Being A Foreigner in Korea

• lcgrant
  8:31 am on January 28th, 2008 1

  I live about ten minutes from this place and have had the exact experience on Saturday mornings when all the school kids take an outing to that palace or whatever it is.

• Brian
  10:22 am on January 28th, 2008 2

  This is a pretty common occurrence anywhere in the country. The people who filmed this video didn't exactly help matters by responding to the catcalls. A lot of foreigners think the hellos and catcalls are polite, a sign of friendliness, or an example of Koreans eager to meet foreigners. In my opinion, though, the behavior is pretty rude, and I wish foreigners wouldn't encourage it by acknowledging kids or adults who persist in harassing them. You'd never find a Korean behave that way toward another Korean, and we shouldn't teach them it's okay to behave that way toward a white person.

• James Turnbull
  12:22 pm on January 28th, 2008 3

  I completely agree. After being here eight years, I'm a bit of a cynical old bastard around Korean kids (and adults), and will only respond to preschoolers, genuinely being friendly and/or curious. But as for older kids, if I don't immediately and enthusiastically reply to them like in this video, then half the time I'll suddenly get surly looks and swearing in a mixture of English and Korean in response. I am NOT joking or exaggerating.

  But usually they're too scared of my shaved head to approach me. If they do, I just speak Korean to them and pretend I'm Polish or Costa Rican or something. Like Korean adults, it'll take them some time to get their heads around the concept that some there are non-Koreans that don't speak English, but once they do 9 times of out 10 they'll suddenly lose all interest in me.

  Cynical for sure, but the ones that still want to find out about where you're from and what you think of Korea and so on, even if they have to speak in Korean, they're priceless, and I've had some great hour-long conversations with some cool high-school kids on buses that way. Met one of my now closest (adult!) friends that way too.

  At the beginnings of semesters and with new classes, I act out conversations and behaviour like in the video, but speaking Korean instead of English. Most of them find it hilarious, and acknowledge how rude it is; they'd just never thought about it before.

• *~*cheonsa*~*
  12:39 pm on January 28th, 2008 4

  only thing that surprises me about the vid is that i couldn't hear someone say wegukin

• GI Korea
  1:32 pm on January 28th, 2008 5

  I wouldn't call this behavior common everywhere in Korea. I have been all over the country and the only time this sort of thing has happened to me is visiting touristy areas that school groups also visit. For example I have never been bothered on the subway to give English lessons before or walking down a random street. The subway and random streets is where the drunk and crazy ajushis come up to me and want to be my best friend. I actually find the drunks and crazies less annoying then the children.

• Sonagi
  2:00 pm on January 28th, 2008 6

  Lucky for those girls, the woman and her friend were not too jaded to engage the students in a very simple and friendly conversation.

• Liz
  10:26 pm on January 28th, 2008 7

  I think women and men probably have different experiences with this in Korea. I was often approached, especially by children, in non-touristy areas like supermarkets. Basically everywhere. If you're tall and blonde, it's common.

  They are a lot more direct than we are…Americans tend to ignore people who are foreigners and look out-of-place. Koreans take an interest. I think it's rather polite to take an interest in Korea, it shows that you care and acknowledge that person, whereas the opposite is true here. Which is probably why they took offense when they aren't acknowledged in kind. Once I became adjusted to the culture shock the staring and questioning didn't bother me.

  The questions can be quite direct! Several school aged kids pointed at my chest on different occasions with the question, "Chut?" (breastfeeding/mother's milk).

• Sonagi
  3:08 am on January 29th, 2008 8

  The questions can be quite direct! Several school aged kids pointed at my chest on different occasions with the question, “Chut?” (breastfeeding/mother’s milk).

  And were you polite enough to offer some? PS, don't get offended. I own a pair myself.

• GI Korea
  3:55 am on January 29th, 2008 9

  You ought to see the look on kids faces when they ask if my wife and I are married. They have a look of utter disbelief, but I don't blame the kids for their behavior, I blame the teachers that let them rudely harrass foreigners.

