In the KT, English instruct Lee Ji-young discusses what Koreans must do to make their country a “foreigner-friendly country”:
I have met quite a few foreigners living in Korea and often asked them what their impressions of Koreans were and what it was like to live in this country. I got both good and bad reports and it was great to get different perspectives from people who were from outside of Korea.
As far as the purpose of this article goes, I am not writing here only to criticize the negative aspects of living in Korea or Korean people’s attitudes.
It is a part of this article, but I am only doing it because I wanted to point out some of the cross-cultural aspects Koreans and foreigners need to know.
Read the rest on your own.
(HT to reader)
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Is there a link, perhaps?
My bad.
It’s a good start, but doesn’t go far enough. What about addressing the issue with restrictions on banking, internet registrations and cellphones, as well as the dumbassery of ARC number not working anywhere.
Anyhow it’s a good start and I hope it was published in a Korean language paper as well.
Is your Konglish intentional, Robert?
man they need a better copy editor or something…even if she learned English as a second language, i felt like a 5th grader wrote that article.
#3 The ARC number not working everywhere is not dumbass. It shouldn’t, as unlike Korean Citizens, our numbers “expire” when we leave the country but if we return, we get them again. If they all worked everywhere with no hesitation, then our numbers would be a lot easier to use for identity theft since there would be all sorts of ARC numbers floating around that belong to non-resident foreigners…
#6 Of course it’s dumbass when the only way you can access many of the services and facilities is by using your ID number, but they don’t allow the alien ID, and they don’t provide an alternative method of access.
Many of the internet sites only allow access for ID numbers beginning 1 or 2 (Men/Woman) not 5 (Alien)
If the person’s ID is suspended then it can be suspended for internet access purposes also, as it could be listed as suspended on the ID database.
How is the risk of identity theft any higher for aliens than for Korean ID users accessing these sites.
(from the article)
Right – “Have you ever done drugs?” is just an ice-breaker here. ‘Cause, really, Lord knows Koreans are forever asking each other “마약 해보신적 있으세요?” the first time they meet someone.
#7 There are alternatives, though it usually involves faxing your id or scanning and e-mailing it. It took me 3 days and 2 faxes and 2 Koreans helping me to get my own cyworld/nateon account working perfectly… granted, I wouldn’t go through the hassle for any other site, I just can’t be bothered… but it is a pain when I want to log on somewhere (K pr0n) that wants my ID for “age verification” and I get denied. I suspect that our ID numbers are generated by the MOJ:Immigration and not by [insert appropriate department here]… the information isn’t added to the database simply because government departments don’t share information… which is not unique to Korea anyway.
#9.. I don’t use nateon..but opened my cyworld page in 2004, no faxes or help from Korean friends needed. Just used an email and password. I think there was a link for non-Korean citizens at the time.
I once remember going to the cinemas and complained that I tried to book a ticket on the internet for a sold out session (I did try) and couldn’t because I’m a second class foreigner with no 주민등록번호..they then found a spare seat for my friend and I. Unfortunately this same approach didn’t work when trying to get on a booked out inter city bus or train.
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