Quote:
Originally posted by Anthony_A
I heard the same thing, however...
The version I heard from a Korean Linguist was this:
When the US Marines landed in Korea, they were met by the South Koreans, who were chanting what sounded like Me Gook! Our good ole Marines automatically thought, Me Gook = What Koreans call themselves, and the title stuck, to include the whole asian race. Stupidity at it's finest.
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Anthony, that could very much be true. My mother is Korean and my father is German so I got the best of both histories. The explanation I offered is what I heard through my Korean side of the family. Of course, as we all know, stories change when passed through different cultures.
Although I'm half Korean, the word gook doesn't really offend me at all. But if you call me a Kraute or Jerry...I'm going to whoop someone's ass!
