not many foreign workers? it’s one of the top TEFL destinations in the world. a large american troop presence has been a part of life in seoul for decades.unnamednewbie13 wrote:
On a different note, I'll admit to some curiosity as to how uziq's stay will turn out in South Korea. AFAIK not many foreign workers, and a master race doctrine taught in schools up to maybe 20(?) years ago? I expect racism is more subdued in wealthy/artsy areas of large cities, but elsewhere?
Most of what I know about them come from scraps from my great uncle, the local international district, and picking up on a very small portion of the language during childhood tkd (most of the instructors I had were amazing human beings).
it is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries on the planet. but, er, so what! i can deal with being grunted at by old korean grandparents or not being let into a bar because i’m a foreigner. it’s part of the experience. do you expect me to shatter and fall apart or something because it’s not all going to be a pleasant hey-ho! time? i’m going there to challenge myself and learn something new, not be pandered to and flattered. a certain amount of humility and open-mindedness is required.
korea is one of the most western-facing nations in the far east. it was america’s baby in the cold war. koreans grow up in a western-facing popular culture and learn english from a very early age. i’m not moving to a third-tier chinese city or the deep japanese countryside. seoul is a major international cosmopolitan hub. it’s a global city. i could literally spend a whole year with the sizeable community of americans, canadians, brits, australians, etc ...
i really don't care that asian societies are homogeneous and hard to penetrate. you're talking a little bit as if i'm going to japan and wanting to be treated as a native, a near-impossible task. i'm really not. i want a break from my work-a-day life in the west and to let some fresh experiences in, not to go and be accepted as a life-long citizen of another country. i think you're possibly overstating this 'asian countries are racist and confucianism is bad' thing.
Last edited by uziq (2020-12-19 07:40:46)