I don't think it's just white westerners, tbh. How much controversy is there constantly about immigrants in America not knowing any English? I really don't care - if you can get by in a foreign country without speaking the language, and you have resources to take care of the language barrier when a problem comes up (doctor's visit, traffic accident, etc.) then I could not care less about you not making a huge effort to become somewhat fluent in the native tongue. If you somehow have the time and money and resources to try to learn the language, more power to you. The US is covered with enclaves for different language groups, and those living therein don't have to know much English to have a perfectly successful time of it. Same goes for American/British/Australian expats living in European/Asian countries.
A friend of mine spent three months in Korea recently for the main purpose of trying to learn the language and culture better. She said it was very difficult to practice her Korean because everybody wanted her to speak in English so they could improve in their English skills. She said she had to hang out with people who spoke absolutely zero English so that she could avoid that problem (which was sometimes difficult to do in Seoul).
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A friend of mine spent three months in Korea recently for the main purpose of trying to learn the language and culture better. She said it was very difficult to practice her Korean because everybody wanted her to speak in English so they could improve in their English skills. She said she had to hang out with people who spoke absolutely zero English so that she could avoid that problem (which was sometimes difficult to do in Seoul).
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