Korean Job Discussion Forums

[peppermint]

[tomato]

"Lighten up."

We often hear other people asking us to turn a particular emotion on or off, as if that were as easy as turning the radio on or off. It's not, though.

Sorry, Ryleeys, but I see no way I could honor your request.


"I wonder what language you would use back in your home country to start a conversation with someone who you noticed was obviously from Korea."

Please re-read the last paragraph in my first post.

"Why is your wish to speak Korean more valid than theirs to speak English?"

Because a foreigner speaking English in Korea is making a guilty plea. That foreigner is saying, "I hereby testify that I am too stupid, lazy, and irresponsible to learn Korean."

Because a Korean in my country gets to enjoy uninterrupted language practice. Or for that matter, a native speaker of any other language travelling in any country gets to enjoy uninterrupted language practice.
If speakers of other languages can enjoy this blessing, it is not fair that we can't.

In the United States, it was at one time illegal to teach a Black person to read. Then the very people who supported that law turned right around and said that Black people were stupid because they couldn't read. Koreans who speak English to us are operating on the same principle.

"Maybe they would prefer that someone speak Korean to them when they travel."

I see some truth in that argument. I once asked a Korean, "How would you like it if someone in my country spoke to you in Korean?" He said he would appreciate it.

I'm sure that many Koreans would resent it, though. Someone on this forum once said that he has tried speaking to Korean university students in Canada, and they resented it.

Koreans seem to be as naturally individualistic as we are. In a concentration card game, when a child takes a turn and another child offers to help, the child taking a turn brushes the other child aside. When a musically trained child plays the xylophone and I show the child where the keys are, that child brushes me aside. This notion of �츮�� �� ���� must be imposed on Korean children from above.

[nev]

[tomato]

"Well, Koreans have the right to choose what language they want to speak with you."

I can't argue this point, because rights cannot be proven or disproven.

Freedom of speech is a fine thing, and I guess you could say that a person has the right to go up to a perfect stranger and tell him how stupid he looks.

Do I also have freedom of speech? If I do, then I would like to tell these infantilizing Koreans how I feel about the whole thing.

"For anyone living in a foreign country there will always be frustrations. That the natives want to communicate with you in your own language should not be one."

Sorry, Nev, I still can't find the switch, just like I couldn't find it when Ryleeys asked me to flip the switch.

[Not Angry]

While I understand where Tomato is coming from as far as his frustrations, I have to agree with Lemon on this. If they want to speak English to you and you want to speak Korean to them, go ahead. Simply answer them in Korean. I generally use whatever language is easier to speak in. If they start speaking to me using English and I think it would be better to speak Korean, I simply start speaking Korean. Nine times out of ten they will use Korean once they realize that it is easier for them to use it. If they continue to speak in English, continue to speak in Korean. This will often be very humorous for anyone who happens to hear your conversation. Even when I was first learning, I asked my Korean teacher how to say, "Do you mind if we speak Korean?" Normally they will be happy to. My only real complaint with Koreans not speaking Korean to me is when I ask them how much something is in a store, they look at me, then they run a way, and come back with a calculator to show me. After they punch the numbers in I simply repeat the price in Korean. Once a girl said, "Oh, wow, I didn't think foriegners could speak in Korean!" Hmmm....

[nev]

[nev]

[tomato]

"For anyone living in a foreign country there will always be frustrations. That the natives want to communicate with you in your own language should not be one."

What have you found here that is more frustrating than that? Has it occurred to you that there might be factors here which frustrate you but not me?

Other contributors to this forum have complained about things which don't bother me one bit:

--Some contributors complain about being stared at. If Koreans stare at me, I haven't even noticed--and I'm rather funny-looking, too.

--Some contributors complain about kids on the street pointing and saying, "�ܱ�����Դϴ�!" Doesn't bother me one bit. I like to watch them giggle when I say, "�ȳ���, �ѱ����!"

--Some contributors complain about children calling them names like �ٺ� and ��û��. Doesn't bother me. At least the children think I know two words in Korean, and that's two words more than many Koreans think I know.

But do I tell these contributors to "lighten up"? No, indeed. I realize that it would not do any good. Their emotions don't have an on-off switch, just like mine don't.

Have you ever been able to promptly switch off an emotion which someone else told you to switch off? Didn't it only fuel the flames? Wouldn't you like for the other person to at least respect your feelings, whether or not that person has similar feelings?

Then please pay me the same courtesy.

"The Koreans have good intentions."

Ask any physically handicapped person, and you will be told that they resent being treated as if they were weak and helpless. If that is a normal reaction for a physically handicapped person, why isn't it a normal reaction for a lingually handicapped person?

"Korean is about as useful, outside of Korea, as a third nipple."

I doubt if I will ever go back. That's why it is important for me to learn Korean. When Koreans speak to me in English, I feel rejected. I feel as if I am being told "Yankee, go home!"

"What is your suffering compared with that of the Jews in Auschwitz? the slaves in the Confederate South? the Christians in Rome? etc. etc. etc."

Very minor indeed. I enjoy the children I work with. I enjoy the creative outlets which the teaching job entails. I realize that Korea offers foreign English teachers a deal which is preferable to that offered by many other countries. Outside the classroom, I enjoy those few moments of foreign language experience which the Koreans allow me to enjoy.

But two wrongs don't make a right. An injustice is an injustice no matter what you compare it to. It is the responsibility of every person to fight injustice in any way possible. Dumping all foreigners in one bag is an injustice.

[Barking Mad Lord Snapcase]

[Swiss James]

arguing this point seems about as worthwhile as telling someone who's frightened of mice that it's probably more frightened of you.
I just thought this point was funny though-

[nev]

[OiGirl]

[OiGirl]

[Mashimaro]

[Gladiator]

Tomato, you need to tell them you have Korean Blood and ancestry. That might help the situation.