Paul Kerry and Matthew Lamers interview Bonojit Hussain, the man who got harassed on a Bucheon bus and started a hub-bub about racism in Korea.
Speaking of racism, Foreign Dispatches points to another aspect, namely, to the extent that foreign, ahem, individuals might provoke xenophobic reactions with acts of culturally insensitive douchebaggery.
And while I’m linking to Foreign Dispatches, can you imagine a Korean foreign minister telling a foreign journalist to speak Korean in press conference?
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
The only thing I’m not clear on is the legislation that Hussain and his interviewers seem to support. Do they want anti-discriminatory legislation, that would prevent, say, foreigners from being kicked out of restaurants for being foreign? Or do they want hate-crime legislation, that would charge harassing/assaulting a foreigner as separate from harassing/assaulting a Korean? Or am I totally using these terms incorrectly?
I would totally favor anti-discriminatory legislation, although I admit I’m not sure what can of worms that would open up. I don’t think I would support hate-crime legislation. However, I’m quick to add that certainly do support clamping down on ill-tempered Koreans who assault and abuse those around them (foreign and Korean alike) with what seems to me to be impunity.
“an you imagine a Korean foreign minister telling a foreign journalist to speak Korean in press conference?”
Yes
I was accosted by a drunken Korean student weilding a chair during a festival at a university that I worked for more than ten years because his sister was dating a Japanese guy (I’m a white American) and was able to laugh the whole thing off, after forcing the student to apologize, rather than raise some “human rights” stink.
I think what needs to happen here is for Lee Myung-bak to take a page from Barack Hussein Obama’s most presidential act thus far and invite Bonojit Hussain and the drunk ajeossi to the Blue House for some soju and samgyeopsal, although the name “Hussain” suggests he might not gor for either, which kind of spoils the whole idea.
Koreans expecting foreigners to speak Korean would probably make it a whole lot easier for foreigners to learn and speak Korean, and maybe even for foreigners to be more easily accepted into Korean society. For those with a long term commitment to Korea expecting foreigners to speak Korea would be a positive development.
There’s also a big difference between the English spoken in Germany and in Korea – most Germans, especially Government Ministers, can actually speak good English, which is not the case in Korea, of course. So, it’s conceivable that a Korean minister would ask a foreign reporter to use a Korean translator, but it would be pretty amazing for if he actually expected the reporter to speak Korean.
@ The Western Confucian:
Actually, I think that attitude is counter-productive. It only infuriates me more when Koreans want to “laugh off” these situations. It underscores what I see is the real problem: there is no accountability for one’s actions.
To give you an example, I had a drunk ajoshi follow me around for about half an hour. He yelled, shoved me, took his shirt off (wtf?), and threw rather large rocks at me and my companions, any one of which could have done serious damage. When the police finally came, they wanted me to shake his hand and tell him everything is okay. Fuck that. Everything was not okay. This guy was an asshole, and I wanted nothing to do with him. He was physically repulsive, and having to shake his hand was an affront to my dignity. I think the fact that I was made to enact some kind of child-like “reconciliation” pissed me off more than the ajoshi himself.
And as long as such ajoshi are repeatedly shown that their bad behavior can be washed away with a handshake, they have little incentive to behave like civilized adults.
Granfalloon,
You can always leave.
Gee, as if Indians in other countries don’t get verbal abuses. I’m tired of reading such dreadful news. Does Korea always have to change & suit needs for foreigners?
The ‘when in Rome’ mentality always hinges on one point: are you being treated like a Roman citizen or a Roman slave? I have no problem acting like a Roman if it’s the former, but if it’s the latter the Romans can go fuck themselves.
“I’m tired of reading such dreadful news.” I’d say give reading then. You’re semi-literate at best anyway.
give up reading (oops)
mkaplan : and Korea can always give up it’s desperate attempt to gain international recognition and approval.
No, it doesn’t. Then again, I would argue the same for any other country, including the United States.
Good point, although I think a point comment cm made in another post is also good, namely, would foreigners really WANT to be treated like Romans?
I really wish it would, actually. Nothing more charming than a country standing up and saying, “We don’t care HOW you do it in New York…”
But Robert, isn’t it a bit different in the U.S.? Even permanent legal aliens in the US have to sign up for Selective Service. Is there such a thing for permanent resident foreigners in Korea? I won’t say its a huge difference, but it’s not insignificant.
