Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Getting in the Way of Korean Protestors' Rage
A Swiss man and two friends were set upon by a mob of angry protestors who apparently mistook them for Americans on Wednesday.... Walter, the victim, said one of the young men then started abusing him at him in English, to the point where they almost came to blows. But a university student who was passing dissuaded his assailant. He asked if Walter and his friends were American but added, "Even if you tell them that you aren't, they won't believe you," Walter said. The student advised them to cross over to the other side of the street.... Walter is not alone. Jerry, 32-year-old Canadian.... In 2002, Jerry saw his first candlelight vigil in Gwanghwamun and thought it was beautiful. He had been filming the gathering for a while when all of the sudden a few of the protesters came up to him and shouted, "Go back to America" and tried to snatch his camcorder....
Chosun Ilbo (July 13, 2006)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200607/200607130017.html

[Benicio]

Makes you wonder if they will ever get beyond automatically assuming that all foreigners are American.

Anyway, I've found it's best to steer clear of any Korean mob that is in a bad mood.

[Barking Mad Lord Snapcase]

Do they want the tourist dollar?
Do they want foreign investment?
Do they want the West to turn away from Big Bad Japan in their favour?

Thought not.

[SOOHWA101]

My knee jerk response is to say "what an insensitive group of people that are behind the times." But then I remember where I am at and what I see all of the time. I hear "Go back to your own country" and "learn the freakin language" almost everyday.

Of course, we really do have a problem with immigration right now, but that's beside the point.

[Alias]

It probably wouldn't have been a good idea to tell them that he is Swiss either.

[itaewonguy]

and your reply should be..

sure.. can you come to America and take the 2million koreans leaving in my country back with you!!!!!

[Newbie]

Big whoop. How many Canadians and Americans say "go back to _____" or refer to all Asians as Chinese.

Korea is a joke, but let's not rag on them for something so silly.

[dogbert]

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[Real Reality]

[Ilsanman]

We don't write them because Korea is not important enough to care about.

[Summer Wine]

I read the above posts, don't wish to copy them to restate the obvious. I would like to just say a little to those who weren't here in 2002.

For all of us who read the newspaper article that was printed during the World Cup about the deaths of the 2 students and who thought to ourselves, that the Koreans were taking the matter rather well (No major protests).

Who then faced a month to two months of being barred from restaurants, spat at on the street, having to make their way through protests to use the subway, glared, screamed at and otherwise treated like dirt for being an american (I am not, Gopher will support that), as soon as the world cup matches ended. Life was not so easy in Korea as it is today.

It only ended with the stabbing of a US Military Officer. It appeared to us that the anger violence, intimidation could be turned on and off like a faucet (overnight it seemed). To those who came after and don't understand the emotion on the street at that time.

Please do us a favor and don't judge us as being insensitive and ignorant to Korea and its emotions. Though we are still here and live here daily.

Its not always been easy to live here as a foreigner.

[own_king]

[doggyji]

[Apple Scruff]

I know that the majority of Koreans are probably not so short-sighted to want nothing to do with America, but I agree with 95% of what own_king said. Seoul would be a shantytown right now if America hadn't stepped in.