Happier Abroad Forum Community

Can someone who has a lot of experience in East Asia give me a comparison between NE Asia and SE Asia? I recently discovered the phenomenal differences between the average IQ's of NE Asians and SE Asians. This led me to question why two subgroups of people who are generally considered to be the same race differ so greatly on the bell curve. So, I did some research. I discovered that there are also a great differences in some other social and cultural indicators as well. This research caused me to develop some of these preconceived notions of the two regions:

Northeast Asia (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, North China) is more business oriented, socially conservative, and intellectually rewarding

Southeast Asia (Vietnam, South China, Philippines, Thailand) is more leisure oriented, socially liberated, and intellectually unfruitful

Don't get me wrong, I know there is a lot of grey area here and that the lines are not distinct. I also don't think that SE Asia is sexually/socially liberated for the same reasons or in the same way that the west is. I think that the traditional values are there, but because the people are on average, less intelligent than NE Asians, they are more often likely to favor short term self gratification than long term commitments. The crime, out of wedlock birth, drug usage, and STD prevalence rates are generally higher in the SE Asian countries I listed than they are in the NE Asian countries. They also seem to follow slightly more of an r reproductive strategy than a K reproductive strategy (the fertility rates of NE Asian nations are shockingly low). I also discovered that many of the most successful people living in SE Asian countries are from NE Asian ones. In other words, a significant portion of the wealth in SE Asian countries is held by residents originally from NE Asian countries.

What all this seems to come down to is that Northeast Asia is better for business and work, while Southeast Asia is better for leisure and play. I concede that I have never been to any part of East Asia, so that is why I am looking for some feedback from someone who has. Are my comparisons accurate?

sentinel89 wrote: Northeast Asia (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, North China) is more business oriented, socially conservative, and intellectually rewarding

Southeast Asia (Vietnam, South China, Philippines, Thailand) is more leisure oriented, socially liberated, and intellectually unfruitful

. I concede that I have never been to any part of East Asia, so that is why I am looking for some feedback from someone who has. Are my comparisons accurate?

Coming in from Europe and living in Japan with frequent vacation in Thailand and Philippines, I think what you write is quite correct.

.

Ghost wrote:Tropical countries are fun, relaxing, and exciting, whereas cold countries are places to study, work, grind. They both have their purposes. Work in Northeast Asia, play in Southeast Asia.

However, OP interestingly mentioned reproductive strategies and the insanely low birth rates of Northeast Asia. Therefore, if one wanted to build a more lasting legacy a man would do a little more then just "play" in Southeast Asia. I agree that the North, of course, is where the money is. It's also more dinstinctly Asian - one cannot really call the Philippines Asian anymore after so many centuries of Spanish rule. If anything, they are the Latinos of Asia.

Sentinel, while you're writing in generalities, I agree with most of what you wrote in this thread. As Ghost said, work in North Asia, play in Southeast Asia, although some people actually prefer North Asia to the South--especially non-monger types.

The same that can be said between Business oriented Anglo America and Northern Europe vs Hedonist and Lazy Latin America and Southern Europe.

Tapatio89 wrote:The same that can be said between Business oriented Anglo America and Northern Europe vs Hedonist and Lazy Latin America and Southern Europe.

People in colder climates tend to be more left brained (reflected by IQ), people in warmer clients tend to be more right brained (are there any Nordic playwrights? Probably not).

sentinel89 wrote:

Tapatio89 wrote:The same that can be said between Business oriented Anglo America and Northern Europe vs Hedonist and Lazy Latin America and Southern Europe.

People in colder climates tend to be more left brained (reflected by IQ), people in warmer clients tend to be more right brained (are there any Nordic playwrights? Probably not).

Are you sure? I say because I was born in a warm weather country, and did one of those tests and I am a left brained person, not a right brained person.

I don't think southeast Asian people are, in general, more of the sexual libertine variety than northeast Asians. Someone posted a link to a video that said that a large percentage of Koreans women had been involved in the sex trade. Maybe they include girls in tea rooms who wear short shorts and hug old guys who go there to buy tea, but don't do the deed. Or maybe a lot of those girls are prostitutes, too. Even more old women are resorting to prostitution, according to that video.

I hear that in Japan, a lot of single people try to find someone for a one-night stand on Christmas. I've also heard of some very free-sex Chinese folks. A lot of the HIV cases in Asia are in China. Maybe Koreans and Japanese use condoms.

