and less I think because now we are kind of all
Open to any any place we are
You know connected through the internet so we can go anywhere, right?
Still I kind of sense that
And maybe that's the reason that's a very like not to go very I
Didn't know that. Okay. Yeah, it's the soul. It's like
Very not good. Yeah huge non. Yeah
What do you think about like
Korea okay Korea like, you know how k-pops then uh-huh
Like I feel like recently the popularity of Korea has risen
Mm-hmm. Let's let's set aside the you know, the the the land
Like this is our land kind of you know how there's a yeah. Yeah, like I was a problem. Yeah
Yeah, we're not talking we're talking about pop culture. We're talking about like
like
Trend we're talking about like fashion. We're talking about
like
the
Teen pop culture. Yes
And in Korea the popularity of Korea has
risen it's it's it's it's really I feel like similar to the position of like Hollywood and like yes US cultures where like
it's being
Marketed in a way that's that we Japanese people
Want to be mm-hmm. Look up to and admire. Yeah, and what do you think about that Korea?
I agree with you completely like those pop cultures are really like have so strong power
To get into those young people who are gonna be the main, you know country
Builders in like 10 or 20 years ago. So that's very like
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You know
very very strong and wise
Strategy, okay, if you want to say yeah
How about like in France? What like, you know how in Japan?
Collectively the culture of the Japanese people look up to like the Western culture for example, like the US or like
The European country, what do you think about people in Europe? What do they look up to do you think?
They don't look up anything. They're just yeah, because that's what they have been told in the educational
From the schools. They've been told that France have has this we are having this
History, even though we sometimes lost something but still we are confidence and how glory we are
you know kind of those things are
You know, I went to high school friend a French high school and we did some history
classes and we learned about like world wars
Mm-hmm and those history things and you know, I was Japanese people. Yeah, and they're all French people
Yeah, and you know sometimes little teacher
was kind of
Looking at me and yeah, but still they were
Of course, they had the respect to me but um
They've been told that they are
meant to be like
confident
so
so French people even like
They are thinking that French is the best country in the world. So they sometimes dislike the United States
Sometimes they dislike
United Kingdom sometimes that happens sometimes
But I'm assuming that like when you look at the the music charts the movie charts
Yeah of the rankings like many of them are Hollywood movies. Many of them are US artists music
Music musicians, right?
And so the pop culture is still the the US pop culture is still dominant even within France
Where people in France are really confident with their cultures and think they're the best
But in reality the consumers have shown their interest in the US kind of pop culture. Yeah, how are they like
What's their take on that? Like it's a very difficult
But they enjoy the cultures like a real movies the US movies
They go to the this like club and dance to the American music
American American music in France. Okay, so they like those musics
But they sometimes try to
make fun of all these
artists like it's kind of very difficult to explain this but
They have they do have the respect to all those cultures
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But at the same time they have their own
confidence
so
Like they they sing French songs too
they play French songs too and
It's very difficult to explain but sometimes make fun of
American artists sometimes like black joking. Mm-hmm
With the little essence with French confidence and pride on it
So like they'd listen to the US music
But somewhere in their hearts
They don't think it's better than like
Like for them pop cultures
Huh
I think it's different matter. Like it's not country matter for them. Okay, like pop cultures music like
movies are
They're move. Ah, you know one category. Yeah and
History things and country price a little different for them. I think no, okay, so they
Obviously they do enjoy all this
the
things produced in the United States. Mm-hmm
But it's a different category, yeah, it's like we enjoy other Asian foods, but we look up to
Culturally what cultural wise right in Western countries. It's a little it's a different category. Yeah, we love eating Chinese food
But that that doesn't mean that
We are completely
Dominant right by those cultures. So I think that's same we don't we don't watch many Chinese dramas, right?
Yeah, you don't listen to Chinese songs that much but we love Chinese, right? Yeah, I guess so. Yeah
But you know, I'm not native French people so I don't have that the real pride
So but the ones you felt what I felt like that I was in France
Yeah
Yeah, and also when I went to France one thing I noticed is
People talk about these topics very very often. Really? Yeah, like what we're talking about right now
Yeah, like remote when we start this episode you you said that this might be the taboo topic
Yeah
You know in Japan we don't speak about that. No, we don't like
Mostly like like zero. Yeah, we don't talk about those
Yes, but in France they speak about these topics like every every day
Really like when we were in high school and the class is over. Let's go. Okay, let's go get lunch and go to their
Shokudo and eating pasta. Hey think about Japanese cultures and about those topics
And like every day like every every day
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Wow with with very light atmosphere. No the heavy
You know Wow things wait, are they feeding their egos?
or no, no, no, they are just
Disgusting about this discussing. Sorry
Sorry, I made you say sorry discussing about topics about religion topics like
politics about these
People cultural matters. Mm-hmm
They so they don't even they're not a taboo at all for them. No, just everyday conversation
Yeah, they have a respect to these certain topics, of course certain
matters, of course, but
It's quite daily and natural conversation to them. So that was one thing that I surprised and impressed
Yeah
Yes
Cultural difference. Yes. Yes. Yes, and yeah
Well most thing that I wouldn't say clearly mentioned about this is those are my think my thoughts and what I
felt through
So I don't you know, of course, I I never want to offend anybody right and of course, yeah, right, right. This is
We never want to do that
We talk about in this podcast. Yeah, it's never please don't take it personally
Sure, right. Thank you with respect. Right? Yes, everything is said with this part. I love France, of course
Thanks for listening guys, bye
