Not Welcome Here
Last night, I experienced the inevitable reality that there are negative aspects that result from being a foreigner in Korea. And I will never be accepted as an equal here. Until this point I have been treated extremely well by most of the Korean people I have met. My host family is very kind, my director does whatever he can to make me comfortable, and my adult students even took me out for soju and dinner this past week. But last night I encountered an aspect of Korean people that is very disheartening.
What happened? Well, first let me tell you about the good things that happened throughout the day. Yesterday I was planning on going to a nearby city called Jeonju to visit some tourist sites with Tom (the older English teacher). I went by his apartment but he wasn't feeling well so I decided to go to another large city called Daegu. I had been there before, but I wanted to explore the city on my own this time
After arriving, my first stop was a motel that I read about in my Korea Lonely Planet (a tour/guide book). I had no idea how to get there so I started to wander aimlessly in the direction I thought it was. I stopped to look at my unsatisfactory map and I noticed a tall white male, with a reddish beard, and long hair walking towards me. I assumed he spoke English, which is ignorant because he could have been from a non-English speaking European country. Despite this I asked him in English if he lived in this city. He spoke in a strong Australian accent, but he didn't live in that city. But it turned out he was looking for the same motel that I was (because he also had the Korea Lonely Planet). His name is Sam, he is originally from Australia but he is currently an English teacher in a small village near Seoul, Korea. I always manage to meet such interesting and useful people. We ventured off together to find the motel, and after asking several different people for directions (each giving different directions than the previous person). We knew we were in the general vicinity but after over an hour of walking up and down the small, crowded city blocks we found another motel for a similar price. Perhaps they changed the name of the hotel since the guide book was written. We then ate some delicious Chinese dim sum and wandered around the city for the next couple of hours going to the bookstore, music store, and just seeing what the city of Daegu had to offer.
Eventually we returned to the area near our motel because every street has dozens of bars, noraebangs (karaoke rooms), restaurants, and shops. We knew we could find something fun to do. Since both of us live in small towns in Korea, with no one our same age, we have limited opportunities to enjoy the night life in Korea. We found a small, chill bar that sold beer from all over the world (Australia, America, China, Thailand, Japan, Europe) and played American hip-hop and rock. It costs $6 for an American beer, so good thing I like Korean beer that costs half the price. Everyone in the bar was Korean, in fact I didn't see much foreigners in this area. A few here and there, but nothing like it was in Seoul. Apparently, Sam is enjoying Korea so much that he is considering re-contracting for another year of English teaching. It was nice having some to hang out with again because going out alone in Korea is not only uncommon but somewhat pathetic. Even if I hadn't met him I would have gone out alone anyways in hopes of meeting some people (=
After we left the hip-hop bar, we wandered around looking for a Salsa Club called Latin Caribe that we had seen earlier that evening. It took about 20 minutes to find it because everything looks the same, despite the fact that we can read hangul…..everything was a bar, restaurant, club, DVD bang or noraebang so becoming disoriented was quite easy. At last we found it! I was so excited but as we opened the door and peered in I was disappointed to see that no one was in there. Well, by no one, I mean there was the owner, and two women. All of whom could dance very well (I have video). We plopped down on the counter and I asked the owner to put on some Merengue music because I can't dance Salsa. We did right away and I danced with one of the girls for a few songs. It was so great to hear Latin music in Korea. I miss hearing it in a social setting, and I miss dancing even more. I really regret not learning how to dance Salsa during my four years at the university. The owner didn't speak much English, so I stammered through some of my poor Korean and found out he had been dancing Salsa for 6 years!!! What??? I was pleasantly surprised. The remaining girl had been dancing for 2 years. Oddly, the busy nights for Salsa are during the week, not the weekend. And the main DJ is a Latino who is in the US Army in Daegu city.
Around midnight we left the salsa club in search of something else to do. As we walked past a place called Kenzo there was a speaker playing someone singing an English song…so we wandered downstairs into Karaoke bar and saw a large room full of Korean people (a few of which turned there heads towards us curiously) and the person on stage was singing the song we had heard from the speaker outside. It seemed like it was going to be a fun place to hang out so decided to stay. As we waited by the entrance to be seated, immediately one of the employees ran up to us. More people who were sitting and enjoying there drinks stared in our direction. The young Korean employee handed me a sign. I grabbed it from him curiously. In big black letters the sign stated "KOREAN PEOPLE ONLY!" and "ONLY KOREAN SONGS HERE." (The irony was that the song being sang by the Korean guy on stage was an American song, in English).
What?? My initial reaction was confusion, I didn't know what to say. My friend stood nearby and asked what the sign said. I told him. No more than a few seconds passed before the owner motioned to the door. Not only was I overcome with embarrassment as everyone stared at us. So I did the only thing I could think of….I blatantly flipped of the bar owner as we involuntarily left the bar. I could see the fury in his face. But I didn't care. As we walked up the two flights of stairs a Korean guy followed several feet behind us I was expecting him to confront us but he just stood at the door as we walked away. As we walked down the street, the only words that came to mind were "F*** KOREA!" My friend soon informed me about the seriousness of using the middle finger in Korea. It is the ultimate form of disrespect. But then again, I felt greatly disrespected. As we walked I was in disbelief about what had just happened. My head spun for a minute because of all the emotions that flooded my head. It's not easy coming to terms with the fact that I was just asked to leave a bar because we weren't Korean. I don't know if I was more embarrassed, infuriated, or shocked. Or was it merely the fact that my sense of belonging, my sense of security, and everything that I thought I knew about Korea was shattered.
