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fidel
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Location: North Shore NZ
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 Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:58 pm Post subject: Foreigners Fear for Safety in South Korea |
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http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=1641
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National
Pros & Cons of Korea
Foreigners Fear for Safety in South Korea
By Conor Purcell
Staff Writer
A street of Itaewon, a shopping and entertainment district of Seoul for foreingers.
The US embassy warns American citizens to stay away from certain parts of the capital Seoul as a homegrown campaign urges foreigners to leave.
Demonstrations against foreigners are planned and an online petition to keep foreigners out of the Republic of Korea has already received thousands of signatures.
Many foreigners are worried, some have already left. And all this because of a website?
The site in question was ostensibly set up to help Western English teachers find jobs. Featured on the site was a forum dedicated to Seoul's social life.
The forum also organised parties where Westerners and local girls drank, danced and flirted.
Koreans got wind of the site, hacked it, and brought it down.
Many thought nothing of it.
However in the last few weeks, things have quickly escalated.
A local Yahoo-style portal named Daum set up a petition to rid South Korea of "low-grade Westerners." Demonstrations are planned and activists are encouraged to confront Western men who are seen with Korean women. Many foreigners are becoming increasingly worried. Some have already left. The US embassy in Korea has issued a warning urging US citizens to avoid visiting certain parts of Seoul due to fears of reprisals. South Korea is in danger of becoming the most xenophobic and reactionary society in democratic Asia.
This contrasts deeply with the stated aim of the Roh administration to become the "hub" of North East Asia — a link between China and the Pacific Rim.
Much of the xenophobia, like in many countries, is down to fear and ignorance.
Many Koreans point to their history, a constant whirlwind of invasions and subjugation by their powerful neighbours, as a reason for being mistrustful of foreigners.
Indeed anti-Japanese sentiment still runs deep, especially amongst the older generation.
Younger people have long had a distrust for the US military stationed on the peninsula.
Around Seoul's main university district, large signs forbidding GI's from entering are posted above the entrances to bars and clubs.
Many Westerners, fearful of being mistaken for a soldier, wear their national flags on their backpacks.
In the past, that was usually enough to avoid a confrontation. But that was when US soldiers, not foreign English teachers, were the target.
That has all changed now.
For many foreigners in South Korea, the atmosphere on the peninsula at the moment is eerily reminiscent of 2002 when two Korean school girls were run over by an American military APC.
When the two soldiers in the vehicle were tried in a US military court, under the terms of the SOFA agreement, there was an outcry with demonstrations occurring across the country.
Occasional demonstrations still occur outside US installations and Korean riot police are permanently stationed outside all of the 41 US military bases in the country.
Now however, the focus is not on the military but on the thousands of English teachers working all over Korea.
But why is such tangible hatred being directed towards teachers?
Part of the answer lies in the media.
Itaewon Alley — Foreigners are seen chatting or resting in an alley of Itaewon, a central foreign community where special foreign restaurants and bar are catering to them. Itaewon is also famous for having numerous shops for foreign customers.
A quick scan of the local dailies will reveal a media, and a culture, that is becoming more nationalistic by the day.
Civic groups, local government, and on and off-line communities react fast to any perceived sleight on Korea.
The BBC car show Top Gear received criticism from Korean manufacturing groups after lampooning Korean cars as "fridge like" in their design.
The popular US TV show Los' was also heavily criticised here, accused of perpetrating negative stereotypes of Korean men.
Even Oprah Winfrey couldn't escape criticism after she accused Korean women of being obsessed with plastic surgery.
When incidents like this happen, hordes of angry young "netizens" get to work, calling for boycotts, backlashes and action.
So what does this all mean for South Korea? The number of non-Asian visitors to South Korea is dropping. So too are the amount of businesses investing in South Korea.
That is as much due to the weakened currency as it is to South Korea's less-than-welcoming reputation.
But with xenophobia on the rise, things do not bode well for the future. Today's 20-something English teacher is tomorrow's business man or investor.
One European embassy official spoke of how Korea had "no chance" of emulating the regional powerhouses of Hong Kong or Singapore in terms of attracting foreign investment.
And his explanation came in the form of a wry and blunt question. "Who in their right mind would want to live here?"