That’s an interesting question, and the answer is even more interesting. Up until recently, no. In fact, even Korean nationals of mixed-race decent were excluded from the draft. There was a push — due to complaints of discrimination against mixed-race Koreans — to change the laws so that mixed-race Koreans of Asian descent would be drafted and “visibly mixed-race” Koreans of black or white descent could volunteer:
http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=001&oid=001&aid=0000796901&
But it seems that the article about “visibly mixed-race” Koreans still applies:
http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=001&oid=001&aid=0002730592&
For the record, I don’t believe non-citizens — even permanent residents — should be drafted. Citizens of mixed race, however, are a completely different matter.
I’ll be the first to say that I am not treated as a Korean would be, and that I’m happy for that. However, from the other side, Korea doesn’t really want me to be Korean, either. Don’t get me wrong: they’d love it if the whole world spoke Korean and ate kimchi at every meal, and they never miss an opportunity to pat me on the back for doing so (however poorly). But let’s be honest: the possibility of me being “Korean” is permanently off the table, and I’m not the one who removed it.
Multiply that sentiment x 10 for a Western woman.
I mean, shit, they even list illegal immigrants as eligible for the draft here in the US. For all practical purposes, permanent residents and one can even argue illegal aliens are no different from US citizens.
this might change very soon
it’s in the pipeline, and might change as early as next year..
국회 국방위원회 소속인 유승민 의원(한나라당)은 여야 의원 23인과 공동으로 지난달 25일 인종이나 피부색을 이유로 제1국민역(신체검사 또는 입영대상자)으로의 편입 제한 등 차별을 받지 않도록 하는 내용의 ‘병역법 일부 개정법률안’을 제출했다
and
제안 이유서는 또 “인종 · 피부색을 이유로 차별받게 만든 조항은 헌법이 보장하는 평등권에 위배되고 혼혈인 중 아시아계와 흑 · 백계를 나눠 차별하는 인종차별적 시각을 드러내는 것이어서 보충역이나 제2국민역에 편입하게 돼 있는 규정(65조1항 제4호)을 삭제한다”고 밝혔다.
i’m sure i read a headline even more recently on this maybe – it’s already passed, or maybe it was in my dream..
‘Gee, as if Indians in other countries don’t get verbal abuses. I’m tired of reading such dreadful news. Does Korea always have to change & suit needs for foreigners?’
least the koreans aren’t throwing the indians off of planes even though indians got no business in korea. what the hell would some indian want to leave in korea for? i can’t understand it. korea is not for indians. no indian should want to live in korea.
‘the possibility of me being “Korean” is permanently off the table, and I’m not the one who removed it.’
this is the biggest crock of 똥 this side of the ozarks. you can’t be korean? well, i can’t be white, and i’m not the one who removed that either. your comment is ridiculous and should be thrown to the lions.
if you want to be taken seriously, don’t say the kinds of things you just said but because that one was a doozy.
Ugh, let’s hope Korea doesn’t do multiculturalism like New York. It would be charming, actually, for Korea to point that out.
“would foreigners really WANT to be treated like Romans?”
This is an interesting question. I live in a situation where I’m pretty much forced to, as I can easily go a week or more at a time only interacting with Romans. And I am – believe it or not – treated like a Roman citizen 99% of the time where I live (and when I’m not it’s usually a case of children being rude). I also tend to act like a Roman a lot of the time. I don’t really mind it, and am fairly good at playing the game.
There are, however, two areas where I do not want to be treated like a Roman: personal privacy and marriage. After spending a busy day being Mr Teacher I’m usually happy to be on my own. Yes, I’ll go out with friends or coworkers during the week sometimes, but it would be nice just to be able to lead my own life without everyone knowing my daily schedule and everything I’m up to. Re: marriage, I’m sick and tired of Korean friends and coworkers always looking for any single female over 25 to set me up with. It would be fine if they were trying to set me up with someone who just wanted to have fun and screw around and WASN’T from our town and an alumna of the bloody high school where I teach.
Apart from nosiness and pressure to marry I’m pretty happy living like a Roman most of the time, though there are times when I feel a need to get away from it all for a while. I’m sure many Romans feel the same way.
Pressure to marry? Do you have family in Korea who you actually have to care about?
just tell them you are gay. 요새, 자꾸 남자들이 눈에 들어오네요..
Dunno about you, but I would never get tired of going to sogaeting or matsun, so long as I don’t have to foot the bill all the time. It’d be an absolute blessing, a way to sharpen my macking skills for that perfect lady. Heh heh heh
“Do you have family in Korea who you actually have to care about?”
No, and I can only imagine how annoying that would be if you were 30-something and still not married.
