Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rapier]

As I say, for things to change, it'll mean that mixed kids should attend Korean schools. That way people will become aware of the racism. But who is going to be first to allow their kids to be guinea pigs, human sacrifices, the pioneers of muticulturalism in this country?

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[peppermint]

I think part of the change needs to come from the teachers themselves. It's not just the mixed kids that get treated badly, it seems like there's a kid who's outcast in every class, and the teachers tolerate this.

As well, the Korean teachers union has a reputation for being one of the most conservative groups in the nation ( Not all public school teachers belong to it though) There have been controversies in the past with them producing tests with very anti American and anti Japanese content.

[little mixed girl]

[Ryst Helmut]

[Happamitta]

Hi Mslaoshi. I don't know of any Eurasian-type organizations where I live (Daegu), and since you said you live somewhere in the boonies, I somehow doubt you'll have much luck in finding anything that might be nearby, unless you're close to Busan or Seoul. At least, nothing comes up in web searches...

It doesn't sound like you've been having a terrible time being in Korea, though - is it just the fact that Koreans don't acknowledge your self-definition of yourself as Chinese-American that bugged you? That's to be expected - lots of folks, Koreans especially, like to call things as they seem to appear. You look mostly white, you said. That being the case, I don't find it at all surprising that Koreans would think of you as anything other than American.

Back in the United States, I knew a few people who had distant Amerindian ancestry.. in some cases, nothing more than a great-great-great-great grandmother who was __(insert tribe name, usually Cherokee though)__. Since they had this oh-so distant Indian forebearer, they saw it fit to consider themselves Native American. One person in particular, one of my college professors, was a red-bearded green-eyed Irish-looking man, a leprechaun of 5' 7" height. He had one incredibly distant Cherokee grandmother (g-g-g-g-gm). And if you asked him, he was 100% Native American, from his lips. He didn't speak Cherokee, didn't look Cherokee, and from my point of view, was just like anyone else with a fascination with any certain culture. He was, btw, teaching a class in Amerindian studies. He said his reason for his self-label was that it was something he willfully chose. Being a non-issue (meaning it has no real repercussions on others), I respected that.

Back then, my hair was long and usually tied up. Being mixed myself (Korean mother, South American father of Hungarian heritage), and with my particular configuration of genes, I looked pretty Native American. Thick black hair, skin light brown from days on the beach, long slanted eyes; even 'real' tribespeople would ask me what tribe I was from.

So, even though I didn't mind what he said he was, I would still look at this professor and, on a few occasions, think to myself, "I don't have a single drop of Indian blood in me, and yet I'm more Indian than this guy. What's his trip about?" Idle minds so like to kick up dust...

So there, like the Koreans who work with you, I ignored the assertions of my prof's self-label, thinking it was nonsensicle, for whatever reason I thought justified that point view. Is it wrong? I don't know. I can say, though, that it's a waste of mental effort, of time. It doesn't do me, him, or anyone else any good. And so in your case, I'd ask, does it matter that others don't label you as you label yourself? If they did as you wished, would it make any real discernible difference in the way they treated you or others? I'd be inclined to say no. You can claim whatever title you prefer for yourself... just don't mind the opinions of others if they differ from your POV on this subject.

On the half-Asian experience in Korea you said you were interesting in hearing about.. well, I can throw in my own quick 2 cents.

As of yet, I haven't experienced a single instance of someone belittling me for my mixed parentage. On those occassions where I have told a Korean about my folks, they seemed to be pleased more than anything else. "Ah, so that's the case... you speak so well! (lie)" says Korean X. I don't claim to be Korean-American, nor did I ever do so. Most of my life I thought of myself simply as a fellow who lived in America, with a Korean Mom and Latin-Euro-oldworld Dad.