Yes, I know the "F" Korea comment was irrational and uncalled for...but we resort to profanity when we don't have the language to express how we really feel. To some people reading this, you may think that I overreacted. But as some of you may know, as minority in the United States I (we) had to deal with racism, xenophobia, and discrimination my entire life. I never got use to being called a wetback, being taunted, or having my ability to speak English questioned because of my appearance. But even worse I have never been denied the right to occupy a space because of my race or appearance!!! Which was the case last night in Korea.
Furthermore, for the first couple of weeks here I would have people refuse to sit in the empty seat next to me on the bus because of my appearance, or the time when I sat in the seat two spaces away from an old Korean lady on the subway and she got up and walked to the opposite end of the subway car. These things didn't bother me. I understand that Korea is very conservative and xenophobic. After all, it was only recently exposed to people from other countries, races, and cultures. So these little things I didn't think were worth mentioning. But last night......last night was more than I expected. I am still angry about what happened but it is not directed at a country or Korean people as a whole. Maybe I needed to experience like that to let me know my place in Korea and not too get too comfortable here.
To put things in context, there are 2 US military bases in Daegu. So there are probably alot of drunk, obnoxious Americans that frequent the area of Daegu this happened in. (I didn't see any US soliders in or out of uniform though). But "KOREANS ONLY" come on now....and besides I hate the fact that being a foreigner or more specifically not being Korean can restrict access to certain places.
My overwhelming anger lasted for about 10 minutes, but as we walked I thought more about the fact that my positive experiences in Korea far outweigh my negative ones. In fact, Sam said that that was the first time he'd experienced anything as blatantly racist as that and he's been in Korea for 9 months; however, he said he doesn't go out much either. There are many Korean people who have treated me with such great generosity and kindness. Despite all of this, the reality is that here I am an oegugin (a foreigner) whether that is more of a positive or negative truth is soon to be discovered.
At least it hasn't reached the point that I have been spit on or physically threatened because I am a foreigner. I can understand not being able to speak Korean, because I'm a foreigner. Or not being able to vote in Korea's presidential elections this year, because I'm a foreigner. BUT, not being able to enjoy myself and sing at a karaoke bar with some Koreans, because I'm a foreigner. Now that's just outrageous...haha.
What happened? Well, first let me tell you about the good things that happened throughout the day. Yesterday I was planning on going to a nearby city called Jeonju to visit some tourist sites with Tom (the older English teacher). I went by his apartment but he wasn't feeling well so I decided to go to another large city called Daegu. I had been there before, but I wanted to explore the city on my own this time
After arriving, my first stop was a motel that I read about in my Korea Lonely Planet (a tour/guide book). I had no idea how to get there so I started to wander aimlessly in the direction I thought it was. I stopped to look at my unsatisfactory map and I noticed a tall white male, with a reddish beard, and long hair walking towards me. I assumed he spoke English, which is ignorant because he could have been from a non-English speaking European country. Despite this I asked him in English if he lived in this city. He spoke in a strong Australian accent, but he didn't live in that city. But it turned out he was looking for the same motel that I was (because he also had the Korea Lonely Planet). His name is Sam, he is originally from Australia but he is currently an English teacher in a small village near Seoul, Korea. I always manage to meet such interesting and useful people. We ventured off together to find the motel, and after asking several different people for directions (each giving different directions than the previous person). We knew we were in the general vicinity but after over an hour of walking up and down the small, crowded city blocks we found another motel for a similar price. Perhaps they changed the name of the hotel since the guide book was written. We then ate some delicious Chinese dim sum and wandered around the city for the next couple of hours going to the bookstore, music store, and just seeing what the city of Daegu had to offer.
