things that annoy me a bit

22 Feb, 2026

things i shouldn't be that annoyed about and i am not going to make my identity around this (i sometimes make my identity about stupid stuff like this) but just random things that annoyed me today and have annoyed me consistently.

• talking about 'correct' usage of something. i think there is no universal correct language. though in certain contexts people languaging however they want without any rules is confusing, therefore in formal language (usually writing) you get style guides, and in language learning (and other things) you get standard varieties of language. and i am fine with standardization, it's just that whatever fits an authoritative style guide or standard that makes you sound proper is not the only way to be Correct™. and it's even more annoying when they look at informal language and call them 'incorrect', bro what do you mean you want informal language to fit your beloved style guide?? i think i ranted before about how language changes, especially informal language, the post is called 규범주의에 관한 짧은 노트 (a short note on prescriptivism) and i am too lazy to link to it. anyways there are better alternatives to saying '[piece of language] is correct/incorrect', just say that it 'fits the standard variety' or 'appropriate in [certain context, like formal writing]' or if you really wanna call something correct, 'correct in [certain context]' idk something like that.
• talking about 'our country' or 'our people' or 'our culture' or anything nationalistic and forcing people to be patriotic or act a certain way to protect 'our [country/people/culture]', especially using that as an excuse to suppress unfamiliar ideas. like wdym 'we need to protect our culture therefore we need to let less immigrants into our land or force them to adopt our ways' or 'queer people are ruining our christian country' or 'you watch anime? what are you a 매국노?' (i cant think of the word 매국노 in english rn) or 'uphold korean culture and obey your husband'??? like wow should we practice slavery? i think we've done that for ages, i think it qualifies as 'world culture' that needs to be preserved??? like i think slavery is an endangered culture and we need cultural diversity???? /s ok in all seriousness there are some cultures that are actually endangered and need to be protected, but a lot of people talk about cultures that are not endangered like they are endangered, or pluck out inhumane values in certain cultures and say they should be preserved. inhumane cultures are not supposed to be preserved because it is inhumane. why do i keep turning to inhumane culture existing because ppl say they need to be preserved. anyways people never asked to be part of a country or ethnic group and especially for countries and ethnic groups and cultures that are well alive, people have the right not to follow them 24/7 and love them and stuff. i think nationalism is common in korea because korea's always been that country being attacked by outsiders, mainly china and japan, and especially because of what happened in the 1900s. you know, japan taking over and doing inhumane stuff to koreans and trying to erase their culture, and then korea gaining independence but being broke especially with the korean war. and there were people trying to gain independence from japan and preserve korean culture, people working hard to boost korea's economy. and then there's the dictatorships and people fighting against those dictatorships. those were the people who modern koreans owe for living in a reasonably democratic country (we complain about 윤석열 and political polarization but at least korea isn't a military coup) and to achieve that, i think nationalism was a very reasonable way to get people together and solve big problems. but does modern korea need nationalism to commemorate those deeds of past koreans and work for a better society in korea? japanese imperialism is bad because it took away 'our' right to rule their country and tried to erase 'our' culture¹, but more importantly japan was being inhumane to certain people, discriminating against them, and erasing their culture. even without the 'we' part it's equally important because ideally we should care equally about everyone's human rights violations. koreans who fought for democracy in the mid~late 1900s are important because it helped 'our' people but also because democracy is important no matter where. in fact looking at the news i feel like nationalism is doing more harm than good these days, like 'immigrants are taking our jobs'.

#english #kokosila