Disdain that needs no explanation...in Korea. More proof of N.Korea's depravity.

Today's Korea Times newspaper published this photo as front-page news, with no accompanying article. A westerner looks at the photo, wonders why it rates front-page status (above the fold, no less!). The first thing I noticed was the high quality of the photo, and the bright colors.
Then I saw the red circles that the editors had photoshopped in to the photo, drawing our attention to something notable.
To a Korean viewer, that something is unthinkable: he is wearing SHOES IN THE HOUSE. I asked several of my Korean students what they would think of someone who would wear shoes in the house. They responded, repeatedly: "It would never happen." No, really, what would you think of such a person? "It would never happen."
Then one student noted that on Korean dramas, the bad guy usually storms into the house with shoes on... just another marker of how bad he is.

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