Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Derrek]

Just curious because I've heard vastly differing arguments:

I have heard from other expats and Koreans that they would never want to have bi-racial kids in Korea -- that they would be picked on, etc., for being bi-racial.

On the other hand, one of my best Korean friends says that she thinks the tide has turned. There is a bi-racial, bi-lingual White/Korean kid in her apartment complex, and many of the parents try to get their kids to play with that child. This is in hopes that some of the English will "rub off" on their kids.

Any thoughts or comments from those with kids?

[Len8]

I was on a subway once going to Suwon, and there was this Korean mother talking in everyday fluent Korean to her daughter. If I hadn't noticed that the daughter was white, I would never have taken any notice, because her korean was as native as could be. I immediatly moved over to take a look, and listen as did most of the other people standing nearby on the train. I couldn't believe it. a white teenager speaking korean fluently like it was no big deal whatsoever. The mother was an adjumah, so I don't know all of how that worked itself out. I guess the father was a serviceman.
The poor adjumah mother couldn't take it either. Especially all the occupants in the carriage looking on in complete bewildrment. At the stop she jumped off the train ,and almost abandoned her daughter. Too much I guess, and not being able to handle the the terrible stigma of not being your basic stereotype. I sure hope she is up to the challenge.

[Derrek]

Maybe I read it wrong, but that just sounds weird?

Are you korean?

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Well, my daughter is half Japanese/half white, but she speaks more Korean than Japanese.

I took her to the park a few weeks ago, and I said "jo shim hae" (be careful) when she was doing something. This got the ears of a Korean father with his kids and we began to talk.

He said he "understood" why I chose to raise my daughter in Canada because people here are more tollerant towards mixed blood than in Asia.

His wife is Canadian (ex-English teacher!), so we basically had an interesting conversation.

But to answer your original question Derrek:

I am more hoping my daughter will have some Japanese, Spanish, Korean, or French "rub off on her".

Her mother is stubborn (English ONLY), and I think it would be a detriment to my daughter's long-term career options with only one language as opposed to being multi-lingual.

I am sure that if I was in Asia, I would insist on speaking English at home, but doing school in the native language in which we resided.

[LiquidSunshine]

all well and said but i am still curious to know if anyone has any knowledge about bi-racial children in the Korean school system. perhaps most people would place their kids in private "foreign" schools (but i heard these schools are really expensive ) what do you think of raising a bi-racial child in korea? thougts? i'm about to get married this fall and this is one topic we're still up in the air on...any help would be greatly appreciated...

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

My wife (who is Korean) and I are expecting our first child in July. I've heard that biracial children can have a rough time, which is in stark contrast to the mindset other countries in Asia (ie. Thailand and Hong Kong come to mind) have adopted (ah, adoption; there's another Korean tabboo). These days, being multi-racial is considered 'hip' in a lot of Asian nations.

Anyway, I think it will take some years, but like most things, the population will open up a little more on the subject. And in my son/daughter's case, he/she won't have to have surgery to get western style eyelids. Or if it's a girl, a well proportioned bust (my wife is one sensuously lithe-yet-well-endowed young thing. Are you jealous yet?)

Sparkles*_*[/i]

[Derrek]

[PootyTang]

My wife and I talk about this all the time...we think the first 7 years would be ok in Korea, but after that we prolly should bring them back...

She is also under the opinion that things are changing in Korea...I'm not convinced though.

[sillywilly]

My child is very white, very blonde and very blue eyed... He looks kind of like a baby even though he's five western age.. Anyway, he is treated like gold.. Noone ever notices me when I walk down the street with him, despite the fact that people are tailing us ooing and aweing.. He gets free stuff and subway seats ( when we visit Seoul). He is in for a shock when we go back home.. Where will all his groupies have gone?

Despite all this he is kind of lonely and has not managed to pick up much Korean.. i guess everyone tried English .. He speaks excellent Konglish.. He kinda sounds like Yoda, even when he talks to me sometimes.. " This I want.!"

[Derrek]

Is he part asian?

[rapier]

I saw a mixed race Korean/westerner child on the subway the other day, the first time I've seen one- it was kinda cool. Some people on the subway seemed as curious as I was.
The more mixed children in Korea, the better for the future. It will help Koreans get used to the idea. After all, we are all going to be "pinko-grey" one day, right? And the advantages to a mixed race child of having two mother tongues must be quite clear.

[Rand Al Thor]

I know a man who has two mixed daughters, 13 & 11. Both of the girls went to Korean public school up until last year and had no problems. they were very popular and rarely teased. The girls now go to a foreign school as he wants them to improve their English abilities and grasp of western culture. they only lived in the states for about 1.5 years.

Myself, My daughter is now 13 months old. Everyone loves her and always remarks about how cute she is. If my wife is out alone, ppl often ask her if the father is foreigner - but nothing bad.

My plan is to have my daughter go to Korean public school for about 2-3 years and then move back to Canada. I (we) want her to have a firm grasp of Korean before we leave. By sending her to school here she will also have an innate sense of the hierachacal (bad spelling) nature of the language. i.e. natural use of ban-mal, chong-dae mal, honorifics and usage of things like oppa, oni, etc...

In talking to the man mentioned above, I get the feeling that he didn't really have any problems. His perception is though that things are changing and improving. Be positive and positive things will happen.

Those mothers are in for a surprise, when they realize that thier kids are communicating in Korean- it'll be easier for all involved and more natural. Your kid will make it or break it based on personality and support from you and your wife at home.

[sillywilly]

Derrek- mine? No, he's only caucasian.

On another note, it's good to hear of the positive treatment of mixed kids in public school. I had heard that they were treated really cruely by their peers and had to go to seperate schools as a result.. I'm glad the hearsay was bologna. Most mixed kids I have seen are incredibly beautiful.. Not that looks matter for kids.. but anyway, just an observation.

[Ody1966]

as you all know, children are cruel. korean children are agressively cruel. but in my opinion, no meaner than children anywhere (more rude, yes.).

when my son got his first scratch mark, i said, "when a kid scratches you, punch him in the stomach." guess what, no more scratches.

my kid is tough and most resistance to taunts. he chalks such behavior up to the ignorance of the accuser. much to my delight, he is very proud of his american half and he knows that he has the advantage, being bilingual.

my point is, that kids are individuals. when we lived stateside, my boy was one of the leaders in his preschool. now he's a leader in his korean kindergarten class. That�s what he is.

compared to his koraen counterparts, he's well behaved but he has taken on rude speaking habits. no "please", "thank you", "pardon" (just "what?"), etc. so we're working on this. i always remind him that english is a polite language.

we're crossing our fingers that he gets into the korean school we've chosen when he starts 1st grade in the next year or so. the plan is for us to stay as long as we can. Like, maybe we'll return to the states when he's ready for high school.

i figure, after spending his childhood here, he will have grown the thick skin one needs for a happy life.

[Zyzyfer]

I'm teaching at a public middle school, and I just found out yesterday that one of my students, who always looked peculiarly different from everyone else in class(lighter hair, skin, eyes), is mixed.

Nobody picks on her in class, and I made an extra-big deal out of her situation being cool, just to help promote multiracial kids a tiny, tiny bit.