When the academic life gets too stressful, I muse upon unrelated topics.

I find it curious that the South Korean government has recently apologized in light of the actions of the Virginia Tech shooter, a South Korean national. It's unfortunate that people like this shooter do exist, but given that they do, it had to be someone. If the shooter had emigrated from, say, Italy, over a decade ago, would the Italian government feel compelled to issue such a statement of apology?

A Korean schoolmate of mine chalked the South Korean apology up to South Korean culture, which is less concerned with individuality than the U.S. (and perhaps to an extent the other Western nations) and sees the failings of any one of its "exports" (for lack of a better word) as its own failing. Is it really that simple? Is it more rooted in diplomacy? Fear of racist backlash? Is this issue even worth discussing? I just found it ponder-worthy, is all.