Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jajdude]

How often do you hear "foreigner" or "American" expressed in Korean, mainly I guess because you are seen and need to be pointed out, as though you weren't obvious enough? And how often does this occur in other countries? It seems I hear it a few times a day on average. How often are you approached with a "where are you from?" or at least given a hello? Seems like a few times a week for me, though perhaps it would be less in Seoul? I'm in Yongin now. Foreigners are a bit scarcer here. And is it mostly children who need to point you out? I think it happens about the same whether kids or adults. Just an observation. Do you think Korea is strange in the way foreigners are scarce and apparently need to be commented upon regularly? Seems to me much of Asia is similar though I've only been a few places, including Taiwan and Thailand, where I understood less of the language.

[katydid]

Way too often.



Seriously, I don't know why, but the idea of being called "foreigner" grates against me. I'd rather have someone guess where I was from (and as the number one choice happens to actually be where I am from, they'd be right 90 percent of the time) than call me an outside person. It is interesting when they guess and they are wrong. Sadly, I am rarely confused for a "Lussya saram," but have been asked if I am from Australia or England.

[FierceInvalid]

Seriously, this doesn't often happen to me. Maybe a few times per month, and I can understand Korean better than a fair majority of foreigners here (perhaps not on this board, hard to tell, but definitely in general). Do you guys live in Seoul? Maybe that makes a difference (I know Katydid doesn't, don't know about Jajdude).

It doesn't bother me much anyway. One thing that does get me, likely shouldn't but it does, is when I hear Koreans refer to English as "Miguk-eo". I've gone at a bunch of students for that.

[Ya-ta Boy]

FierceInvalid,

Maybe the reason some Koreans are refering to English as "Miguk-eu" is a result of so many Brits constantly pointing out to them that Americans don't speak English.

[Mr. Pink]

Not as often as I used to. When I first came to Korea I would hear it all the time. Now very rarely. Usually I hear it now when I am at a dept. store, and some little kid says, "Look mommy it's a foreigner". In my neighbourhood I either hear "hello" or "hello, whats your name". Or no one says anything.

[Juggertha]

[dogbert]

[dogbert]

[little mixed girl]

......

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

The thing that amazes me is that I work in Seoul and live in Bundang, and the difference between the two places is like night and day, although they're only 30 minutes or so apart.

I never, ever get the "wayguk-in", "miguk-in" observations from anyone in Seoul, but in Bundang it happens at least three or four times daily. And, to tell the truth, it bothers the hell out of me. I don't mind that they're stating something obvious (pretty dumb though, when you break it down), but that they are are so ignorant -- children can be forgiven for this, adults cannot -- to think that I can't understand what they're saying.

And I'm pretty sure if my wife hears another ajumma exclaim that our daughter "looks like a foreigner", she's going to lose it. For the record, my wife, while Korean, is always being mistaken for Chinese (I suppose a lot of men make this assumption because the thought of such a gorgeous Korean woman marrying a foreigner would drive them insane with jealousy). Hell, we were at immigration the other week, and a Chinese dude thought she was Chinese.

Also, anyone notice that in Japan the customs signs at the airports read "foreigner", while at Incheon they read "non-Korean citizen"? I like that (though it's not as though I expect to be called "non-Korean citizen" instead of foreigner all the time, for that would just be weird).

Sparkles*_*

[Swiss James]

I guess I haven't been here long enough for it to grate, I just find it funny.

At my gym people leave their trainers rather than have to cart them back and forth, and no-one takes them as long as you write your name so I just wrote "Yeong-guk saram"

[Psy]

Not meaning to be offensive but,

The thing that I find is that many Americans/Canadians, etc. seem to have the sense that whereever they go, they expect to be accepted with open arms.

It grates to be called a waygookin and stared at. So what? You just had a sample of what most minorities have and are enduring in many of their own countries.

Sure it sucks. Ignore it, laugh about it, or put up with it as many of the people here already have. If you ask most people now, I doubt they notice or even care anymore. Silly waygookin.

[IconsFanatic]

[dogbert]

[komtengi]

I dont mind being called a waegookin.... I hate being called a miguk saram.....