Korea was never colonized by English-speakers, as far as I know.
Japanese, yes.
Proud to speak only one language? Is this the same kind of pride as looking down on people marrying someone from another country? The same kind of pride as never having eaten foreign food? These are not things to be proud of.
Of course it's good to learn other languages and I, myself, am learning Spanish(though everybody recommend German but it was too stiff for me).
>>These are not things to be proud of.
I stand my statement(again, in the context of self-sufficiency) and that is everything to be proud of.
Will talk about my home country. Indians learn and emphasize on English just because they will get jobs, not because they have love for this language. In cities(here in Bangalore too) kids are learning English first. Hell, some even learn French(or so) after English and then they, maybe, shall learn their mother tongue. I have not seen any single parent of a toddler talk to him/her in the malls in their mother tongue. They always use English which is something to be very much ashamed of. Fortunately I didn't see this in Korea. A big thumbs up to them :-)
That's not about being self-sufficient. It's just lack of knowledge.
If what you say is to be true then there would be other countries which would be the most stupid places on earth(no names here).
They are fine with Korean. They can do almost anything in their own language, so they hardly need to learn English(which is changing now) but not knowing English(or any other language) doesn't at all mean lack of 'knowledge'. Knowledge is not just learning foreign languages or English for that matter.
Why do you think more and more people learning German and Mandarin today? Certainly not because they think they will turn genius(from stupid) but because they will find jobs in those countries and they can use their knowledge/skills with the help the new language in those countries.
Now, I do not see any any German learning Hindi or Korean. Do you?
"Now, I do not see any any German learning Hindi or Korean. Do you?"
Yes, I do. I see them learning languages that they are likely to find a use for beyond their own. Many Germans speak two languages, and many can get by in three. The Dutch are generally fantastic; I know Dutch people who are conversational in four. Most Indians I meet get by in Hindi, English and often a third local dialect.
The phrase is generally used by people who don't really know "who are most of the Indian" :-). Please do not be offended. I take you were either a tourist in India or met Indians abroad who were either travelling or working there.
And whatever people you met in India go by "English" for the very reason in mentioned in OC and Hindi is like mother tongue for around half of India and also because of the way lives of Indians are intertwined but have different language they communicate either in English or Hindi. I am sure how many languages we Indians speak in various parts(states) of the country and it is spoken as in you speak German in Germany and Spanish in Spain and Portuguese in Portugal and I didn't even count dialects.
Yes, the 'family' seems to be non-existent in Korea now, following the western tracks. This assumption is based upon external observation and talking to my Korean guest-house people, some staff who are from India/Pakistan/Nepal(either Korean citizens now or having lived their long), colleagues(friends let's say) who ever opened up on such matters(usually after a few drinks). I can confirm that after a few drinks every society becomes one and social taboos are duly fd off. Most open were(once they are open) Korean females friends I have known their, whether met in office or outside - they talked very animatedly about their parents and how they don't find time for each other and most likely will never find it. They also are worried whether their own state is going to be worse than this. Here's the last line of the article, "When I see these old people, I see how my own generation will die.".
One answer was common. Your parents bring you up till you get your job and are on your feet, after that you are on your own. And they(parents) are on their own too!
They usually spend their time in shops alone and sitting alone in those park benches with those stoic faces. A very healthy life style/food makes the matters worse(as in loneliness) as the life expectancy is quite high in SK. Maybe that's a saving grace in India(my country) as families are slowly disappearing here too, and/or turning into dysfunctional arrangements which is not even a distant resemblance of glorious old Indian family.
As for social care - politicians are very corrupt and do surpass even US standards. In US at least even heavyweights get long imprisonments. In Korea they get parliamentary pardon. Nobody cares about national elderly population(besides, just paying bills is hardly they want/need). So, while everyone is busy taking share prices higher and higher and building new things, the last generation - which is no longer a workforce - is left behind in the race; mercilessly abandoned.