There are many now who are asking the same question. |
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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:20 pm Post subject: |
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this article is a few months old. dates back to right after the english-aye ectrum-spay debacle.
and i think the author is rapier. haha. |
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djsmnc
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Last night they were burning a cross outside of my apartment! The Waegook Only water fountain in my building wasn't working, so I secretly used the Korean Only one. I'm scared!! |
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Swiss James
Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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funny, as the author of that piece seems to be as close to the stereotypical 'English Sp*ctrum' ESL teacher as you're likely to find too:
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| If you can't get a girl in your local town, don't worry! Come to Korea and find a beautiful Korean girl who will be with you simply because you are western, loaded, or both. |
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| A few weeks ago, myself and some friends were rounding off the night in a Russian bar in the center of [Itaewon]. It was 9 a.m. and the place was packed. |
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indytrucks
Joined: 09 Apr 2003
Location: The Shelf
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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| djsmnc wrote: |
| Last night they were burning a cross outside of my apartment! The Waegook Only water fountain in my building wasn't working, so I secretly used the Korean Only one. I'm scared!! |
This made me laugh. |
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poker player
Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Location: On the river
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Read all the other articles by this guy. Unbelievable he even lives here. He hates Korea, Koreans, ESL teachers, Americans and basically anyone who has ever set foot in Korea. I'm really surprised the Korean Tmes publishes his articles-there is a modicum of truth in them but they all go over the top. |
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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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Ah, here's the old thread
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=35575
And apparently our friend conor purcell wrote some other article that is mentioned in this thread.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.phpt=25424
and i guess I was wrong. conor purcell isn't rapier. because in that second thread rapier says something like, "i guess he [conor] had an extremely bad time in korea." and if rapier says that about you, it's no joke.
i still bet he's a poster on this board...but which one...(squints and looks around the board suspiciously) |
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Dan The Chainsawman
Joined: 05 May 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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| ain't freakin me. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Does Conor Purcell have any audience outside of Dave's ESL cafe? |
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SPINOZA
Joined: 10 Jun 2005
Location: $eoul
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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| What a load of sensationalist horsesh_t! Jesus, I thought the British Press were appalling until I read some of the stuff here. The worst thing about things like this - and indeed the knockers and the whingers on here - is that they may actually deter people from coming and having a wonderful experience like I and many have. If Koreans are so xenophpobic and racist, why are they all so nice to me? I just don't get it. You get the odd nobhead in all walks of life, in all societies. If you wanna know what xenophobic, racist and unfriendly is, check out the small town in Lancashire, England, where I live. Manchester, London or Seattle it ain't. I'm sick of all this crap. |
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fidel
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Location: North Shore NZ
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder too sometimes if this Purcell character is a poster on Daves! I posted this as I was interested in people's reactions. Personally I don't know anyone who has fled the country in fear of their lives from maruading netizens! Haha, this guy makes me laugh with articles about Korea 
It's weird how people living in the same place have such vastly different impressions and experiences. |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| billybrobby wrote: |
and i guess I was wrong. conor purcell isn't rapier. because in that second thread rapier says something like, "i guess he [conor] had an extremely bad time in korea." and if rapier says that about you, it's no joke.
i still bet he's a poster on this board...but which one...(squints and looks around the board suspiciously) |
Former poster. Outed himself on a thread a few years ago, but that's long gone now. |
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itaewonguy
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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ohh boo hoo hoo!!!
koreans want foeigners to leave!! FINE!! first the 1 million koreans leave USA! then the foreigners will leave korea!! OK!! FAIR??!!!
not to mention.. when the foriegners leave.. they should take out everything foreign from the country too..
from businesses, to equipment!!
korea wants to be the hermit kingdom again!! FINE BY ME!!
sad how its only a few thousand people in a country of 50million which are anti foreigner.. wll every country has them!!
I think we call them LOSERS!!!!!
those koreans are nothing.. scum of the nation.. giving hard working, koreans a bad name!! even other koreans hate them!!! |
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Freezer Burn
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Busan
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Who in their right mind would want to live here?" |
I like that quote, it doesn't take long for a small percentage to become a majority, so if those few thousand people that want us gone, get an audience the flag waving 'dokdo is ours' menality that this race has will flush us out.
Nothing as dangerous as an ajumma with a bee in her arse. |
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blujeanguy
Joined: 30 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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just visited the us embassy website. i don't see any warning there. can someone show it to me?  |
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