“just tell them you are gay” – I guess you wouldn’t have to be bothered by Korean friends always trying to get you married off if you didn’t have any Korean friends, eh?
yeah, and you might get more personal space that way too – perfect.
just ungay yourself when you spot that girl you want to be introduced to.
rockgoose says:
pawi, always good to have you come in and straighten the expat out. But in this case, I can’t figure out what the hell you are trying to say…
what granfalloon said was a “crock oㄹ 똥,” or a “doozy,” meaning it was a lie? Then you give an example (that the option for you to be white has been taken off the table) that shows he was obviously telling the truth? What’s your point? Can he become a Korean or not? And who took it off the table? And why the outrage pal?
Well, no doubt some — perhaps many — do not. But then there are some who wonder why don’t foreigners who live here don’t learn Korean or do things “the Korean way.” I think it’s fair to say Koreans don’t make social acceptance easy (living as an outsider, on the other hand, they make remarkably comfortable). But then again, should it be?
Just for the record…
Saying that someone smells is not a racist comment. Saying they smell because they are Indian IS.
I have came across a few Indians at my gym that smelled so bad I couldn’t work out. I almost told them that but shortyly after they left. Nevetheless I will not say Indians are dirty.
Also what he said to the girl was verbal abuse…he deserves public ridicule and to be made an example of.
Bloody ajoshis!
Should it be? Of course not, we agree on that. Korea gets to define their society, not expats, and they decide who can and can’t join their club. Fair enough.
Nevertheless, most of the griping I do is about things that Koreans themselves gripe about. Korea doesn’t want a society in which foreigners are harassed with impunity. If Koreans were defending their sacred, honored tradition of allowing asshole ajoshi to do whatever the fuck they want, I might consider backing down. But I’m not hearing much of that.
I think the days of pretending nations are in some way distinct entities to which one belongs or does not, and that “outsiders” have no right to participate in and have no understanding of, are well and truly over.
Try 40-something. So pass those ladies along that they are trying to set you up with.
“Try 40-something.” – Perhaps that’s the point at which they finally stop trying.
“Korea doesn’t really want me to be Korean, either.”
This is what I call the classic waegook dilemma. It seems that roughly half of Koreans want you to be a good Korean and half want you to be a good foreigner, whatever they happen to think that means. I find it’s far preferable to go the Korean route. At least then it’s clear what is and isn’t bullshit by Korean standards, and what you should and shouldn’t put up with. Of course you’ll always have certain waegook mannerisms and preferences, but it’s just so much easier to establish mutual respect when people see that you clearly know what Korean manners an expectations are, and the risk of either party offending the other accidentally is much lower.
rmaurant…”I think the days of pretending nations are in some way distinct entities to which one belongs or does not, and that “outsiders” have no right to participate in and have no understanding of, are well and truly over.”
Damn right
Koreans seeking residency or citizenship in countries abroad outnumber expatriates seeking residency in S Korea by more than twenty fold…Keep playing things only their way and that huge gap will only increase along with the isolation Korea already currently enjoys.
They love to behave all patriotic and elitist but will change sides on a whim if given half a chance
Bum Suk
“but it’s just so much easier to establish mutual respect when people see that you clearly know what Korean manners an expectations are, and the risk of either party offending the other accidentally is much lower.”
Don’t you mean to say: “By accepting a much higher tolerance level of bullshit you must take the risk of either party offending the other accidentally is much lower.”?
Let me tell you my friend…If you cross over to that side of thought you may find yourself not able to return. This will lead to you eventually being resented by the culture you originally came from -assuming you were raised in the west.
lifer11, lol. I know that being ‘Korean’ can mean putting up with certain types of BS, but if you’re male of average or larger-than-average western stature it can also mean eliminating a lot of BS, and the older you get the more true this is. Some westerners I know here sure seem to put up with an awful lot of crap. Read Dave’s ESL and see what kind of bullshit some western teachers put up with from their students. Look at what some put up with from co-workers who are younger than them. Is it any wonder they hate their jobs and thus develop a negative experience of Korea over-all? Look at how some westerners handle situations they encounter on the street that could have been avoided just by standing up to people.
I also can’t believe how much hassel some of my newbie friends get into by being too friendly to strangers, and end up in awkward situations that so easily could have been avoided by telling someone you’re not interested in (polite) Korean instead of ending up being an idiot magnet. Why the fuck should you have to be nice to someone you don’t know – this is Korea. Act like nice, happy, waving, clueless waegooknom and you’ll end up putting up with shit from people everywhere you go.
Of course there are times when I have to be overly diplomatic or put up with annoyances from Koreans I have a relationship with who are older than me. But even with them if they’re being really rude there are ways you can find to make them lose face or screw them over (and I don’t have very many Koreans like that in my life, thankfully).
To each their own, but I just find that the benefits of acting Korean vs. foreign outweigh the disadvantages.
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