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| Are you offended by the constant "foreigner" tag? |
| Yes |
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18% |
[ 12 ] |
| On a bad day |
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28% |
[ 19 ] |
| A little bit |
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13% |
[ 9 ] |
| No |
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39% |
[ 26 ] |
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| Total Votes : 66 |
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hojucandy
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
Location: In a better place
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 Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:39 am Post subject: |
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| Wangja wrote: |
Crisp and to the point as ever SJ.
So, far from being rude or insulting, "waegug sonsaengnim" is a politeness. |
they may think it is polite, but that does not mean it is not offensive to some.
cultural sensitivity is a two-way street. |
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numazawa
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Location: The Concrete Barnyard
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:47 am Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
If people want to complain they will find a topic. |
What! We have to find topics now, too? That's awfully damned inconvenient, I must say. |
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numazawa
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Location: The Concrete Barnyard
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:47 am Post subject: |
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[oops -- double post]
And that's another thing!...
Last edited by numazawa on Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:57 am; edited 1 time in total |
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numazawa
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Location: The Concrete Barnyard
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:47 am Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
If people want to complain they will find a topic. |
What! We have to find topics now, too? That's awfully damned inconvenient, I must say. |
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Swiss James
Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:55 am Post subject: |
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| hojucandy wrote: |
| Wangja wrote: |
Crisp and to the point as ever SJ.
So, far from being rude or insulting, "waegug sonsaengnim" is a politeness. |
they may think it is polite, but that does not mean it is not offensive to some.
cultural sensitivity is a two-way street. |
doesn't understanding the context help you feel at least a bit less offended?
What if the Korean term for "teacher" sounded like an english word- umm "drongo" for example. Would you feel justified in demanding that they change the word to prevent you feeling offended, or would you just accept this aspect of the language? |
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hojucandy
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
Location: In a better place
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:40 am Post subject: |
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perhaps offended is too strong a word... let's just say i don't like it...
its part of the whole "koreans are unique/pure" thing. koreans are not unique or pure. they are people. i treat other people as people and i prefer to be treated the same.
drongo? that would be a laugh!  |
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antoniothegreat
Joined: 28 Aug 2005
Location: Yangpyeong
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| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:46 pm Post subject: my thoughts |
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i dont object to them calling me waygook, but i do object on how they do it, when they hand out something and every else gets a smile, and a "nim" added to their name, then i get a quick "dont waste my time tone" waygook, and they hand my papers to the korean person with me.
but if you get mad at them calling you foreigner, then everytime you can, refer to that person as "Korean person" and see what they do. or stare at little kids and laugh and call them "hangook saram" |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:40 am Post subject: |
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Hey, we should all stop calling Koreans Koreans too. Maybe they don't like be singled out as Koreans.. maybe they want to be recognized as non-korean human beings too!
We're all the same right? So lets stop calling Koreans Koreans!
I bet they all cringe each time we say 'I'm with some Koreans' or I'm out with my Korean girlfriend' and the like.. what'd'ya'think?
Maybe after the campaign, we can all hold hands and sing kum-baya followed by 'we are the world' !! |
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wylde
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:52 am Post subject: |
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i was at yongsan station a month ago, and some guy yelled out 'hey foreigner' do you want to buy my watch? he was very rude in general.
i said... ������? �˰ھ�,�ھ�?
he shut up and walked away...
anybody that understands the chonnam dialect should know they are fighting words.. it was so funny |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:13 am Post subject: |
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| I was reading on the Marmot's blog how the Korean people working on the bases are taking offense to being called "ajuma" and "adjoshi" now. Double standard anyone? |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 5:57 am Post subject: |
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| Swiss James wrote: |
I think a few people have already mentioned this, but in Korea it's not polite to refer to someone by their given name- Qinella, Bob, whatever- it's disrespectful.
The boss here in my office is referred to as Sojangnim, the software 'team leader' is Team Jang and so on. Your role at the school is "foreign teacher"- maybe you can quibble with the exact wording of it so, but objecting to someone referring to your job title rather than name is basically saying that Korean culture is 'incorrect'. |
My job title isn't "foreigner". I love being called "teacher".
In any event, I've devoted a smattering of contemplation to the topic since creating this thread and reading the ensuing responses. At this time, I believe objection to the constant label of "foreigner" is vacuous for two reasons:
1. Random people I encounter wouldn't qualify as "constant" since they only see me, presumably, once.
2. I am a foreigner, they have to call me something, and that word takes large precedence over the English word "westerner", which I actually think is a misnomer. Australians and New Zealanders aren't western, and neither are Americans, Canadains and UKers if you look at a globe instead of a map.
I do still wish that people who know me well enough to know my country of origin would refer to me by that label, though. But my vote was "on a bad day", which still remains true. Typically, it's no problem. I'm also aware that when I tell Koreans stories involving other Koreans, I signify the characters as "Korean people" rather than just "people", which probably strikes them as superfluous.
Cheers,
Q~
Last edited by Qinella on Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:01 am Post subject: |
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| DRAMA OVERKILL wrote: |
As in the poll, yes, "on a bad day" I am a little offended...
On those cranky days, could it be that people are not so much offended by being called "foreigner", but rather because Koreans seem too quick to label us "you, the outsider, someone who is not one of us"...
Yes, we are not one of them, so the title "foreigner" is appropriate; yet this strange feeling of Koreans somehow putting themselves in a category ahead of everyone else... Collectively labelling everyone else... We all have our identities and nationalities - we want to be recognized by those individual identities and nationalities... That's fair, I think... |
That's exactly how I feel. On those cranky days, which, admittedly, are rare, I just wish I could go a few hours without being reminded that I'm an outsider. It's irrational, I suppose, but all opinions sprung from emotion are, by definition.
Cheers,
Q~ |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:04 am Post subject: |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
I also never get why people complain or have a problem with being called a foreigner when they are in a foreign country.
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People have stated it several times in this thread. It has to do with the stigma Koreans (tend to) place on foreigners. I get the impression that "waygook" isn't a benign label like "foreigner" is. Think about how guys even talking to Korean girls get the evil eye, how foreign presence is said to ruin parts of town, how we are sometimes denied access to venues by virtue of being foreign. Read the stories of
"preferential" treatment foreigners somtimes receive. THAT's the heart of the complaint, Tiger Beer.
All you've done is oversimplify it for the purpose of mocking it. Reducto ad absurdum, I think that's called.
Jeers,
Q~ |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| wylde wrote: |
i was at yongsan station a month ago, and some guy yelled out 'hey foreigner' do you want to buy my watch? he was very rude in general.
i said... ������? �˰ھ�,�ھ�?
he shut up and walked away...
anybody that understands the chonnam dialect should know they are fighting words.. it was so funny |
I don't understand chonnam dialect. Were you saying "Where do you want to hurt?" or "Where do you hurt?" |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:09 am Post subject: |
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| peppermint wrote: |
| I was reading on the Marmot's blog how the Korean people working on the bases are taking offense to being called "ajuma" and "adjoshi" now. Double standard anyone? |
Koreans use that term. It's where everyone else got the idea.
Are they upset because non-Koreans are saying it, since we are not "part of the family"? |
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