日本VS韩国，你更喜欢哪个？ [美国媒体]

Japan vs. South Korea - Which country do you prefer?

日本VS韩国，你更喜欢哪个？


Iain Stanley, Photographer,Instagrammer,Univ.Prof, Japan Expat
I lived in Korea for 2.5 years working at universities, and I have now lived in Japan for almost 14 years working at different universities. So I guess from those figures it's clear to see that I prefer Japan.

我曾在韩国的大学，工作了两年半。现在，我在日本住了差不多14年了，在不同的大学工作过。从我呆的年数，你可以清楚地看出，我更喜欢日本。

The main reason for me is that it's far easier to enjoy hobbies and outside work activities than it is in Korea. For example, I love surfing and bicycle riding. In Japan, there is a huge surfing community and it is a very popular sport.
Further, in every place I've lived in Japan there has been dedicated cycling paths that stretch for miles and miles and miles. Not only that, most common roads even have spaces for bicycles to use. They are actually spaces for scooters but bicycles use them as well.

主要的原因就是，与在韩国相比，在日本，我可以尽情地享受兴趣爱好和户外活动。例如，我喜欢冲浪和骑自行车。在日本，有一个庞大的冲浪群体，冲浪是一个非常受欢迎的运动。

此外，我在日本住过的每个地方，都有专门的自行车道，可以绵延数英里、数英里，望不到头。不仅如此，甚至大多数的普通道路，都留有骑自行车的空间。那些实际上是供摩托车用的，不过骑自行车也可以的。

When I was in Korea, surfing didn't exist. It's starting to catch on a little bit now but only in the far north east corner. And as for bike riding you take your life into your own hands when you go onto Korean roads.
Driver safety, and driver etiquette in Korea is almost non-existent. Most people in Korea are so busy trying to make money and get ahead economically that they don't have time for leisure activities.
Japan, for the most part, is a very very easy country to live in. And despite what many people might tell you, it is extremely cheap outside of huge cities like Tokyo and Osaka.

当我在韩国的时候，冲浪，压根不存在的。现在在韩国，冲浪可能有点流行了，不过也还只是少数人的运动。至于自行车，当你在韩国道路上骑自行车的时候，你简直就是在拿你的生命在开玩笑。
韩国司机的安全意识和开车礼仪，几乎就不存在的。韩国的大多数人都忙着赚钱和发展经济，他们没有时间进行休闲活动。
日本，很大程度上讲，是一个非常非常宜居的国家。不要管其他人怎么说，只要你不是住在东京和大阪这样的大城市，生活成本是很低的。

Jon Housley
Answered Mar 13, 2017
Japan! No doubt, 100X. Why?
People - Japanese are much better hosts. Much more respectful, much more friendly. In Korea, a drunk guy spit in my face because I was American.
Smell- kimchi sinks. Koreans even keep it in a separate fridge. Try riding a Monday morning train without closing your nose. The smell of kimchi and soju is not considered potpourri.
Transportation- you can go just about anywhere by train in Japan. Much easier and cheaper to get around.
Food - so much more diverse food in Japan. More Michelin chefs in Tokyo than any other city. It was hard to get Japanese food in Korea.
Cars - in Korea, you can get any color car you want as long as it's white, black or silver. And yes, most are Hyundai. No tokyo drift in Korea.

毫无疑问，日本啊，好100倍！为什么呢？
1 人。 日本人是更好的东道主。他们对你会更尊重、更友好。在韩国，一个醉汉曾因为我是美国人，就朝我吐口水。
2 气味。 韩国沉浸在泡菜里。韩国人爱泡菜，甚至把它放到单独的冰箱里。你可以试试乘坐周一早上的火车，放开鼻子去闻闻，泡菜味和烧酒味，那酸爽，绝对不是你想象中的百花香。
3 交通。 在日本，你可以坐火车去任何地方，到处溜达也更容易、更便宜。
4 食物。 日本的食物更加多样化。东京的米其林厨师，比世界上任何一个城市都要多。在韩国的话，很难吃到日本料理。
5 汽车。 在韩国，汽车的颜色随你挑，不过只有三种可供挑选：白色、黑色和银色。而且，大部分都是现代。韩国街头，你看不到日本车。

Tong Zou, Software Engineer at Walmart (2014-present)
Answered Aug 10, 2017
This is going to be a very biased answer but South Korea. 
1) No historical baggage. Korea has never invaded any country before in its history. 
2) Culture of respect and politeness but not to the extremes that Japan has it. 
3) Food and cost of living is much cheaper
4) Koreans speak their mind much more freely than Japanese do. They are not quite as blunt as Chinese are, but they don’t their hide their true feelings like Japanese.
and finally
5) Korean women are hot as hell. Make all the points you want about cosmetics or surgery, to me they are much better looking than Japanese women (not that Japanese girls are ugly - they just don’t match up).

