Also this statement does not really hold true in Europe, where, generally, southern European females are regarded as the most beautiful. The average German male (those ones who are not interested in looking for wifes too far away from home) would rather start their search in Italy, Spain, or Greece than in the Netherlands, Norway, or Sweden.

The problem is that there are still many racists. And do believe it, I’ve met a lot more “Yellow” racists than “White” ones, despite the fact that I am clearly not white (in the view of people to whom race matters) and was regarded as a South Asian (and thus a fellow Asian) by some Asians. But, in the Singaporean environment that constellation worked out fine - I was really regarded as a native !

I know that this idea is widespread in North America but it runs counter to my own experience.

Baduk,

please remember that, in my comment in the other thread which you are referring to in your reply above, I talked about all the French-speakers in my school in Hong Kong hanging out together ?

These French speakers came from such a diverse range of countries like France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Marocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauretania, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Cameroon, Congo…

Some were White, some were Arabs, some were Black, some were Polynesians, all spoke French.

This is the common factor that made them bond easily. Race really played no part in it.

Similar case for the Hispanics btw.

Of course, there are other aspects of a culture than merely language. But language is the most important point - and a common language frequently (though not always) leads to similar cultural beliefs, as is the case with the various Anglo-Saxon countries. For me as a German, it was quite interesting to realise the extensive cultural similarities of countries w´hich share the same national language, even if they are oceans apart, e.g Canada and New Zealand. Were it not for their common language the connections between these two countries would probably not be very strong. And Québec retains its close connection to France, despite not having been ruled from Paris since 1760…

As for me, who should I bond with, according to your opinion ?

My answer: I am trying to bond with all those who are friendly and open-minded, irrespective of their race. The problem is that there are stimm many racists. And do believe it, I’ve met a lot more “Yellow” racists than “white” ones, despite the fact that I am clearly not white.

I meant that the vast majority of those Kazakhs and Russians WHO MIGRATE TO GERMANY are of German extraction - I did obviously not mean that the vast majority of all Kazakhs and Russians are of German extraction; both countries are populated by an ethnically diverse population.

But it is those of German extraction who tend to come to Germany as they fall prey to the fallacy that, due to their genetic similarity to the German population, they would fit in nicely in this country. Alas, this is wishful thinking, indeed…

“As a European growing up in Hong Kong, you may not have encountered much racism. Since your skin color is associated with the rich and the educated, you have been treated better. Now, if you had been from an African country….”

Baduk,

I sure see your point, and I agree with most of what you say in your above-mentioned comment.

Let me, however, please point out to you that, if you saw me, you would not regard me as “White”, nor did the majority of people in Asia regard me as “White” - in Singapore, the place to where our family moved from Hong Kong at the end of 1977, and where we stayed until 1985, I was generally regarded as an “Indian”. Although this classification is incorrect, I regarded it as an honour to be described in this way, as I admire the Indian culture. I even dyed my hair (which is naturally dark-brown) to let it appear pitch-black so that I would resemble the real Indians even more.

In the American terminology of race, which has no equivalence in the languages of Continental Europe, I would probably be regarded as a “Caucasian with colour”. Over here Germany, however, nobody of any social standing has even been thinking of introducing a scheme for such a classification, thus nobody bothers me with inappropriate questions (which I would refuse to reply to, and did refuse to answer in Britain where, due to the cultural proximity to the US, the “race distinction virus” seems to be taking root.

The entire issue is simply a non-starter in the whole of Continental Europe, as “race” is not regarded as a suitable criterion for distinction, whereas culture, meaning the ability to speak a language at near-native speaker level and the knowledge of the “unwritten rules”, customs and conventions which bind a society together, very much is. Many immigrants over here face serious integration problems as they do not manage to adapt to the culture.

However, East Asian and Subsaharan African immigrants actually seem to be doing considerably BETTER than those with a lighter skin (e.g. Turks, Arabs, Kazakh or Russians (the vast majority of the latter group are actually of German extraction, but that does not seem to help at all for their integration into German society - due to their apparent inability to adapt, members of this immigrant group have a disproportionate tendancy to turn to crime to make a living. It is therefore understandable that they are not very popular with those already resident and established in this country, irrespective of race or ethnicity. So, what does this tell you ?

This phenomenon is not limited to Korea but may be widespread throughout the world. I remember coming across this idea amongst Canadian Indians (natives) where lighter-skinned is considered better (darker skinned natives are often ‘teased’ about it). And I’ve heard that many blacks would prefer to be more light-skinned. Is it only whites that like to get a tan?

It seems that most Korean and Japanese women avoid the sun because they don’t want to risk darkening their skin (maybe they’ve also heard about the damage that the sun supposedly does). I know that my wife hates the sun and frets about being a bit darker than other Koreans on average despite my exhortations that it doesn’t matter. I also remember having a very dark student who I think felt uncomfortable at being considered a ‘country boy’ by the other students because of his accent and dark skin.

I’m not saying it is right or fair to judge on skin color, but it does seem to be a common perception amongst some non-whites.

As an European growing up in HongKong, you may not have encountered much racism. Since your skin color is associated with the rich and the educated, you have been treated better. Now, if you had been from an African country…

In America, as an Asian growing up in Brooklyn NY in 80s, I did hear some whites, mostly Italians and the Irish, make racistic remarks about Orientals. Things are much better now. I have to thank my black brothers for that. As they move up in America, all other races benefit. Whenever I hear Rev. King’s speech, I weep inside. Yes, all men are created equal.

When I served in the US Navy (as an officer) and worked for the US Government as a scientist, I did again encountered racistic remarks and attitudes. Much more so than my high school days in Brooklyn.

Racism is a basic human instint coming from the herd instinct. One bonds faster with someone who looks like you. It is natural.

Many foreigners in Korea may encounter racism, especially if you are of a darker skin color. Koreans associated “white” skin color as the mark of the wealth and the high education even among Koreans. Women with whiter skin color are deemed of “higher class”.

If they’d fired several of them into the Persian Gulf, on the fourth of July, in order to have them splash down halfway towards US bases in Kuwait, Bahrein, Qatar — I strongly suspect there’d have been “a bit more fuss” about the matter.

Did you know that even during the heighth of the Cold War, when he US and USSR were testing ICBM’s, they never fired a test one towards each other’s territory? In fact there’s an international protocol requiring notification of such tests when they are conducted over international waters, so that shipping can be warned; the North Koreans ignored this, of course, and this accounted for a big part of the attention that got paid to them.

What if one had hit a Japanese merchant ship, or even a US warship, conducting normal operations in the Sea of Japan (ok, the East Sea)? Sounds “laughable” as it’s long long odds, but of course it was long odds too that a US nuclear submarine would do an emergency surface for some on-board visitors near Hawaii and then just happen to come up right underneath that Japanese fishing vessel.

As far as the “chopping block”, I don’t think there’s going to be any US attack on Iran, anymore than I think there will be a US attack on North Korea. I think the world is going to have to learn to live with the eventual Iranian possession of nuclear weapons, at least until/unless they use one on somebody.

The Euros aren’t really worried about it, anymore than the South Koreans are worried about the North’s nukes/missiles, because they think deep down inside that it’s a US problem and they will always be able to get a free ride from the US defense shield. That happens to be another bubble of complacency that badly needs puncturing.

If Kim Jong Il and/or his ruling elite decide to wake up tommorrow morning and conduct another mass Scud missile test — and something goes wrong — we’re liable to have another major war on our hands.

I don’t know…we really didn’t make much fuss about the Iranian Scud party, although they are next on the chopping block.
Then again, maybe timing is everything.