• Kingkitty
  12:59 pm on January 29th, 2008 10

  If you missed it at the end a couple of the girls made the round jester meaning LARGE VIRGINIA

• James Turnbull
  1:15 pm on January 29th, 2008 11

  Liz and Sonagi, I don't mean to be rude, but I think you're both missing the point.

  I do not mind anyone attempting to engage me in simple conversation, and I don't mind direct questions either. I am always impeccably polite in Korea, more so than I ever would be back home (where I could swear away), and if I am not busy then I'm happy to chat in Korean and/or English, although I would rather not just chat for the sake of them practicing English.

  But 9 times out of 10, in these situations I am NOT asked if I would mind chatting, I am NOT asked if I am busy, but instead get a sudden "Where are you from?" shouted at me across a crowded subway car, or a poke in the shoulder or ribs and a "Canada?" screamed in my face. I could be reading a book, listening to my ipod, talking to a friend, riding a bike in busy traffic, but I'm still expected to stop what I'm doing, drop everything, and enthusiastically answer questions about what I think of kimchee and George Bush.

  No Korean person, young or old, would ever dream of behaving so rudely and inconsiderately towards another Korean this way, but our status as foreigners renders us non-persons to whom normal social norms don't apply. THIS is the problem I have, and the sooner schoolchildren learn it the better (adults are a hopeless case though). So if I get a chance I tell offending schoolchildren this, and once they get over their shock at me speaking Korean they will often apologise, especially if I translate and act out what they just said and did.

  The kids are not evil(!) for acting the way they did, but often it literally takes putting the words into Korean for their rude behavior to so much as register with them: it's as if speaking in English to me earlier meant that they could do and say what they liked. If I was just talking about socially inept teenagers then this would all be overanalysis, but then all too many Korean adults behave exactly the same way.

  Lest I give the wrong impression, things like this rarely happen to me these days, maybe once or twice a year at most. Maybe it's the "jaded" vibe I give off.

• Brian
  3:36 pm on January 29th, 2008 12

  Yeah, that's my point, too. I understand that there's a certain novelty to seeing foreigners, especially in smaller towns. But there's really no excuse, in 2008, for the zoo animal treatment we often get. As I learned after my trip to China, we mercifully don't have hawkers, vendors, and scammers after us all the time, but having "HELLO!!!!!!" as a Pavlovian response among students and adults is uncomfortable and inappropriate. I have no problem with students or adults who are genuinely interested in talking with me, but I don't understand why the sight of a foreigner triggers the kind of behavior that would never, ever be exhibited toward a Korean adult. Some foreigners are turned on by it, and think of themselves as mini-celebrities because of it, but I think it only reinforces the idea that foreigners exist for the constant amusement of Koreans. I don't deal with swarms of "ha-iiii"-ing kids like the video every day, but at least a few times each day I have people approaching me, giving me catcalls, and waving in my face. It's not that I'm unable to cope with the extra attention . . . I just don't understand why it's so necessary.

• James Turnbull
  4:21 pm on January 29th, 2008 13

  "Pavlovian response"…lol, that's a classic, so funny because it's soooo true.

• CPT KIM
  12:44 am on January 30th, 2008 14

  I don't understand the complaints here. All Koreans wants to do is try to speak to you in English and curious about you.

  When we immigrated to US from Korea in late 70's, Following are what we heard from our White neighbors and classmates: "go back to your country", "Are you a Chink or a Jap?", "How Can you see with those eyes?", "Are you like Bruce Lee? if you are then let's fight."

  I wish some of my classmates and neighbors tried to speak to us in broken Korean or just tried to find out where we come from.

  Count your blessing!!

• Sonagi
  3:25 am on January 30th, 2008 15

  Liz and Sonagi, I don’t mean to be rude, but I think you’re both missing the point.