Though I've lived around Koreans and Korean-Americans my whole life (and I still regret being the stubborn child who didn't want to speak a single word of Korean), the folks here and the ones there are obviously different in several ways. The Koreans here seem much less visibly happy, for one thing (or maybe it's just Gyeong-sanbukdo?). They also talk like dogs (just Daegu, in this case. Damn the yap-yap satoori), and are incredibly blunt (much less so in Seoul and other parts). And, as many posters have stated, Koreans seem to have little concept of waiting in line; the times when I've been cut in front of being already too numerous to recount. My mother, who just visted me, also stated as much. And there are other things...

Does being mixed have perks? Of course it does. It's all the rage in the fashion world. It's currently 'hip.' You probably have at least snippets of another language that you picked up as you grew up (unless you were a stubborn brat like me who didn't want his mom's language). And there's a good chance you look far-from-ordinary wherever you live (sans Latin America). Does it have its low side? Sure, usually dependant on where you live(d). Mixed kids seem to have a harder time of it in some places rather than others - in my own hometown I hardly experienced any problems beyond those that I constructed for myself. I'm certain that in a homogenous nation like the RoK it would be rougher for a mixed kid to grow up than in tossed-salad West-coast North America. Oh, and you aren't automatically entitled to call any category of people your "people." Unless you choose to.


Mitta.
1. Pali word meaning 'friend'

- Hap(p)amitta

[little mixed girl]

=(
aww....u can say my name person, i'm not gonna bite.

if u want to tell them u are "chinese", go for it.
but if u know that chinese ppl think that way, then why would u think that koreans would think differently?

it's nothing particular to korea, it's something that happens all over the world. if u call yourself "chinese", but don't look chinese people want an explination.

sorry if it offends you
but even ABCs get the "american" thing.

and like i said, if i decided to identify as white because my dad was white and i was raised in a majority white environment, people are gonna raise their brows and question me because i don't look 'white'.

personally, it just seems to me like u are ashamned to be 1/2 white.

anyways, have fun being chinese but you are going to have to explain your reasoning, because most people are going to press u on it (ie- you don't LOOK chinese). if you are not willing to do that, then u are going to be in for a lot of heartache.

[edit]
i forgot, if u want links:
http://www.mixedfolks.com/
http://www.mixedfolks.com/forum/index.php <--have to be registered to view
http://www.hapas.com/ <--i think there's a lotta racist-type/stuck up ppl on that site, but whatever
http://www.mixedrace.com/ <--really ghetto forum

books:
'what are you? voices of racially mixed young people in america' edited by pearl fuyu gaskins

'racially mixed people in america' edited by maria p. roots

'half and half: authors on growing up biracial and bicultural'

if u want more titles ask. i work at a library.

[girlinseoul]

Just wanted to add my two-cents worth. My daughter was born and raised in Canada (she has Canadian nationality, but she is ethnically Korean). She started grade one in March of this year in a Korea public school. She looks every bit Korean as the other students, but she couldn't read, write , or speak Korean like a native. As a result, she was ostracized by her classmates (grade one students!). She has made some good friends now, but in the beginning it was a really difficult time for her. I just wanted to say that even though Korea is changing and becoming more and more global, it's just a little hard for children to be as open-minded and international as adults . By the way, the other mothers made me feel really unwelcome because being Korean-Canadian, I wasn't able to communicate freely with them in Korean. Oh well, having a Korean face but not being able to speak Korean perfectly was my daughter's and my only drawback i guess.

[rapier]

If you accept yourself as you are, there is no need to look to others for acceptance.
In this way, I think being a mixed race schoolkid in Korea would be a character building exercise. If I had children, I would subject them to it, at least for a time. It'd make them stronger, and also ensure they never became racists themselves.
I remember at school in (relatively homogenous) Northern England, there was a "half caste" Thai boy, and another black guy. After several years, they had learned to be really strong, sharp and independent guys, that would not only fight at the drop of a hat, but got all the girls. All because they had to defend themselves against offhand, casual racism from a young age.