BKLOG

I recently wrote this paper for a sociology class I’m taking.  It might read a little dryly, but some may find the subject matter interesting.

I grew up in a predominantly white, upper-middle class, rural town in southeast Connecticut.  My upbringing was progressive and I can remember the many times I was taught about racism and discrimination in school.  However, there was a serious lack of diversity in my community so much of what I learned was practiced in abstract or theoretical ways only.  I never really encountered racism outside of the jokes told or slurs uttered by white people when only white people are around.  As a result, I left home with a sunny and idealistic view of the world.  I’m thankful for that.  However after taking the Harvard-Hosted Implicit Association Test earlier this semester, I realized I still hold negative biases against African Americans.

I have traveled extensively since leaving home; I’m lucky to lead a nomadic, charmed life.  Recently, my girlfriend and I moved to South Korea.  We went for the adventure… we wanted to experience a foreign culture… get out of our comfort zone for a while.  The opportunity presented itself and, with little research into what we were actually doing, we stored or sold our belongings and got on the plane.  That was a little over a month ago.

Korea, I have discovered, is an entirely different world.  To quote an old Texan friend, ‘I feel like a turd in the punch bowl.’  I live in Changwon, a city with a small, yet tightly knit, westerner community.  Most are Native English Teachers (NETs) but you will find a revolving door-like population of engineers and merchant sailors too.  As appearances go, I do not look like 99% of people I pass on the street.  The average resident of Changwon is ethnically Korean… squat, black hair, clear and pale skin, typical Asian features.  They all speak fluent Korean and very few know any English.  I, in contrast, am well over six feet tall, short blond hair, a sloppily unshaven face… and I don’t speak the local language.  My outsider status is validated daily with stares, cries of astonishment from children, and popular English phrases (ILOVEYOU! HELLOHOWAREYOUTODAY!) shouted at me everywhere I go.  Of the foreigners, most are white.  But there certainly are blacks and other minority groups represented.  Korea is known worldwide as an extremely nationalistic society.  Their distaste for westerners ‘invading’ their communities and culture is rarely exposed to the light.  Though sometimes, there is a definite feeling that I am not fully welcome.

Korean leadership very often offers positive reflections on the foreign presence in their country.  President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, is cordial and polite when it comes to foreigner issues.  This is not surprising considering his high political post.  Much like in the United States, there are legislators that are hard-line anti-immigration and others that hold more liberal stances.  A recent article in the Korea Herald, a western-read newspaper, states that National Assemblyman Lee Sang-jun gave false statistics in support of a bill that would require all NETs to be tested for HIV/AIDS.  This legislation has been criticized as being discriminatory and a human rights violation.  (Walsh, 2009)

There are pro-foreigner programs out there as well.  Changwon is the home of the Gyeongnam Migrant Worker’s Council Office.  They offer free legal advice to foreign residents, Korean language lessons, and classes on Korean culture to ease assimilation and culture shock. (“Gyeongnam migrant worker’s,” 2009)

Personally, I have never been the victim of outright discrimination or racism.  But friends have told me of their firsthand accounts.  I have a friend that was allegedly fired because of he was black.  He was teaching at a private English academy.  The parents of his students threatened to pull their children out of the school if he was not terminated.  Also, in July of this year, an Indian man and his Korean female companion were verbally abused on a bus near Seoul.  Their assailant, apparently angered by the fact that the two were in public together, shouted racist slurs from the back of the bus.  He was later charged with contempt and is at the center of a debate over stricter legislation to protect foreigners from discrimination.  (Choe, 2009)

For the short time I have been here, Koreans have, for the most part, been welcoming and gracious hosts.  I have made many local friends and I’m constantly awestruck at how nice Koreans can be.  Many random strangers have helped me find the right bus, order food, or have offered directions when it appears I am overwhelmed with the strangeness of my new home.

Sometimes, I encounter odd assumptions about me because of my race.  An English textbook for one of my classes offers a view of Americans that is inaccurate, if not unflattering.  Some of the reading exercises are written in the first person as an American.  They all paint us to be extremely materialistic, shallow, and obsessed with consumption.  I realize that might be the stereotype we carry… but there is no attempt made to highlight any positive qualities.