  I don't think you're rude, but I think you need to revisit this particular encounter. FYI, I lived in Seoul almost a decade, speak Korean fluently, and experienced the encounters you described. Had those girls tried to talk to me, I would have either spoken Korean to them or ignored them. The woman and her friend did not walk past. They stopped and engaged the students in conversation. They were willing participants in the exchange, and the girls were friendly and said nice things. If two foreigners want to have a conversation in English with a group of schoolgirls, what's the problem? If YOU don't like that sort of thing, you can just walk on by.

• Chopsticks
  1:16 pm on January 30th, 2008 16

  Like CPT Kim, I too don't understand the problem. I grew up as a 2nd generation Korean-American and during my childhood, ignorant AMERICAN people would ask if I were Chinese or Japanese or even worse, do the "ching-chong" routine or threaten me because I was different. If this seriously bothers people, don't bother traveling. There's far worse things to experience than friendly, curious conversation.

• GI Korea
  1:32 pm on January 30th, 2008 17

  I think a distinction needs to be made between curious conversation and rudeness. The girls in the video were not rude and what I would consider curious conversation. I really don't see a problem with them.

  This is what I do have a problem with. I have had my arm hair literally pulled out, people pinch my stomach surprised I'm not fat, I have had kids want to rub my head because I keep my hair closely cut among host of other rude behavior without correction from the teachers leading the groups. When I was kid I never treated a foreigner as a zoo animal and if I did I would hope my teacher would correct it.

  I don't blame the kids I blame the teachers and that is why I will walk up the teacher a quietly tell them in Korean:

  저 원숭이 아니예요?

  That usually gets their attention and they actually take control of the kids.

• Mark
  12:26 am on January 31st, 2008 18

  I just pretend I'm Charleton Heston in Planet of the Apes and it gets me through the day.

• Surabol
  4:34 am on January 31st, 2008 19

  I think another interesting question is how mainland Koreans treat Korean Americans (or other Koreans who live abroad) who are visiting or have temp residence there. Especially if they're not fluent in Korean.

  One of my church buddies who was stationed somewhere in Korea (who's not a fluent Korean speaker) told me that people ignored him or brushed him when he asked them something in broken Korean. He wasn't in army attire.

  I've read some undigestable BS from S.Koreans who believe Korean immigrants are draft dodgers, not true patriots, or sellouts to U.S. interests. Honestly surfing Korean message boards or forums just makes me physically ill sometimes.

  And I (sort of) agree with the two posters. When I first came to America kids followed me around to find out how many dogs I ate, what they taste like, asking me incessantly about how to say certain English phrases in Korean, or showing off their Korean speaking prowess by saying something sophisticated in Korean. They weren naturally curious at that age, but it definitely got uncomfortable.

  I imgaine there are Koreans are genuinely eager to impress foreigners with no self serving agenda. Nothing wrong with flashing some English skills to some poor unsuspecting foreign sap across the street. =P But privacy is very important. They're guests in your country.

• Brian in Jeollanam-do: "You're not their friend, you're their teacher."
  12:39 am on February 6th, 2008 20

  [...] how to comport themselves when around foreigners. As I said in reaction to a video posted on ROK Drop of swarming middle students, Korean children—and sometimes adults—completely lose any sense of [...]

• Kim in the U.S.
  6:38 am on August 2nd, 2008 21

  I agree with CPT KIM @ 14. They mean well, which I can't say the same with respect to "Americans" to foreign looking folks back in 50s, 60s, and 70s in the US. But perhaps in the 80s, 90s, and even now in the redneck country.

  Those who are commenting about the Koreans being rude, etc., in behaving that way, lighten up and be a bit more thoughtful–though I may be asking way too much.

  As far as the focus on the boobs are concerned, very natural. I still look at the big ass and big boobs of "Americans" to this day–though the reason is very different; it is no longer a novelty as much as "holy shit! don't they interfere with daily functions."

• Kim in the U.S.
  6:43 am on August 2nd, 2008 22

  BTW, by "redneck" I am not simply referring to white folks.

