Korean Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - If you guys think racism in korea is bad.....

Speak Korean Now!

Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!

Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"

FAQ

Memberlist

Usergroups

Profile

If you guys think racism in korea is bad.....
Goto page Previous 1, 2

Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Off-Topic Forum

View previous topic :: View next topic

Author

Message

northway

Joined: 05 Jul 2010

Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 11:41 pm Post subject:

Koreadays wrote:

you think Koreans are paying teachers a nice salary?
15 bucks an hour dude. hardly nice.
average more like it.

Fifteen bucks an hour plus housing, with subsidized health insurance and pension, combined with ludicrously low taxes. It works out to quite a bit more than fifteen bucks an hour.

Here's what I would say: it's a pretty bad wage if you're 30 and have been out of school for awhile. It's a pretty good salary if you're fresh out of school, especially if you can use the opportunity to live in a central city rather than the sticks all while having your rent covered.

Stalin84

Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Location: Haebangchon, Seoul

Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 11:43 pm Post subject:

northway wrote:

Here's what I would say: it's a pretty bad wage if you're 30 and have been out of school for awhile. It's a pretty good salary if you're fresh out of school, especially if you can use the opportunity to live in a central city rather than the sticks all while having your rent covered.

These days I'd say it was a pretty decent wage if you're 30 and it's an amazing wage if you're 22-23.

rchristo10

Joined: 14 Jul 2009

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 1:07 am Post subject:

Stalin84 wrote:

rchristo10 wrote:

I've been called a "nigger" and I kid you not when I say, it had much less impact on me than some of the things I've experienced first hand here and on a daily basis.

Do you find Koreans to be less overt but more judging when it comes to stuff like that? Or do they actually say stuff? I've noticed that of all the racism I've experienced here, most of it is usually subtle and indirect (aside from a couple of times an ajosshi went batsh*t for me going into their shop).

This is going to sound insensitive but I'm glad I'm white and not black in Korea.

I'm not sure if I could totally distinguish how discrimination based on race could somehow not be judging, so I guess the answer is yes. It's not extremely subtle, but I've met 100s of Koreans and never had a problem with them after they get to know me. So yes, it's judging. They are very racially judgmental to a unique degree before I meet them. Wink

The part about being called a "nigger" however was an incident that actually took place at a bar in Beijing. Some white person beat up a Chinese guy who was hitting on his girlfriend, then two thug-types came in raising hell. And one happened to point at me and call me a "nigger." (FYI: I didn't know the people fighting and had nothing to do with the scuffle.

The racial discrimination here though is honestly quite blatantly subtle (an oxymoron that makes a whole lot of sense to me)...

hondaicivic

Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Location: Daegu, South Korea

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 3:05 am Post subject:

rchristo10 wrote:

Stalin84 wrote:

rchristo10 wrote:

I've been called a "nigger" and I kid you not when I say, it had much less impact on me than some of the things I've experienced first hand here and on a daily basis.

What happened to the white guy if you don't mind me asking?

rchristo10

Joined: 14 Jul 2009

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:48 am Post subject:

A Chinese guy was trying to feel up the white guy's Chinese girlfriend. And in suit and all, the white guy pushed the Chinese guy off. The Chinese guy however still wanted to brawl. They took it outside and the white guy pulverized him, put back on his suit jacket and walked away. The other guy had blood all over him and hurried off. We all went back into the bar, then suddenly two thugs entered. Now this is a small place in Beijing, so they stopped the music while the two crazy men yelled "Where is he? Where is he?" in Dongbei (Northeastern dialect). One then pointed at people yelling irately. Then he singled me out, being the only black person in the room. He actually called me a Niger (as in the country, with the same pronunciation and all). I held back the urge to giggle, but my friend next to me heard the chuckle. Then the guys left. Considering that the white guy went unscathed and the Chinese guy sort of asked for it, I'd assume that he took his girlfriend home and enjoyed the rest of his evening. Last edited by rchristo10 on Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:40 pm; edited 3 times in total

rchristo10

Joined: 14 Jul 2009

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:51 am Post subject:

Steelrails wrote:

Haters will always hate.

Why everyone seems to believe that everyone else should love them is beyond me. Hate me if you want. Hate me because I'm Korean-American.

Don't knife me and don't rip me off and don't spit in my food. That's all I ask.

Deny me entrance to your overpriced bar, fine. Glare at me, fine. Say bad things in your native language, fine. Portray me negatively in the media, fine. Make me the butt of jokes, fine.

Just don't mess with my money or my body and we're cool. I may argue with you or whatever, but as long as you aren't stealing that's fine.

In fact, better that your honest and open about it. Once we get past calling each other racial slurs we can sit down and talk about how women, young people, Jimmie Johnson, and Ohio State all suck and beer is good and eat some meat off the grill.

Why is the guy who carries a murse having to lecture this forum and how to take things like a man?