Bangkok has a reputation for being a sex vacation. I've heard stories about some parts of the Philippines, too. But I get the impression that a lot of the village girls in both countries are virgins at marriage. I get that impression about the Vietnamese, too. I've lived in Indonesia, and I do think a lot of them, maybe the majority, are virgins when they get married. They do marry a few years younger. Virginity at marriage is a strong cultural norm. If a rumor circulates that a girl is not a virgin, it could probably hurt her marriage prospects. Outside of sex industry areas, is virginity as strong of a norm in northeast Asian cultures?

I read a theory once that life is easy at the equator in terms of staying warm and finding food, so great civilizations don't form in the tropics. For the Americas, Mexico was probably pretty advanced at some stages of history, though.

-----

Tapatio89 wrote:

sentinel89 wrote:

Tapatio89 wrote:The same that can be said between Business oriented Anglo America and Northern Europe vs Hedonist and Lazy Latin America and Southern Europe.

People in colder climates tend to be more left brained (reflected by IQ), people in warmer clients tend to be more right brained (are there any Nordic playwrights? Probably not).

Are you sure? I say because I was born in a warm weather country, and did one of those tests and I am a left brained person, not a right brained person.

I can't say with 100% certainty that it is true, because association does not mean causation. But, even if it is true, that does not mean there are no right brained people in colder climates or left brained people in warmer climates. We're just talking averages and generalities.

MrMan wrote:I don't think southeast Asian people are, in general, more of the sexual libertine variety than northeast Asians. Someone posted a link to a video that said that a large percentage of Koreans women had been involved in the sex trade. Maybe they include girls in tea rooms who wear short shorts and hug old guys who go there to buy tea, but don't do the deed. Or maybe a lot of those girls are prostitutes, too. Even more old women are resorting to prostitution, according to that video.

I based this assumption solely on the fact that SE Asian countries have higher STD prevalence rates than NE countries, and because I read an article titled "infidelity Thai style" or something along those lines a while back. I recall the article mentioning how infidelity is a cultural norm in Thailand. But, I know my former Vietnamese girlfriend was shamed by some of her very conservative aunts (still in Vietnam) because her former boyfriend had left her. They blamed her for not being a good girl and getting married to her first boyfriend. So I know there is still some pressure to marry in SE Asia. There may also be huge differences between Vietnam, Thailand, and Philippines, but often times there are cultural and trend overlays between intra-regional countries.

I hear that in Japan, a lot of single people try to find someone for a one-night stand on Christmas. I've also heard of some very free-sex Chinese folks. A lot of the HIV cases in Asia are in China. Maybe Koreans and Japanese use condoms.

China has a very low HIV prevalence rate. It is 0.1, compared to Thailand's 1.2 (relatively high) and Vietnam's 0.5 (moderate). The U.S. is at 0.6, but if you took out the black population, it would probably be much lower.

Admittedly, HIV rates are not a great predictor of overall promiscuity. Thailand has a large population of ladyboys, who probably make up a significant portion of their HIV infections. Homosexual communities, who are by far more promiscuous than heterosexual ones, make up most HIV cases.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... lence_rate

Bangkok has a reputation for being a sex vacation. I've heard stories about some parts of the Philippines, too. But I get the impression that a lot of the village girls in both countries are virgins at marriage. I get that impression about the Vietnamese, too. I've lived in Indonesia, and I do think a lot of them, maybe the majority, are virgins when they get married. They do marry a few years younger. Virginity at marriage is a strong cultural norm. If a rumor circulates that a girl is not a virgin, it could probably hurt her marriage prospects. Outside of sex industry areas, is virginity as strong of a norm in northeast Asian cultures

Indonesia is a predominately Muslim country, correct?

China has a very low HIV prevalence rate. It is 0.1, compared to Thailand's 1.2 (relatively high) and Vietnam's 0.5 (moderate). The U.S. is at 0.6, but if you took out the black population, it would probably be much lower.

If you took out the entire black population you would STILL have HIV cases. That's a fact. However If you took out the caucasian bio-weapons program instead the HIV rates would be ZERO everywhere on earth because the bio weapons invented by this group would not exist.

Enjoy wearing condoms forever and take the time to thank those caucasian people in that laboratory for creating aids,hiv,syphillis,ebola & herpes with YOUR tax dollars. Its killing very beautiful women who can't afford the expensive treatments. As they die young always remember that a caucasian person is responsible for their deaths.



When you think about it a caucasian person is responsible for your biggest problems in life not the black population. They created feminism which makes it difficult for you to meet women at home and when you do you have to wear this rubber glove to protect you from the bio weapons they created.

Can anyone here comment on average attractiveness? Are Thai & Vietnamese girls really more attractive on average than Korean and Japanese girls?