Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Stalin84]

Has anyone ever been greatly annoyed by this question before?

The first few times it seems innocent enough but when you start hearing it from people who should know better, it starts to get really annoying. Recently, my history teacher from High School (a nice woman) contacted me on Facebook to see how I was doing. I told her I was teaching in Korea. Even from a history teacher, I get the "are you in the North part or the South part"?

I understand that South Korea isn't exactly a well known country but people should least be aware by now, considering how much companies like LG, Samsung, Hyundai and Kia have penetrated our home countries, that South Korea is a wealthy democracy. They should also know, especially considering the news over the past decade that North Korea is an insane, totalitarian state that shares a border with South Korea.

I've been asked a lot of stupid questions from people back home ("do people there speak Chinese?" "Isn't Korea in China?" etc) but I've always let them slide. When will people figure this out? Especially people who should really by all accounts KNOW BETTER?

[interestedinhanguk]

Yes, I get this one a fair bit from people back home.

I'm also amused by how people still get confused by which is which. I'll mention Korea and they'll say something like, "Wait, which one's the good/bad one?"

[gypsymaria]

I was surprised at how many people I knew back home (including, I am ashamed to admit, some of my own family members) asked me something this, or warned me (very seriously in some cases): "Well, stay away from Kim Jong-Il!" The fact that they knew WHO Kim Jong-Il is, and not which country he's in, was baffling to me. I blame Team America: World Police. They can sing every word to "I'm So Ronery" but fail a simple geography question.

[AsiaESLbound]

Yea, I get this all the time while traveling when I tell other Western tourists and guest house people I'm teaching in Korea. Most people really know nothing more about Korea than how the media sensationalized the military situation.

[cragesmure]

I admit, I also find this annoying, but to be fair, I didn't know much about Korea before I came over. Given that fact, I have to give people a bit of slack. I still get non-Oceanians (?) ask me what part of New Zealand I am from when they hear me speak, despite the fact that Perth is about as far away from New Zealand as one can hope to be, whilst still within Australia's borders. No one can be an expert on every region of the world. The first time I heard the name "Kanye West", I thought it was where Nairobi was. It's not a crime. To be fair, however, I'm dyslexic.

[Jake_Kim]

That's a small annoyance explaining where you happen to be working at the moment.

Imagine South Koreans actually having to deal with such ignorance everywhere they go with regard to the matter of 'who they're perceived to be.'

[rumdiary]

Maybe you should just tell people you work in South Korea to begin with and stop whining.

That said, it is shocking how many people need clarification.

[tottenhamtaipeinick]

well its good none of you guys came skydiving with us yesterday. I went with my gf and her friend who are both Korean. Well for 3 minutes on the flight up 2 tandem instructors couldn�t help themselves but say "are you Kim Jung ils daughter?" "do you have a bomb?" etc etc! It was almost like they have waited to finally meet a Korean to say those things to them... But no1 got mad but if I was Korean it might annoy me. I don't find many people in Australia who haven�t heard of 'Korea'. We had a show on recently in Australia about how bad some Americans are at knowing anything outside of their own Country. Although they must search through the people on 'the people of Wal-Mart' to get the inbreed rednecks to interview for it.

But hey it is like when I was living in Taiwan. I didn't expect people to know much about Australia and most didn�t. A few people would just say 'Sydney' or maybe 'Melbourne' (which made me happy but it isnt where I am from) but yeah nothing much else except they constantly said "Koalas". Which would be like me saying to a Korean when I find out he is Korean "I know I know. Kim chi". So no need to get angry at stuff. I loved Americans in Taiwan though they seemed to get angry when someone didn�t know their State or City. I used to play around with it a lot. When ever I met an American he wanted to straight away tell me exactly where he is from (because I really cared :S haha). I still remember one guy was from upstate New York and telling me some road names or whatever. I said to him "New York? but you don't sound Canadian"....you would think somebody would laugh at this point but no he got angry which made me double excited and he decided to draw me a map of USA borders and exactly where he was from. He never asked me where I am from though I don't think he cared as he kept asking about what I know about USA. I thought this type of thing would be a one off idiot who is so far up his own ass he can�t see anything else. But it happened again and again people constantly telling me their cities and states and what they are famous for. Even though I never asked?

[kardisa]

[Stalin84]

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

It happens here in Korea too. Many of my students don't know where particular countries are located. In one of my classes, a lot of them thought that Mexico was located in Europe and that New Zealand was located off the coast of Africa. So, it goes both ways.

As far as people in the US not knowing Korea, well, that's true. The North gets lumped with the South. Why should they know Korea more than other places? Many people probably couldn't tell you much about Belgium and that the only Georgia in the world is found in the US. As far as saying that Samsung, LG and Hyundai should make an impact on that, I disagree. Most people think those companies are from Japan or China. And that is what the Koreans want them to think. Besides, not all of Samsung is owned by Koreans. A fairly decent chunk is owned by(gasp) foreigners. But don't tell that to the K-public.

[Kwangjuchicken]

[Stalin84]

[drydell]

I'm more surprised when some people come to South Korea to live and work and have no idea that South Korea was a right wing military dictatorship until the 1980's. And that those people they walk past and talk to each day lived through that.

[UknowsI]

I haven't encountered this much myself, but I find the opposite more offensive. I have South Korean friends who complain that they are asked if they are from South or North Korea when they are abroad. Do they just assume that there doesn't exist any North Koreans outside of North Korea? There are thousands of North Koreans outside of North Korea, and I find it more disrespectful to ignore these.

Similarly, there are foreigners who work in North Korea. Although I have to admit the number is quite small, I don't find it ignorant at all if someone wonder whether you are one of these or not. If you explain that you work at a day-care centre or in a kindergarten, then I guess it's rather obvious that you are working in South Korea, but I wouldn't consider someone ignorant just because he doesn't know the exact working situation of expats in each country. It wouldn't even surprise me if there are some foreign English teachers in North Korea.