Korean Job Discussion Forums

Fredbob

For the decent Korean Speakers Here, How often per day do you hear something negative being spoken about you or about westerners in general-in Korean and as a result of your presence?

For example
I'm not talking about walking into a group of people talking about the latest esl teacher "scandal", I mean instances where you walk in/by and suddenly the topic shifts to the "scandal" (or whatever) because of your presence and the fact that they assume you can't understand Korean.

I'm being an optimist by hoping that it's not as often as I think.

I'm thinking this question will help individuals who are going around projecting their negativity or self-loathing on other because they can't or won't try to learn the language and go into a paranoid phase.
Hopefully a little reality check.

My Korean is nowhere good enough yet for me to answer this poll.

ronnie · Joined: 04 Jun 2006 Location: Wisteria Lane

Most of the time, i hear "them" talk about how nice my arse is...or how "they" as in (the others) want to pet my monkey.

gang ah jee · Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Location: city of paper

Don't know how decent I am, but we have to choose between 'never' and
'1-2 times per day?' Make that maybe several times a year tops.
- oops, didn't see the last option. I change my vote to that one.

Fredbob · Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 4:50 am Post subject:

I sincerely wish the was a way to chart this as it gets later in the evening, maybe even add a breathalyzer reading. This post is at 9:49pm Thurs Korea Time, just in case I get really, really bored and want to try to learn Korean based Excel.

the_beaver · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Comes in waves as per the ups and downs of anti-whitey sentiment in Korea. At times it's mostly good stuff I hear. At times it's mostly bad. I hear neither every day but I don't get out much.

jaganath69 · Joined: 17 Jul 2003

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Mine isn't good enough but I'm not paranoid about it.

cheem · Joined: 18 Apr 2003

Heck, they diss Westerners to me in English.

A bit off topic but I've had far more Westerners diss other Westerners to me than Koreans.

Fredbob · Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:22 am Post subject:

I wanted to add the options,

I can't really understand, but I hear waygook a lot and I generally assume it's negative.

And

I can't really understand, but I hear waygook a lot and I generally assume they are saying how handsome/pretty I am or something positive.

And

What does waygook mean?

But I don't know how to edit to add options, this my first poll.

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

Isn't it weird how waygook is such an easy word to pick out of a conversation? I could be sitting there not even listening to a conversation five feet away, but if they say that word my ears definitely pick it up. I wish I could hear all Korean words as clearly as that one.

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

I frequently hear, "foreigner, if you keep talkin like a b_tch Ima smack you like a b_tch." Hub of Asia my ass.

the_beaver · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Lizara · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Please don't believe the beav and lizara. We are indeed the center of nearly all Korean conversations. If we weren't here, this country would have no topics of conversation at all. It would be silent. Well, except for the vegetable truck racket.

SPINOZA · Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Location: $eoul

On Lee's Cafe recently, I saw a thread and poll that asked "for those of you who speak good English, what do you hear foreigners saying about Korea?"

Among the answers was "this the most racist, xenophobic country on earth" (despite that that itself is a sweeping, xenophobic comment); "Korean girls are so overrated - all that make-up and eyelid surgery"; "let's face it - if it wasn't for the money, we wouldn't be here" and the best one was:

1. "the air pollution in Seoul is terrible"

2. "Where are you from?"

1. "LA"