• King Baeksu
  7:59 am on August 2nd, 2008 23

  There is definitely a tendency where youngsters here, often boys, will shout English at passing foreigners mainly to impress their friends, not because they are trying to be "friendly."

  When random people here speak English to me in the streets and I suspect their motives (after 12 years I have pretty good nunch'i), I often reply in Korean, saying either "I'm sorry/What was that?" or "Sorry, I don't speak English." The funny thing is that although I am speaking to them in Korean, they will then often just walk away, which tends to reinforce the notion that many of these people are not actually interested in engaging in genuine person-to-person communication.

• Kim in the U.S.
  8:31 am on August 2nd, 2008 24

  King Baeksu, you are expecting way too much (and that probably is the problem with expats in Korea, or anywhere else in Asia). If a redneck approaches and asks me if I am from China, I certainly don't think the redneck is "actually intererested in engaging in genunine person-to-person communication." Instead, I am thinking the redneck is asking the question for his own benefit, whatever that may be.

• Kim in the U.S.
  8:42 am on August 2nd, 2008 25

  And that is the problem with the expats, because they know better not to expect such when they are in the US or wherever else they are expected to be, and yet when they are in Korea or some other parts of Asia or even any other foreign country, their "ought" becomes "is" with self-righteous and indignation, a norm.

• King Baeksu
  8:48 am on August 2nd, 2008 26

  Kim, so are you saying all Koreans are equivalent to rednecks in America? An interesting comparision. I live in Chongno, which is the captial of the purported "Hub of Asia."

  In any case, the redneck would not be speaking to you in Korean or Chinese, I'd wager. He woud be speaking to you in English, just as he would to anyone else in the US, with the possible exception of Latinos in southern border areas.

  In any case, I have been an expat in Japan, England, Germany and Australia and travelled to 40-odd countries, and must say that Koreans are definitely the most awkward and uncomfortable when contronted with foreigners, speaking in broad and general terms.

  If you disagree with me, that's fine. I have nothing further to say on this subject.

• Kim in the U.S.
  8:48 am on August 2nd, 2008 27

  And that is the reason why the "ugly Americans," with the emphasis on "ugly" came to be attached to a specific "nationality." So get off your high horses.

• King Baeksu
  9:00 am on August 2nd, 2008 28

  Ugly American? Guilty as charged. I do wish I was more handsome, but alas I can only work with what I have!

• Kim in the U.S.
  9:05 am on August 2nd, 2008 29

  King Baeksu: If I were "confronted with foreigners," I too would be "most awkward and uncomfortable." And I am from Mars.

  As far as "Koreans . . . equivalent to rednecks." Possible. You can place a redneck in Chongno, but you may not be able to put Chongno in the redneck.

  Some of my good friends are rednecks, folks that I can trust under any difficulty–like in bar fights. But they are still rednecks.

• chimper
  10:33 am on August 2nd, 2008 30

  I just pretend I’m Charleton Heston in Planet of the Apes and it gets me through the day.

  LOL

  "Take your stinking paws of me you damn dirty ape!

• R.W.
  7:34 pm on August 2nd, 2008 31

  You guys are being kind of harsh. All I saw in that video were some outgoing schoolgirls who were interested in the foreigners. I really don't see a problem with that. As much as I agree with most of the political opinions blogged on this site, I do get the feeling that there's a lot of racism behind the scenes here.

• RWPEDO
  8:39 pm on August 2nd, 2008 32

  RW sounds like so many pedo creeps that touch girls, and pure Korean girls. RW are you a PEDOFILE! MOLESTER RW.

• TGV
  3:48 am on August 3rd, 2008 33

  What is the problem with the kids talking to someone? At least they are interested and I think that is why they don't engage Koreans like that – they are not interested. At most, it is teaching them to be outgoing which is somewhat lacking among Korean adults. I think we are in the midst of a cultural change that must occur over generations – when those kids are of ajuma/ajossi age I think they will be very different from what we have now. Sometimes I am not in the mood, granted, but there is no malice from the kids who approach you.