Eventually we returned to the area near our motel because every street has dozens of bars, noraebangs (karaoke rooms), restaurants, and shops. We knew we could find something fun to do. Since both of us live in small towns in Korea, with no one our same age, we have limited opportunities to enjoy the night life in Korea. We found a small, chill bar that sold beer from all over the world (Australia, America, China, Thailand, Japan, Europe) and played American hip-hop and rock. It costs $6 for an American beer, so good thing I like Korean beer that costs half the price. Everyone in the bar was Korean, in fact I didn't see much foreigners in this area. A few here and there, but nothing like it was in Seoul. Apparently, Sam is enjoying Korea so much that he is considering re-contracting for another year of English teaching. It was nice having some to hang out with again because going out alone in Korea is not only uncommon but somewhat pathetic. Even if I hadn't met him I would have gone out alone anyways in hopes of meeting some people (=
After we left the hip-hop bar, we wandered around looking for a Salsa Club called Latin Caribe that we had seen earlier that evening. It took about 20 minutes to find it because everything looks the same, despite the fact that we can read hangul…..everything was a bar, restaurant, club, DVD bang or noraebang so becoming disoriented was quite easy. At last we found it! I was so excited but as we opened the door and peered in I was disappointed to see that no one was in there. Well, by no one, I mean there was the owner, and two women. All of whom could dance very well (I have video). We plopped down on the counter and I asked the owner to put on some Merengue music because I can't dance Salsa. We did right away and I danced with one of the girls for a few songs. It was so great to hear Latin music in Korea. I miss hearing it in a social setting, and I miss dancing even more. I really regret not learning how to dance Salsa during my four years at the university. The owner didn't speak much English, so I stammered through some of my poor Korean and found out he had been dancing Salsa for 6 years!!! What??? I was pleasantly surprised. The remaining girl had been dancing for 2 years. Oddly, the busy nights for Salsa are during the week, not the weekend. And the main DJ is a Latino who is in the US Army in Daegu city.
Around midnight we left the salsa club in search of something else to do. As we walked past a place called Kenzo there was a speaker playing someone singing an English song…so we wandered downstairs into Karaoke bar and saw a large room full of Korean people (a few of which turned there heads towards us curiously) and the person on stage was singing the song we had heard from the speaker outside. It seemed like it was going to be a fun place to hang out so decided to stay. As we waited by the entrance to be seated, immediately one of the employees ran up to us. More people who were sitting and enjoying there drinks stared in our direction. The young Korean employee handed me a sign. I grabbed it from him curiously. In big black letters the sign stated "KOREAN PEOPLE ONLY!" and "ONLY KOREAN SONGS HERE." (The irony was that the song being sang by the Korean guy on stage was an American song, in English).
What?? My initial reaction was confusion, I didn't know what to say. My friend stood nearby and asked what the sign said. I told him. No more than a few seconds passed before the owner motioned to the door. Not only was I overcome with embarrassment as everyone stared at us. So I did the only thing I could think of….I blatantly flipped of the bar owner as we involuntarily left the bar. I could see the fury in his face. But I didn't care. As we walked up the two flights of stairs a Korean guy followed several feet behind us I was expecting him to confront us but he just stood at the door as we walked away. As we walked down the street, the only words that came to mind were "F*** KOREA!" My friend soon informed me about the seriousness of using the middle finger in Korea. It is the ultimate form of disrespect. But then again, I felt greatly disrespected. As we walked I was in disbelief about what had just happened. My head spun for a minute because of all the emotions that flooded my head. It's not easy coming to terms with the fact that I was just asked to leave a bar because we weren't Korean. I don't know if I was more embarrassed, infuriated, or shocked. Or was it merely the fact that my sense of belonging, my sense of security, and everything that I thought I knew about Korea was shattered.
Yes, I know the "F" Korea comment was irrational and uncalled for...but we resort to profanity when we don't have the language to express how we really feel. To some people reading this, you may think that I overreacted. But as some of you may know, as minority in the United States I (we) had to deal with racism, xenophobia, and discrimination my entire life. I never got use to being called a wetback, being taunted, or having my ability to speak English questioned because of my appearance. But even worse I have never been denied the right to occupy a space because of my race or appearance!!! Which was the case last night in Korea.
Furthermore, for the first couple of weeks here I would have people refuse to sit in the empty seat next to me on the bus because of my appearance, or the time when I sat in the seat two spaces away from an old Korean lady on the subway and she got up and walked to the opposite end of the subway car. These things didn't bother me. I understand that Korea is very conservative and xenophobic. After all, it was only recently exposed to people from other countries, races, and cultures. So these little things I didn't think were worth mentioning. But last night......last night was more than I expected. I am still angry about what happened but it is not directed at a country or Korean people as a whole. Maybe I needed to experience like that to let me know my place in Korea and not too get too comfortable here.
To put things in context, there are 2 US military bases in Daegu. So there are probably alot of drunk, obnoxious Americans that frequent the area of Daegu this happened in. (I didn't see any US soliders in or out of uniform though). But "KOREANS ONLY" come on now....and besides I hate the fact that being a foreigner or more specifically not being Korean can restrict access to certain places.
My overwhelming anger lasted for about 10 minutes, but as we walked I thought more about the fact that my positive experiences in Korea far outweigh my negative ones. In fact, Sam said that that was the first time he'd experienced anything as blatantly racist as that and he's been in Korea for 9 months; however, he said he doesn't go out much either. There are many Korean people who have treated me with such great generosity and kindness. Despite all of this, the reality is that here I am an oegugin (a foreigner) whether that is more of a positive or negative truth is soon to be discovered.
At least it hasn't reached the point that I have been spit on or physically threatened because I am a foreigner. I can understand not being able to speak Korean, because I'm a foreigner. Or not being able to vote in Korea's presidential elections this year, because I'm a foreigner. BUT, not being able to enjoy myself and sing at a karaoke bar with some Koreans, because I'm a foreigner. Now that's just outrageous...haha.