我的答案可能会有点偏心，我的回答是，韩国。
1 没有历史包袱。韩国在历史上，从未入侵过任何一个国家。
2 尊重前辈和礼貌的文化。而不是日本的那种极端文化。
3 食物价格和生活成本更低。
4 韩国人表达内心的情感，比日本人更自由。他们不会像中国人那样直白，也不会像日本人那样掩饰自己内心的真实感受。
5 韩国女人真他妈的性感。你可能会说化妆和整容，但对我来说，韩国女人就是比日本女人好看。不是说日本女孩丑，她们只是不适合那样。

Barbara Fuentes, English teacher and history nerd living in South Korea.
There’s something I like to note about the two languages: Korean is intuitive to read but opaque to speak, but Japanese is intuitive to speak but opaque to read. Choosing the country is a little bit like that.
As an introvert, Japanese culture was a much better match for my personality: polite, cautious, artistic, quiet. And yet I’m teaching here in Korea. The main reason is career path and money. In Japan you have to hustle, be an entrepreneur, and juggle several jobs for years to get ahead—not something I can do. In Korea you get one full-time job and you put all your energy into that—a better match. And yet after work I have to deal with loud neighbors, smelly back alleys, and crowds of people colliding with me because they’re playing on their cell phones.
It’s six of one, half dozen of the other.

关于这两个国家的语言，我想指出的是：韩语，读起来直白，但说起来晦涩；日语，说起来直白，但读起来晦涩。这有点像这两个国家的性格。
我是一个内向的人，日本的文化跟我的性格更加契合：礼貌、谨慎、风雅、安静。然而，我是在韩国教书，最主要的原因就是职业生涯和钱。在日本，你必须努力工作，就像企业家一样，为了拔得头筹，你必须年复一年地身兼数职，这不是我所能做到的。在韩国，你能获得一份全职工作，将你所有的精力都投入到这项工作中，这更适合我。但是下班后，我不得不面对嘈杂的邻居，臭烘烘的小巷，还会撞上很多低头玩手机的人。
怎么说呢，鱼和熊掌不可兼得，日本和韩国，半斤对八两。

Anonymous
I am Japanese and it’s probably like England vs France. Both countries are different and your preference will be influence by what you like such as Kpop or anime. Although, it’ll be nice if you go above that and actually see that both countries are more than their main cultural exports. There is a lot more to see.

我是个日本人。这样的比较，就像在比较英国和法国。两个国家都不一样，你的喜好会受到你喜爱的东西的影响，比如有的人喜欢K-POP，有的人喜欢日本动漫。不过，如果你的眼界放高一点，实地去看下这两个国家，你会看到很多超越出口文化层面的东西。

I just want to state something about honne/tatemae. For some people, they make it into some elaborate concept but for us, it’s just common sense. Just like how you wouldn’t go up to a person and say they are fat in the West, it’s a set of rules like common courtesy.Some people make it seem sinister but I do not see it that way. Yes, it can be frustrating to deal with if you’re not used to it but the intention is not to hurt you. Like in America, you say white lies to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. I guess in some ways, people who grew up in countries who are more expressive will see it as cold which I can understand as well.

我只想说一些关于“场面话和真心话”的事情（有人提到日本人隐藏自己的真实内心感受）。对于有些人来说，他们会将场面话变成一些精心设计的概念；但对于我们来说，这只是常识。就像在西方，你不会遇到一个人就说他们很胖，这是基本的礼仪规则。有些人会认为场面话是心机险恶的表现，但我不这样看。是的，如果你不习惯场面话，你可能会感到沮丧，但场面话的存在，并不是为了要伤害你。像在美国一样，善意的谎言是为了避免伤害别人的感情。从某些方面来看，在那些更善于表达的国家长大的人，他们会把场面话视为一种冷漠，这我也能理解。

I cant speak for the majority but I think many Japanese people value quietness, and time for our self at the end of the day. We can be a little introverted and shy when around others for the first time. We can also be very particular about certain things and we have little rules about a lot of things which I find is hard for others to understand. So, it is not a surprise that non-Japanese who are unaware of these unspoken rules will feel out of place. It also put us out of our comfort zone as well because we do not know how to act around you especially for those who never left Japan. I am an exchange student so I am much better at adapting than the average Japanese person though.