Major edit: Sorry Steelrails, I thought your message was in reply to mine. So don't take this personally, I realize you're directing your comments to the OP...but it's just something I wanted to say and not sure of how to delete a post. And in way, it still applies. Your examples are a bit off from the notions of racism that are problematic in Korea. The below is what I originally wrote as is so it's a bit directed at you, but I don't have time to change it (just don't take it personally):

Perhaps you should consider moving to Nigeria, then providing your expertise on racism. It always amazes me how Korean-Americans assume that being Korean-American qualifies them to speak of racism. Korean-American is not even a race. Mixed Korean, yes. Korean-American, no. Your treatment has nothing to do with systematized racism, friend. That is unless you can qualify your comments with the specific majority within which you lived. Here we're not talking about a homogeneous neighborhood, city, state, province, or even geographic side of a country like the Western part of Australia/ US/ Canada. We're talking about a country. The stigmatism created and propagated from within and without are totally different than anything I can imagine you've experienced. And I don't mean to belittle your difficulties in the least. They are real and understandable.

But I guess being Korean-American and perhaps struggling with identity like myself has blinded you to the realization that your identity vexations are very different from those of my own, or the plight of my people (to go all slave talk on ya).

Hopefully if you're teaching English here, you'd be careful enough to be sure to realize that racism has a great deal more than to do with the hyphenation of nationalism. By the way, in college I had a friend who was white and attending school on an African-American scholarship. It wasn't until after I graduated that the powers that be in America realized that one can be as Caucasian as ever and 100% African-American. (For the sake of the dense, Egypt, South Africa, Madagascar are all considered Africa, and they can immigrate and be 2nd generation citizens--just as you yourself Steelrails, assuming you are 2nd generation--could be any generation, sorry). So now applications say African-America/Black; or Black). This ain't an issue of race you're talking about.

Last edited by rchristo10 on Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:52 am; edited 4 times in total

northway

Joined: 05 Jul 2010

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:08 am Post subject:

Stalin84 wrote:

northway wrote:

These days I'd say it was a pretty decent wage if you're 30 and it's an amazing wage if you're 22-23.

Bad might have been a bit extreme, and 30 perhaps on the young end, but if you're not a qualified teacher and you're working here at age 35 you're doing pretty badly, as you really aren't any closer to a career. One of my friends is 34, owes $80,000, isn't a qualified teacher, and making the same money he will be if he does this for another ten years. It's a bit on the bad side simply because there's so little upward mobility money-wise at most jobs regardless of how long you stay there.

bucheon bum

Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:28 am Post subject: Re: If you guys think racism in korea is bad.....

methdxman wrote:

Israelis are pretty paranoid about Arabs.

Given the history of the two groups, I wouldn't say they are paranoid. More like security conscious.

Quote:

El-Al security interrogated him for 2 hours. Strip search, took all of his belongings. He was my roommate at that point, all they left him was his passport and the clothes he had on. I had to pay for his cab when he got home because he literally had nothing on him.

Eventually they returned all his stuff but kept his iPod and other items and returned some of his stuff partially damaged (camera lens, computer, etc.)

Lucky him. I was interrogated for 3 hours. On the other hand I kept all my stuff. And why did he not demand all his stuff back after he was finished? And where did this happen? In Israel I assume? Or was some of it at the airport of wherever he was leaving and was some of it in Israel?

Quote:

It also sucks because he pretty much has to get a separate visa for any country he wants to visit, something a lot of us westerners take for granted since we have visa free travel to most countries. If not, we have to pay a nominal fee to get a visa the same day or a few days max.

But, still, he never complains about any of it. Takes everything in stride.

Right, but that applies to most citizens of developing countries, has nothing to do with the fact that he's Arab. Also, do you think someone on an Israeli passport would be able to go to Morocco? Or any other Arab country besides Egypt and Jordan? Nope.

Anyway, I'm not defending Israel here and agree the country is getting progressively more racist. I think it is becoming its own worst enemy but I also understand why its security measures are rather severe.

catman

Joined: 18 Jul 2004

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:11 pm Post subject:

Zero interest in going to the Middle East.

methdxman

Joined: 14 Sep 2010

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:02 pm Post subject: Re: If you guys think racism in korea is bad.....

bucheon bum wrote:

methdxman wrote:

Israelis are pretty paranoid about Arabs.

Given the history of the two groups, I wouldn't say they are paranoid. More like security conscious.

Quote:

I agree with their racial profiling anyway. It has worked. Pretty safe airline.

This happened before a flight from Mumbai to Tel-Aviv I believe (on his way back to Barcelona. He's an idiot for taking El-Al anyway and we gave him shit for it for a year.

He did demand his stuff back including networking and contacting some higher ups at the airline... but to no avail. I don't think you can make much demands in a situation like that anyway. It's not like El-Al is worried about alienating its Arab customer base.

And yes, Israelis can't even go to most Arab countries.

My whole point has to do with the title of the thread. The stuff that my friend has to go through everyday is much worse than this Mickey Mouse "racism" in Korea... especially when foreign teachers make good money and much more money than most of them can make back home currently.

One can complain all they want but the racism isn't institutionalized here and you're actually shown preferential treatment here for being born in an English-speaking country.

Display posts from previous:

	Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Off-Topic Forum	All times are GMT - 8 Hours Goto page Previous 1, 2
Page 2 of 2

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe