Bittersweet Xenophobia, But Mostly Bitter

Oh, Korea... I know you have a history of being stepped-on and abused by your neighbors... I know you are a relatively small country... And I know you can be both extremely proud and extremely insecure because of unfortunate moments in history that still require apologies. Hundreds of years of abuse and war would make ANY small country weary and cautious of trust. But, you've not only survived; you've thrived! Your jaebeols/재벌 (Samsung, Hyundai, etc.) have earned you economic power. Your culture, food and entertainment are quickly earning you cultural influence around the world. I understand where you came from, and I congratulate your great and ongoing achievements!

Your unique challenges are what drive you to success...
           ~   but if not careful, you can take that too far.

So, why all the recently-increasing outcry and panic over the foreign English-native-speaking teachers? A few bad apples should not ruin the entire cart. Despite what your media tries to teach you, not all white guys are going to destroy you (Men in general, though - of any race... I won't make any promises)! For those of you who don't know about this issue, let me briefly summarize it from the press-hyped, xenophobic Korean perspective:

1. White devil enters Korea through the E-2 visa program (English teacher).
2. White devil starts seducing and raping young innocent Korean women.
3. White devil fondles and molests all of his English students and children.
4. White devil does drugs, impregnates indiscriminately and spreads AIDS.
5. White devil leaves, taking valuable plundered Korean money with him. 

Actual Crimes
There has been an accelerating amount of news, gossip and discussion going around Korea lately. A tipping point was arguably the extensive news coverage of the "Christopher Paul Neil" scandal (he was a disgusting serial child molester who affected Korea and was thankfully caught in Thailand in 2007).

Engineered Hype
A lot of the ensuing firestorm has been fueled by Korea's propagandized "news" media (think: Fox news)... most notably, the infamous "'Shocking Reality' MBC report," in which foreign men were cast as drug-addicted sexual predators and Korean women as victims. Now, to be honest, MBC writers were on strike during this time, so MBC relied on production outsourcing for material. In my opinion, it's likely that this introduced a credibility issue; and it's probable that some unscrupulous groups have used the opportunity to gain political clout. But I digress... sort of. At any rate, MBC is not apologizing. And, this does indicate a shadow-culture that is racist and hateful, with an agenda of some sort. Also, by the way, many stories abound about how reporters and other suspicious people routinely target foreigners with a pretense of them all having something to hide. Here are some sample stories:

While once at a university networking and language-exchange party (hosted monthly by the staff), I saw a group of people come in with a professional video camera with the KBS logo on the side. The camera constantly focused on me and I jokingly introduced myself (assuming to know the reason they were there) as a teacher that doesn't do anything illegal. Nobody knew why they were there. Shortly after, the camera crew left and things got back to normal. As we were introducing each other, an older Korean man came over and told me his name. Then my friend pulled me aside and warned me that the man was likely a reporter. I ended up talking to the man again and asked him what his job was, to which he replied "student." He didn't want to talk about, though. Shortly after asking me if I had many girlfriends (to which I said "no"), he pointed to a girl going by and asked me what I thought of her and if I thought she liked me (turned out later that they were together). Later that night, I lit up a cigar and started to smoke it when the same guy and the girl sat down at my table and told me that the cigar smelled like marijuana. I told him that I wouldn't know, as I don't smoke that. I asked him how he knew what it smelled like, and he said that lots of foreigners smoke marijuana at his university. He then asked me, AGAIN, what was in my cigar. I told him it was just tobacco. Shortly after that, as I was leaving, the man again questioned me about the cigar.

Or this gem of a story from a female English teacher...

The first thing that I noticed that was wrong was the things in my apartment were out of place, the frightened bahavior of my little toy poodle puppy when I returned home from work, and that my personal papers and documents were searched and tampered with. Then I noticed that many of my private documents regarding my personal history and the background that qualified me for my teaching job in Korea were taken. I then noticed the memory disk of my camera was missing. I began to get harassing phone calls, the rear tire of my bike was flattened about nine times within a few months, the lock was broken, my garbage gone through, my emails hacked and many items in my handbag repeatedly stolen. My personal property at work was tampered with in such an obvious way as to make me feel intimidated. On one instance, upon entering the office, a clump of light brown hair was affixed to the light switch - I am the only westerner there, with light hair. I also began to notice the presence of local police doing unusual things at unlikely times. I was told by my doctor that one of my co-teachers and my supervisor came to his office with the police demanding to see my medical files. I was stopped and questioned at the local train station about why I was there and where I was going. These things all began, from what I was told by a human rights investigator, after a xenophobic and racist news story was ran about foreigners.

Further Attempts to Organize Hatred
Then to throw more gasoline on the fire, Korea's infamous "netizens" have been going bat-shit crazy on the Internet. Perhaps even as a precursor to a fully-fledged hate group, one guy (Yie Eun-Woong) has begun a Naver cafe (kind of like a popular bulletin board) called "Anti-English Spectrum" (a play on words of a former famous English teacher portal called "English Spectrum"). Comically, by the way, in an apparent effort to be political, they have changed their name to "Citizens of Right English Education." Whatever.

Reality Check
I think this whole situation is like a "perfect storm"... Korea's natural (and valid) weariness of foreign "invaders," Koreans' unfounded feelings of insecurity due to being a newcomer to the cultural and economic global stage, and Korea being a naturally and historically homogenous society... combine all of that, and the tinder is ready for a firestorm. The only thing remaining that is needed then, are a few incendiary stories about sex and children, of course!

Now, while I'm not saying that bad things don't happen (they do everywhere, after-all).
I am saying that suspecting all white people in Korea of being drug-addicted sexual predators is uneducated and ignorant -- and Korea, I know that you're smarter than this.

Actually, according to one report, it's apparent that, on a percentage basis, more Korean people are criminals than foreigners in Korea. So, requiring all E2 visa holders to be suspected, rounded up, searched, and HIV-tested is supremely STUPID. Do you really want to make the world laugh at you? I don't want to see that! But I suspect the xenophobic portion of your population doesn't care. And if you actually made those requirements a law, even that might be fine... But it's not a law! It's a policy that didn't go through legal due-process, and is thus a political mandate that is primarily meant to placate an apparently over-zealous and panicked populous.

Listen to me, Korea...
If you are to continue growth as a major player in the global economy, and want to contribute your culture to the world (which will make you stronger), then you won't be able to depend solely on the strength of such domestic-based chae-bols as Samsung or Hyundai. Your ability to be seen as favorable in foreigners' eyes will be important (as it is for all global players); and you must not allow unfair stereotypes to be created about you, because they are hard to dispel. You must weed-out those xenophobic and insecure idiots and netizens among you. They are the unsavory weeds within the flourishing and beautiful garden that is the country of South Korea! Every culture around the world has those weeds; but you, Korea, are in the middle of a major growth and have fantastic opportunity in the world... so don't allow a few bad apples get in your way during this critical phase of your growth.

Psy's Ultimate Korean Satire: Gangnam Style

Since the first days of the "Korean wave," music producers have been pouring tons of money into trying to break-through into the American market. Even recent attempts have not proven to be fruitful. Wonder Girls, SNSD (Girls' Generation), and 2NE1, among others, have all not quite hit the mark. Even employing A-list American music influences (Jonas Brothers, Akon, etc.) hasn't quite done the trick. Korea's big-money, ultra-produced sensations have all failed to become mainstream in America.

But one relatively unattractive, overweight, unpolished and otherwise ordinary guy has apparently succeeded.
~ Without even trying.
~~ And doing it all with a satirical video that mocks a significant portion of Korea's ultra-proud culture.

I'm talking, of course, about Psy and his hit "Gangnam Style." At last check, the video was almost at 64,000,000 views on YouTube and still gaining over 1,000,000 per day. To put that in perspective, it has now beaten some of the most "viral" videos that we all know, such as "Tron Guy," "The Evolution of Dance," and even "Numa Numa." There are numerous parodies from all over the world. Psy was even spotted in attendance at L.A. Dodger Stadium and was greeted by their dance-cam to throngs of fans who actually knew who he was, knew the dance, and knew the song.

Ultra-polished Korean K-Pop producers must now hang their heads in shame over the awe of what Psy inadvertently accomplished. Let's hope that this is the break-through that all Korean music fans have been waiting for. And I'm personally hoping that Psy gets some credit for it!

Watch Gangnam Style, below...

Three Marriages, Same Couple

So, I know it's been a while. I'm trying to get back on the writing wagon. And at no better time than in the midst of preparing for our third wedding. Our first one being the civil ceremony at the courthouse that was a prerequisite for getting the immigration burden out of the way. The second one being the Korean traditional ceremony, and this third wedding being the one for all of those that couldn't make it to Korea.

(By the way, I'll have to write about the big Korea trip soon)

So, anyway we are going to have a non traditional ceremony this spring... really more of a glorified reception, than anything resembling a ceremony... we're not into all the pomp and circumstance, let alone religious stuff. And, since we're paying for this on our own, it's only going to be close family and a couple friends.

At first, we wanted an outdoor, evening event, complete with big tree, lots of hanging lights, etc. Then venues became a problem. Either too expensive or wouldn't allow our decorations. So we then fell back to planning a tent wedding, only to find out that there weren't any venues for that. Finally, we backed up to doing it at Fuzzy Zoellers Golf Club. Obviously not the dream wedding, but it's amazing how much you give up when you just want things to be done with. To be fair, though, it's really not that bad of a place... good view, good pricing, and very accommodating.

So, preparations are in full swing, since the date is approaching fast.

Not only that, but we will be hosting HeeLa's family for a month. They are coming for her graduation, wedding, and tourism. We will be going to Gatlinburg and Las Vegas.