• Kalani
  4:36 am on August 3rd, 2008 34

  What sometimes takes you off-guard is the brutal honesty they display. They haven't yet learned the finer skills of pleasant civilized speech — even in Korean — and coupled with their minimal English vocabulary what can come out of their mouthes may feel like rabbit punches to the belly with a right cross to the jaw. But it all said with such a sweet smile that you know it was not malicious.

  I enjoy kids coming up and practicing their limited English. I wish more would do it, but I wish they wouldn't do it in groups which makes you feel like you're being attacked. Actually, in the past, I've had some rather nice conversations with young'uns while sitting with my dog on the beach or in the hills.

• April
  5:33 am on August 3rd, 2008 35

  CPT Kim: “How Can you see with those eyes?”,

  Kim in the U.S."As far as the focus on the boobs are concerned, very natural. I still look at the big ass and big boobs of “Americans” to this day–though the reason is very different; it is no longer a novelty as much as “holy shit! don’t they interfere with daily functions.”

  So, it is natural to stare and question a woman's private parts but it is rude to wonder if the shape of the eyes interferes with seeing?

  I'm from "redneck country" and the only time I've seen foreigners accosted by adults was when they were a-illegal or b-carrying their rude treatment of customers to the US, where customer service does matter and you will be called on it if you are rude. Yet here in Korea, adult Koreans accost Americans all of the time. And the Korean children make fun of my children and their half-Korean friends for being American (or just having an American dad).

  No one should be harassed, here OR in the USA, for their appearance. But children are both curious and mean everywhere (one reason mine are homeschooled) and I exclude them from all the observations I make about Koreans. CPT Kim, the same kids that picked on you for being different also picked on any kid that was fat, skinny, pimply, wore glasses, was poor, spoke a little differently, etc. So, while it IS rude, I don't get upset about the way Korean children harass my children and their friends on the playground.

  Curiosity is natural and does not bother me at all. I don't even care when the adults stare at us because we do look a lot different than they do. I don't mind when anyone, adult or child, tries to converse with us. Sometimes they try to speak to me in Korean and even if I can't understand them (and they are probably insulting me), I respond in a friendly manner.

  And I am always happy to let Koreans "practice their English" on me, even if it gets tedious on a loud, crowded train to strain to hear them. I think responding kindly to these children, even if you are politely correcting their conversation etiquette, will eventually help improve Korea. I know my children enjoy conversing with adults, and I treat other children the way I want other adults to treat my children.

• “Teachaa wear purple bras! I see her!” « Waygook Next Door
  9:50 pm on August 4th, 2008 36

  [...] @Tuttle: The students here don’t do it to embarrass you, they do it because they don’t know any better. Students who love me say things like this just as often as students who hate me. There is something about Korean culture that separates foreigners from the rest of “humans”, and so we are often treated by different, lower standards. It’s not always a conscious thing, either. When I bring attention to my students’ behavior by saying something like “Would you say that to a Korean?” and they say “uhhh…uhhhh….no”, only then does it seem to dawn on them that they are subconsciously treating us foreigners as someone of a lower social stature. It’s highly irritating, but it’s hard to get TOO angry at them, as it’s not the students themselves, but the culture. There’s some good commentary on the topic here: Being a Foreigner in Korea [...]

• Juul going aboard
  9:00 pm on September 2nd, 2010 37

  this consernes me i'm going to south korea next spring to study. and in my country i cant take a course in korean language. so i wont know what they are saying(in krean) if i'm approched be korean children or adults. i wont know if they are rude or not. my naturel responsed when talked to is responsing as best i can. but i dont want to look stupid and or laughed at.

  i will ofcourse try to learn as must korean from books and internet before going and i'm taking korean when i get there. but it is a difficult language to learn. also i have to translate in my head to times from danish to english to korean and the other way around.

  what should i do? just walk past and in my opponione that is being rude or angage in conversation and maybe ending up looking stupid.. decisions decisons

 

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