Seoul, South Korea
It could be an off-handed comment. It could be a look. It could be fists in your face. It could even be on prime-time TV. Regardless of where it comes from, it is a cold reminder for foreigners that not all are accepting.
When Warren Neiland first moved to Korea he said he never noticed racism.
“Korea is great,” he said, and he plans to live here indefinitely with his wife Na Hana.
“We love it here and we want to live here.”
However, when he started dating Na he said he noticed it right away.
“Adjossis [Korean term for older men] would say things to Hana all the time,” said Neiland. “Things like slut, bitch. Just us standing on the sidewalk.”
It hasn’t stopped either, even though they’ve been married almost three years now. “We just ignore it,” he said. “We have to.”
Just being seen with a Korean woman can cause problems. Jonathan Fowler, an English teacher in Seoul, introduced one of his former coworkers to a new school for a job. Walking back to the station, some Korean men said something to her. He saw the look on her face.
“What’s the matter?” he asked his friend.
“They said I was a whore,” she said.
Education
One of the most prevalent stigmas is that Korean women date foreign men to learn English. Even though Na studied in Canada before she met Neiland, she feels she is still sometimes cast in that light.
“I get so mad when they say I speak well because of my boyfriend,” she said.
Na’s best friend from middle school, Kang Yu Mi, and her husband Kim Yun Kuck say they love Neiland but see where some Koreans get it from. They say the stigma comes from the education system.
“Education is centered around learning English,” said Kim.
The importance of English makes some Koreans feel their culture is second-class.
“It makes them fell inferior,” said Kim. “Like they aren’t good enough.”
Education also emphasizes the importance of a united community.
“We learned since the first grade that we are the only country that has one blood,” said Kang. “We learn in school that we shouldn’t mix blood.”
This one-blood mentality is prevalent throughout society.
“We all heard that so many times,” said Na. “One-blood, one-blood, one-blood.”
Fuel to the Fire
While it is easy to ignore the occasional comment, it is hard to ignore prime-time television. On May 28 the Korean cable station MBC ran an investigative report called “The Shocking Truth about Relationships with Foreigners.” Many foreigners in Korean feel the video casts western English teachers as HIV-spreading playboys who care only about drugs, money and sex.
“I was absolutely outraged,” said Fowler. “I couldn’t believe it.”
For him this brought the issue to another level.
“This was done officially by a news organization,” he said. “It made it that much worse.”
Fowler and many other foreigners said they have been unfairly stereotyped, especially when there are already required to give up what they consider basic rights. The visa for English teachers in Korea, called the E-2, requires every applicant to provide an HIV check, a federal criminal background check and a drug screening. A DUI in one’s home country prohibits an applicant from being accepted.
“How can they say that about us?” he said. “When we are the least likely to have HIV.”
The vocal opposition feels there are no facts to back up the report. While MBC aired the show, it was actually bought from a production company. All of MBC’s writers have been on strike since January, protesting government involvement and censorship. This has forced MBC to outsource their news.
The response from MBC has been unapologetic. While the report paints a broad picture, constantly using the term foreigners instead of more specific this foreigner or that person, the show’s producers feel they were just talking about a small group of people. In a Wall Street Journal blog, one producer described why most foreigners shouldn’t be angry.
“Foreigner-Korean women couples are living happily,” said the producer, who wanted to speak anonymously, “but why are they angry over an issue that has nothing to do with them?”
The report, from the producer’s perspective, was a warning of such to Korean women about the dangers of dating foreigners. Just as Korean men don’t call Neiland and Fowler names, they save the names for the Korean women. As Neiland said, this makes him even angrier.
“It doesn’t bother me as much if they say something about me,” he said. “But when they say something derogatory towards Hana, I have an issue.”
Neiland said he is able to let those comments go, but his wife has a harder time dealing with them. After an altercation on the subway in the southern city of Busan, she was shaken up. A Korean man called Na many names and then tried to fight Nieland.
“Hana is a very proud Korean and was excited to show me around,” he said. “Up until then, Koreans were very welcoming.”
The Future
Neiland’s friend Ian Highley is also married to a Korean. He says he has been well accepted by most people, but he has also experienced some forms of racism.
“I think many people will always regard me as a foreigner or a guest,” he said, “and would never accept me as a true resident.”
He said he was more disappointed than angry at MBC’s report.
“Disappointed that there are Koreans that feel that way about Westerners in this country,” he said, “and that they would try to portray my wife as my victim.”
Highley says he isn’t so concerned about being accepted personally, but has reasons to worry about the future.
“Our first child is due to be born in Korea soon,” he said, “and I fear that he will have problems being accepted as Korean due to his background.”
Neiland and Na say they hope to start a family soon too. They say support from Na’s families and friends has been important.
“Hana’s family have accepted me with open arms,” he said. “They actually said that they feel unique and fortunate to have me as a part of their family.”
For Neiland, the negative aspect is separated from Koreans he knows personally. He said he choses to focus on the positives and has hope that the dirty looks and snide comments will eventually disappear.
“I believe the tide is changing here in Korea,” he said, “slowly.”
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