October 1st
I’m a foreigner. A Canadian foreigner. But I try very hard to assimilate the Korean culture because
1. I love it
2. I think it’s a very clever one
3. I’m a foreigner! (thus this isn’t my homeland and I have everything to learn here)
So when I see total assholes acting like the world’s worst dickheads, I get a little mad. It’s just me.
In Seoul, the three main "foreign social groups" are either tourists, English teachers or American soldiers. The rest are businesspeople, soldiers’ wives, humanitarian workers, Jesus freaks, etc.
The soldiers are working at the border and they come out in Hongdae during the week-end to have a good time. From what I heard, not so many people like them since they get drunk, get into fights and try to get it on with Korean girls.
As for tourists, there are some very nice and genuine people that come here to discover this magnificent culture. But some also are men looking for cheap Asian whores, or groups of twenty-something guys and girls who go totally nuts because they are away from home.
As for English teachers, they are a little more responsible but not that much. As it turns out, we get paid pretty well, don’t pay rent and our schedule is pretty good – thus we can have a looooot of fun if we want to. Actually one of my colleague got topless in a bar a couple of weeks ago and she doesn’t even remember it. Another one sleeps with different guys every week. It’s totally up to you.But after what happened last Friday, I’m really worried about the impact of foreigners in Korea.
When I was young (well, younger ;), I totally lived my youth to the max. No regrets back then, though now not so sure what I did was so “cool”. And I really wonder what this is all about… really? Ok let me get to the point.
So we were dancing in Tinpan – chicks stripping on the tables, guys drinking and staring at girls, people on stage dirty dancing, the usual. Suddenly I felt cold beer on my arm and back. It actually felt really nice because I was getting hot – but I noticed that everyone was staring at A.
Apparently a completely drunk white girl had thrown a glass of beer at her. Everyone was shocked, but the girl didn’t even seem to notice.
An hour later or so, we left for another bar. I bumped into the girl outside and she didn’t look good. I told her I was all covered in beer because of her and she looked deeply sorry. The poor girl, I’m sure she was more than drunk (probably drugs). She hugged me and I told her to be careful cauz… well she could so easily get raped, overdosed, whatever.
As me and V left, we heard the guy who was with her call us sluts. Hahaha us? Sluts?! It was too hilarious. But V didn’t take it well and so, as regular drunken chicks, we went back in. The guy was totally stupid and I realized it wasn’t even worth fighting for it (well, Jang Ho was the one who wanted to fight).
The reason I cared was because I know how much trouble people can get into when they’re drunk, or under the influence of drugs. If you’re a girl, it’s even worst and much more dangerous. And that girl was clearly not ok.
But then I realized that it’s not my problem, and so we left.
That’s when it hit me. Everyday people struggle to get food, shelter, clothes, etc. And we… we get drunk, insult each other, fight, dance like horny bitches, what the heck?!
Please note here that I do not want to generalize. A lot of people do have great decency when they go out and they have a good time, don’t hump everything that moves and don’t insult the whole world. But I want to focus on the losers that ruin it for everyone.
The other day my friend and I were about to cross a street (the light was green) when a scooter almost hit us. The guy, an American, was with a Korean girl and he jumped the red lights full speed. You know what he had the nerve to yell at us?! “Look bitches!”
I’m sorry, but those pathetic losers are a true plague for the Korean society. They act like they own the world, they spread chaos and don’t bring anything good here. Moreover, Korean kids look up to them whereas Korean women let them do whatever they want.
I’ve also noticed that there seems to be this rivalry between foreigners when they meet at bars in Seoul. I still haven’t figured that one out, but it’s obvious when you see the interaction. Everyone is in his own little group and they either ignore, look down on or fear the other “whity” at the end of the bar. What do they have to brag about anyway?!The common stereotypical White guy in Asia is easy to target. Like T said, he’s the total loser back home who was rejected by most people – but who is here a super hero because of the color of his skin!
It’s the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. Those guys (cauz you don’t really girls digging Korean men as much), they become so arrogant the minute they step foot in Korea because Korean women are all over them.
The reason of course is because they are part of the American dream and a lot of young Koreans have that dream in mind. Plus Korean men are very “special” (I’ll talk about it later) whereas Americans are the opposite. And finally, there’s always the attraction of the unknown.
I don’t care about this particular fact – after all, if the guy was not appreciated to his full value back home and here he finds true love, good for him! But I just can’t stand the arrogant brats who spread trouble and act like total jerks.
Those are the same people back home who want foreigners out of the country, who don’t tolerate Black and Hispanic people, who are racists or totally ethnocentric. When it happens home, they’re against it. But when they do it somewhere else, they’re all for it.
I know, I may not be bringing anything special to the Korean culture (except English and of course some say it’s a bad thing), but at least I love and respect it. I’m just a little worried, that’s all. There, i've said my peace ;)