The media seems to be the engine that drives much of the anti-westerner sentiment.  Every week there is another news story blaming various societal ills on foreign influence.  The sensationalism these stories generate is probably the reason they get so much attention.  For example, the group, Anti-English Spectrum (AES) has been given much publicity recently over their extreme stance on westerners in Korea.  On their website, they refer to ‘foreigners as “Black pigs,” [and] say that [they] engage in “sexual molestation,” and… “target children.”’  AES has even been known to stalk NETs in an effort to get them deported for drug-use or ‘violating the moral code.’  (Walsh, 2009)

Here are some recent headlines:

• September, 2007 in No Cut News, “Korea is a ‘Perverted Paradise’ for Foreign English Teachers.”
• In October, 2008, the Korean Correspondant for ABC News published  “English Teachers
  Bring Drugs to South Korea.”
• In May, 2007, the Chosun Ilbo published “White English Teacher Threatens Korean Woman With AIDS.”

All of these articles quote dubious statistics and exhibit little regard for the facts.  (Wagner, 2009)

The foreigner magazine, Busan Haps, recently offered the quote ‘Schools and authorities consider foreigners more at risk for swine flue than their kimchi-fed Korean coworkers.’  This is a common view among Korean society.  A popular story in the media recently has to do with foreigners being barred from tours of the Blue House, Korea’s version of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  On the Blue House’s English website, it was stated that all tours were to be suspended because of swine flu.  Yet the Korean version stated that tours were indeed being held, but only for Korean adults.  (Walsh, 2009)

There are many blogs and English news outlets that keep a vigilant lookout for such media stories.  There is not much western representation in Korea’s leadership or media.  This is beginning to change.  Last week, an Australian lecturer announced he would form the first Foreign Labor Union in Korea.  The move has been green-lighted by local authorities and it seems NETs will soon have some voice in national politics. (“Foreigners form union,” 2009) The traditional lobbyist effort has been the Association for Teachers of English in Korea (ATEK).  Their mission statement is to provide a voice for NETs and have been the closest thing we have to a leadership.  They must be doing something right… recently, a member of AES directed death-threats to ATEK’s president, Greg Dolezol. (Deutch, 2009)

Another positive sign for westerners in Korea is the recent publication of the ‘Wagner Report.’  Benjamin Wagner, of Kyung Hee University School of Law, wrote up a lengthy and thorough report on the state of discrimination in South Korea.  He submitted it to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.  Hopefully, this begins a dialogue to resolve some of the previously mentioned inequities here.  The only way to reduce racism is through education and the ‘Wagner Report’ is definitely a step in the right direction.  (Wagner, 2009)

My transition into South Korean residency has been, to put it mildly, weird.  The culture shock has been overwhelming at times, but I am lucky to have such a great communities of both western and Korean, to lean on.  As I am calling this place my home for the next year or so, stories of racism and discrimination are very important to me.  I want to, someday, live harmoniously in this society.  Despite the problems I previously mentioned, I am optimistic that it is possible.  And when I eventually return to the United States, my experiences here will have equipped me to better handle racially charged community issues in the future.

Works Cited

Walsh, A. (2009, November 20). Blurring line between hate, free speech. Korea Herald.

Gyeongnam migrant worker’s council office. (2009, December 11). Retrieved from http://eng.changwon.go.kr/residents/sub_07_02.jsp

Choe, S. (2009, November 1). South koreans struggle with race. New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world/asia/02race.html?_r=3&ref=global-home&pagewanted=all

Wagner, B. K. (2009). Discrimination against non-citizens in the republic of korea in the context of the e-2 foreign language teaching visa.

Deutch, B. (2009/2010, December/January). Kim chi, is it really all that?. Busan Haps, (4), 16-17.

Walsh, A. (2009, December 9). Cheong Wa Dae keeps doors shut to foreigners. Korea Herald.

Foreigners form union in first for korea. (2009, December 8). Korea Herald.

Deutch, B. (2009, December 11). Foreign teachers, fear, and xenophobia in south korea: cbc radio’s “the current” on anti-english spectrum.. Retrieved from http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/12/foreign-teachers-fear-and-xenophobia-in.html