Apparently I look Korean.

Aug 03, 2009 20:52

As it seems with my encounters so far, Koreans tend to think that I'm, well, one of them. Ha ha ha how interesting. Last saturday I was at City Hall in Seoul, trying to find the famous huge Kyobo Bookstore, when this guy just came up to me to ask for directions to a nearby university. I just stared back and told him i'm not Korean (in kr, of course) and he gave me a look of shock before saying 'I see..' and leaving.

Today, on the bus back, there were 2 cute 10 year-old girls who started a conversation with me. I had to tell them halfway that I wasn't Korean while answering their questions. They told me I looked and sounded Korean so they didnt know. Then one of them asked me why I was in Korea, so I replied 'I'm studying the language right now', and she giggled and went 'Ooh is it because your boyfriend is Korean?' I told her no, sniff, I have no boyfriend and we all laughed. I did try to tell them I'm from Singapore though... but they havent heard of us before so oh well.

Aye... at least I can hold smooth conversations with kids now, so my kr language ability is safely that of a primary school kid (Omg how sad sounding, thankfully it's a foreign language ability, not intellect). Just had our intermediate I&II semester exam last friday, scores are 100 96 96 96 (Y) The paper was honestly much easier that I expected, so I'm glad I didnt study for it. I had a rebellion going on the day before by refusing to do anything but play icy tower.

Speaking of which, the conversations i've had with shop assistants, hairstylists, manicurists, taxi drivers are pretty much the same. It starts off explaining that i'm a foreigner and then goes back and forth this way,

'So which country do you come from?'
'I'm from Singapore'
'Oh~ Singapore is a clean country. Are you studying in a university in Korea now?'
'Yeah, i'm doing a language course in XXuni.'
'Ah... your korean is good. How long have you been here?'
'Around 4 months'
'But you studied the language before coming here right?'
'No.. I only started learning in Korea'
"Wow i see, but your Korean is good'

To koreans, being good in their language equates being able to understand questions regarding self identity and to give answers other than 'yes' or 'no'. So it's not a compliment but rather courtesy. Even though I've been here for 4 months, I still can't speak Korean fluently, so it's definitely not 'good'. It's my worst segment actually, out of the 4. But anyway, ALL conversations are like this. Same questions same order, and same comment that Singapore is clean. Sometimes they try to speak a bit of their limited english when I tell them I speak English and Chinese. It's... amusing.

Anyway, can't wait to fly back tomorrow! :D Excited to the max.

(PS: I'm a gmarket VIP member now!)
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