Smokes?
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okay_idiotas — 19 years ago(March 12, 2007 08:29 AM)
Smoking cigarettes is very common just about everywhere in Asia, so I wouldn't be surprised. From living in Japan, I know that they were putting a lot of effort into doing public service announcements to bring down the number of smokers in the country, but right now, the number of male smokers is coming down and the number of female smokers is going up.
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arusso41-1 — 18 years ago(April 11, 2007 01:25 AM)
I agree.. socially unacceptable in Korea for women to smoke.. I have personally seen women spit and yelled at by older men who have seen them smoking.. Korean culture also closely relates women smoking with prostitution. Who can even start to begin to understand where this all comes from. ?!!?
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yella_fella — 16 years ago(June 21, 2009 02:26 AM)
Getting women to equate smoking with equlity and liberation was one of the most famous cases of propoganda (today called "Public Relations") in history.
This was one of the first instances where contrary to what was thought posssible at the time, that culture itself can be changed through "advertising".
see Century of the Self:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3LSyck0YTE
"Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might." -R. Tagore -
cterceira — 17 years ago(May 10, 2008 04:41 PM)
Actually, It is NOT a myth. Living in Korea, married to a Korean woman, with a Korean daughter in college I have seen and heard all about this. Smoking is not considered taboo, however, smoking in the presence of elders is. This same rule applies to young men but is more closely followed by women. The reason I was given when I asked my step-daughter why she cares what others think was "it is not worth the hassle".
Other things that are considered to be on the seedier side of life such as drinking and tattoos are also hidden from elders. I have noticed that young men when drinking are more conscious of the social stigmas placed on them, and more closely adhere to them, than women are.
Just my observations over the last 9 years though.