Korean Job Discussion Forums

Birmingham.couple · Joined: 29 May 2010

Basically, I did a song/lyrics activity with the students listening to Justin Bieber. That's bad enough really....but they watch the video and all burst into fits of laughter when ludacris came on the screen.

I asked them what was funny and they all just went quiet.

After the lesson I asked my co-teacher what that was about and he just said that they don't see many black people here and the adults teach them that they are inferior people to Koreans.

I couldn't believe what he was saying and asked him if he thought that was wrong, he didn't seem to care.

I asked him if he was going to raise his children with the same mentality and, again, he didn't really answer the question.

I told him that racism was wrong and if that's part of Korean culture then it's really, really stupid. Now he won't look me in the eye.

Disgraceful behavior and a disgraceful insight into Korean culture.

I try my hardest not to stereotype but I can't help but feel gthat Korean culture breeds blanket racism over half ofg the World and that sucks.

nomad-ish · Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 8:28 pm Post subject:

obviously he's wrong and i agree with you, but fighting about this with him won't do any good. looking at your join date for dave's, you've been here for a while, haven't you come across a lot of racism already in korea?

you can try teaching the kids about racism or stereotypes, but telling him that that part of korean culture is stupid will probably do a lot of damage to your working relationship.

tanklor1 · Joined: 13 Jun 2006

HAH you're both wrong. He's wrong for conforming and you're wrong for pointing out that he's a conformer.

Never cross the streams. Didn't you learn anything from Ghostbusters?

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

PigeonFart · Joined: 27 Apr 2006

I don't want to start an argument. But why was he wrong for pointing out he's a conformer.

If by 'wrong' you mean that the conformee (is that eveb a word?) would be insulted, yes i'd agree he would be insulted but i dont see how that would be 'wrong'.

Is it wrong because it would spoil the working relationship? Yes it might spoill the relationship. But is it wrong?i'd say NO. If the man was being a small minded racist them call him out and shame him.

Although all of that being said, it might be that the Korean simply didn't understand everthing you said. The language barrier is an obstacle, even for koreans who teach English.

tanklor1 · Joined: 13 Jun 2006

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

OP,

You can be right, or you can be happy. If you choose right, good on you -- fight the good fight. Unfortunately for you, the good fight will probably make your year uncomfortable. Is standing up to the racism inherent in Korean society at the moment worth sacrificing your tranquility and goodwill at work? If so, again, good on you -- the world needs folks with that kind of fortitude...however, I doubt that the kind of confrontation you have described will do anything to change Korean culture -- as soon as you mentioned "Korean culture" and "stupid" in the same sentence, you most likely lost any chance of convincing your audience of the "correctness" of your views. In fact, you pretty much devolved to the same level of judgment and prejudice, but hey, tempers run hot.

I agree with your sentiment, and empathize with your feelings, but I think you took things to a bad place with the Korea-bashing to your co-worker. NO ONE likes to be called names, or be disparaged, and two wrongs don't make a right. If you want to lead your co-worker to wisdom, tolerance, understanding, and acceptance of those different from yourself, you may want to try to do so by example, rather than invective....

balzor · Joined: 14 Feb 2009

News flash- some Koreans are racist toward foreigners. Please understand, It is culture.

machoman · Joined: 11 Jul 2007

Chris.Quigley · Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Location: Belfast. N Ireland

I agree with most of the former posts. You really have to pick your battles. The best thing you can do is prove that they are wrong, day by day. Most of them wont change. But, I am 100% certain that in a year here, you can reach at least 1 kid, and you never know what that kid will go on to change. You have to understand the reality that you face.

Machiavelli (I know most people think hes evil, hes not) said that it is great for a person to be idealistic, but idealistic people never accomplish anything (which is why idealistic people think he is evil.) Be realistic and understand the times. Understand the power that you have and most importantly the power you do not have. Understand the battlefield in front of you. Then make your decisions accordingly. In the same way that I would never pick a fight with an NFL linebacker, taking on Korean Culture head on is commendable, but foolhardy. But, stabbing a NFL linebacker in the back when he isn't looking....(Okay thats Machiavelli speaking)

Another bit of advice, be proactive, do not wait until the battle is on the palace grounds to start making your war plans. If you really want to do something about racism, starting thinking today about how after 1 year in Korea you are going to make a difference in the life of one kid.

I suggest buying your co-worker an orange juice and apologizing for the argument. Do not apologize for your beliefs. Never apologize for believing in justice and a better world. Accumulate as much goodwill as you can, and spend it wisely.

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

Chris,

I have to agree -- Machiavelli really knew how to be a teacher...of course, instead of teacher, he called it "The Prince," and instead of a classroom, he called it a "country." Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" is also good -- it all applies....

OP,

Chris's advice is solid....

Fishead soup · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Location: Korea

All this week I'm doing a Martin Luther King/ "I Have a Dream speech"
I have snippets from his speech translated into Korean. I have students read the speech and the Korean translation. This is followed by the song
I have a dream by Westlife. I use all the these video's from Youtube.

So far this lesson has been really well recieved by the students.

Chris.Quigley · Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Location: Belfast. N Ireland

You know whats hilarious, there are a copy of the Art of War and the Prince sitting in front of me right now... So I thought to myself... How would Machiavelli and Sun Tzu approach this problem... haha

MalFSU1 · Joined: 27 Jan 2009

Not going into details, I have had a similar situation with a coteacher regarding the topic of Japan. I was surprised by something she said, so I said something back that I probably shouldn't have. Seeing how this could cause future tensions, I ate some humble pie and used the "cultural differences" line and said how sorry I was and I could understand her point, even if I didn't agree with it. Your best bet with coteachers is to apologize(don't say you are wrong though) and then try to make nice as quickly as possible...it will make your life easier.

Birmingham.couple · Joined: 29 May 2010

Thanks for all your comments, particularly the one about the MLK lesson, my kids are a little young for that I think.

It really grates on me, we've kind of made up, I gave him a smoke and we chatted about it, he just said "it's Korea" so I guess I'll have to just shrug my shoulders and get on with it.

It's just so annoying because everyone is so nice to me and I get along with them all 95% of the time.

I guess it's one of the reasons why I like Korea and don't love it.