我没法代表大多数日本人。但我认为，许多日本人都重视安静，珍惜一天快要结束时属于自己的那段时光。当我们第一次接触陌生人时，我们会显得有点内向和害羞。我们对某些特定的事情非常讲究，但我们对许多事情也会毫无顾忌，我发现外国人很难理解这一点。因此，不了解这些潜规则的外国人，会感到不适应。接触陌生人时那样的表现，是因为我们走出了我们的舒适区，我们不知道怎么跟你互动，尤其是对一辈子都没离开过日本的人。我是个交换生，所以我比一般的日本人，在适应能力方面要好得多。

I wish us Japanese are better at expressing our emotions physically. We tend to be indirect (I know, its frustrating for you) but for us, it’s natural to read the atmosphere first before acting. I can pick up what they are saying because I am part of the cultural group but I understand it’s going to be a cultural shock for others. We are pretty passive and mild as well so it’s a mark contrast with people who are used to different ways in dealing with things.

我也希望，我们日本人能更好地表达我们的情感。我们的表达方式比较间接，我知道，这点会令你感到沮丧，但对我们来说，察言观色是很自然的事情。我本人可以接起日本人正在说的话，因为我是这个文化群体中的一员，但我也知道这对其他外国人来说，是一个巨大的文化冲击。我们非常被动，也很温和，这与习惯用其他不同方式处理问题的人，形成了鲜明的对比。

Other cultures are more outwardly expressive and say things they want to say regardless if it will offend or not but for us, it is difficult. We hate confrontations and we do bottle our emotions especially if it is for the sake of the community. We tend to feel offended if you confront us. Outspoken Japanese are rare despite what you see in animes. This is probably why you think we are hiding our true self but for us, it’s like a virtue. Almost how much you can bear by yourself without disrupting other people. It’s not mentally healthy though and people do crumble from the pressure. I will say, with enough alcohol, our guard comes down and we party pretty hard to relive stress. But ya, it’ll take patience and time to get to know someone intimately as a friend.

其他文化更具外在表现力，人们说他们想说的话，不会考虑是否会冒犯到别人，但这对我们来说，是非常困难的。我们讨厌对抗，尤其是当为了群体利益的时候，我们会隐藏起我们的情绪。如果你直面我们的时候，我们会感到被冒犯。尽管在动漫里，你可以看到直言不讳的日本人，但在实际生活中，这种心直口快的人还是很稀少的。据此，你可能会认为我们隐藏了真实的自我，但对我们来说，这种一种美德。我会说，当喝下足够多的酒时，我们会卸下心中的防备，所以聚会喝酒时，我们会很紧张。但是啦，如果你想认识一个亲密的日本朋友，你需要保持耐心、舍得花时间。

He Wangdong
Subjective view alert.
Without any doubts, Japan.
In comparison with Korean soap operas, Japanese teleplays or animations are more meaningful. Which means when Japanese are digging the ture meaning of life, Koreans are talking about whether the girl should agree to go out with that guy who’s been chasing her.

首先声明，个人观点。
毫无疑问，日本。
与韩国的肥皂剧相比，日本的电视剧和动漫，更有意义。在电视剧中，当日本人正在挖掘生活的真实意义的时候，韩国人正在讨论这个女孩是否应该答应那个约她出去的男人。

Japanese people are more humble, well-educated and friendly.(In my opinion)
Japanese haven't abandoned kanji, which is an essential part of their culture. Well Korean did abolished Chinese characters and caused a cultural dislocation then made their language an entirely joke.
Korean pop music,K-POP so called, it's basically a duplication of American pop music while Japanese music is more original and Japanese traditional instruments are widely applied in their musical industry. (In my opinion)

在我看来，日本人更谦虚，受过良好的教育，待人友善。日本人没有废除汉字，汉字成了日本文化的基本组成部分。而韩国人则废除了汉字，造成了文化上的紊乱，让他们的语言完全成了一个笑话。
在我看来，韩国流行音乐，即所谓的K-POP，基本上是对美国流行音乐的山寨，然而日本音乐更具原创性，而且日本传统乐器也被广泛应用在日本音乐行业中。

Japan is way more clean and orderly than SK.(Personal view)
However, things can be totally different when it comes to about historical problems.
I can't forget what they had done during the WW2 and they even tried to deny their guilt. Seriously, they really should learn to reflect on their guilt then make an apology to other Asian countries.
Let the past guide us and don't let the hatred blind our eyes.

在我看来，日本街道比韩国的更干净、更有秩序。
然而，当涉及到历史问题的时候，情况可能就完全不同了。
我不能忘记日本人在二战中的所作所为。说真的，他们应该学会反思自己的罪恶，向其他亚洲国家道歉。
历史可以指引我们，但不能让仇恨蒙蔽了我们的双眼。