Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thurst]

when i lived in the country i would talk to pretty much every foreigner i saw because i rarely saw a foreigner that i didn't know.

in seoul, function as if i was back in america. i talk to people that i know (or would like to meet) and smile and nod at those that i don't know.

[nicwr2002]

I always at least say Hello to another "foreigner" we have to stick together in this country. I get a little bit offended when I'm not greeted back, since I live in a smaller city. If I was in Seoul I probably wouldn't say Hello as much since Seoul is saturated with teachers.

[yodanole]

I haven't seen this topic mulled over recently. The best response from the last time was ( imho ) I don't talk to strangers back in the world, why would I here?

Still, each situation is different. I try to apply my "nunchi" skills and perceive the other person's mood. If there is solid eye contact, there will probably be some sort of minimal exchange. If not, well, we both probably have someplace to be anyway.

If you want friendly, go to Tishimingo, Mississippi. People wave to strangers when they pass them on the road. ( I spent some time there
for the Natchez Trace Parkway project )

[Hugo85]

Talk to a random foreigner in Seoul? There's thousands of NET, soldiers and exchange students around. Maybe you come from a small village where there's around 12 white people, but if you want to engage conversation with every pimpled 22 year old English teacher you see in Seoul you will hardly ever make it to your destination.

[PatrickGHBusan]

I guess it would depend on the person you run into.

Gender, age difference, appearance, situation all play a part in if you will bother to greet that stranger just because he also happens to be a foreigner. that foreigner you cross paths with may be a teacher or be working in some other field, he may be a tourist or even student.....

The point remain valid, having the same skin color for example does not make two people compatible or similar so why would they feel obligated to greet each other?

[NQ]

A lot of you are saying there's more foreigners in Seoul than in the countryside. But it's not by much more. I live just outside Seoul, and I'll see maybe like 2 foreigners at most if I go out do my errands. Sometimes I see none at all. So it's not by much more.

My thinking is, is that people get caught up in the city mentality and try not talking to others and also foreigners want to seem better than the other foreigners by pretending they're totally ingrained in Korean society, so that they don't need any kind of reminders from back home. Also as I said earlier, they don't wanna talk to someone just because they can speak English. It can be seen as kind of rude. AND also, because they don't want other Koreans thinking we're typical of foreigner behaviour by only sticking to each other and not exploring Korean life.

The bottom line is is that we need to stick together here. We all need to be a bit honest here and get off our high horse. I did start talking to a foreigner in my building, cuz yeah dude knows English and he's around my same age. I also walk by another foreigner from time to time on my way to work and I say hi to him. I dunno, maybe some of us are becoming "koreanized" by not interacting with others, who knows.

[Steelrails]

On one thread people will complain about Koreans staring at foreigners or talking to them (or not talking to them) just because they are foreign.

Then we get threads like this...

[missty]

I used to live out by Gimpo Airport and hardly saw any foreigners ever, but now that I am in Bundang I see them every day. If we make eye contact I'll smile and perhaps nod a hello, but I'm not going to start up a conversation with them on the street. I figure if I wouldn't do it back home then I am not going to do it here.

So its strange to me that this is supposedly me being 'koreanized'. I have never just started chatting to people on the street like that in England. Perhaps in a shop if we're waiting in line and complaining about something, or mentioning something that we both recognize. But a random 'hello' on the street? I've never done that back in the UK, and I can't force myself to start doing it here either.

[kabrams]

I used to give a little head-nod to black people I saw on the street. Didn't matter if they were African American, (black) African, Afro-European, Afro-Asian, whatever.

It wasn't really a conscious effort, it's just something I started doing when I was a teenager in Europe. I know once or twice a few people thought I was flirting, which sucked, but other than that, I liked doing it because we would always start up a conversation with each other.

[SoylaMBPolymath]

I'll talk to anyone who wants to talk to me!

But I've had foreigners look straight at me, I'll smile or raise my eyebrows, and they'll look away and keep on walking. I usually just shrug and think, "Well, it's their loss!"

I still don't understand why it's such a big deal.

[happiness]

[Dodge7]

[kabrams]

[fermentation]

I'll say this though, I ignore other asians for the most part when in the US.

[Zyzyfer]