KOREANS ARE RACIST, RUDE AND WORST PART II

(invitation:  VIEW MY ENTRY IN YOUTUBE " I LOVE KOREA, BECAUSE..." VIDEO CONTEST BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA -MOFAT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poNNTVFefJM

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(Continuation of QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: KOREANS ARE RACIST, RUDE AND WORST- I )
( According to : some foreigners who posted at http://www.koreanesl.com.%20and%20jj/ August 19, 2009 at 8:38 am posted in http://www.buhaykorea.com/2009/02/05/teaching-english-to-koreans-online/comment-page-2/#comments)

"Why are Koreans Rude?".
http://rokdrop.com/2007/03/13/why-are-koreans-rude/

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MORE COMMENTS:


Hello, I'm Seeun.

Each of the paragraph are responses to the number mentioned above ( QUESTION AND ANSWERS: Part I ) . And because these are just my opinions, I'm not sure if I'm right or wrong. Again, this is subjective not objective.

1. Koreans are not racists. Well, it could be possible that some native speakers might think Koreans are racists. But, this isn't true.

Korea attracted the world's attention mostly from about thirty years ago due to its rapid economic development and in other words a lot of Koreans also began to have chances to meet and to experience the new things and new people. That's why young generations are familiar with international matters but not many of the old generations are familiar with exoticism. However, it doesn't mean that elders are racists. So I hope you don't get the wrong idea from this.

2. I'm a Korean student and to be honest I have no clue why native speakers stated that Korean students are the worst. I'm right now living in Korea but I had lived in the states for two years too. Seen from my experience, I think Korean students can be divided into two groups:

1)students who are very eager to learn and study and

2)students who are not interested in studying and just do their work without any purpose because their teachers or parents told them to do so.

Aren't the students the same in other countries too? And... if the fact Korean students are the worst is true, I, a Korean student, would not even put my effort to fix the wrong conception that other eople have for the Korean students. Because I don't know on what standards the native speakers considered Korean managers to be the worst, I cannot respond to this question properly. However, if the manager put someone as a replace on the phone, I think there might be three options to think of: 1) the caller did not call the one whom he or she wanted to speak to and that's why the manager connected the caller to the 'right' manager, 2) the manger is in meeting, and 3) the manager does not want to work at all. (if the native speakers are mentioning about type 3 manager, whoever the manager is, he or she has to be fired in my opinion)

3. I think I little bit understanding why the native speakers would think in that way. Imagine that you have a lot of people around you in a foreign country but you don't actually have a person who can really share your emotion or feeling with. Different culture might lead the native speakers to think that Koreans are reluctant to make foreign friends but this isn't true. When I was in the states, I also had the fear that I might not make any friends in the states because I couldn't speak English, experiencing different culture seemed to be very scarry, and it was the first time for me to be alone among a lot of foreigners. But after I decided to learn American's culture and hang out with people who could understand me and whom I could understand, everything was gradually changing. So I think because of this kind of fear, a lot of Koreans in other countries are struggling to make friendship with the native speakers. But once they open their mind, I'm sure things are going to be changed. Not only Koreans, I guess a lot of cosmopolitans also have the same problem when they're in a foreign country because even in Korea I see a lot of foreigners in Korea seem to encounter with this problem too.

4. I think I mentioned about this on number two. Therefore, I will not state again.

5. I'm not sure what kind of business ethics they are talking about. But thinking of some moral things related with business, some points might seem to be very strange to foreigners. In Korea, when you fill up your application form, basically you need to give every detail information to a firm. So taking one example, you have to attach your photo or picture on the application form so that the juries or people who select the workers of a firm know how you look. I've heard that this is very segregated and very unfair to foreigners' thoughts. And I too, think that this isn't a good system to conduct for the preparatory workers. However, unfortunately you need to attach your photo if you want to work in Korea because most of the companies conduct this system. And in the company, there are more male workers than female workers as far as I know because women have to manage housechore and company work simultaneously. However this trend is now becoming old fashioned and firms are now trying to select many female workers too. Besides, these facts I personally think that overall business ethics are good and Korea tries to support one of the best business ethics as the world is globalized.

6. I don't know on what standards the English teachers use word 'polite' and 'understanding.' And since I'm Korean not Japanese I don't know if Japanese people are the most polite and understanding when taking English classes. I guess it just depends on the students the teachers had.


P.S. I think it could be possible that some native speakers might describe Koreans in somewhat a negative way. As you know,nothing can be perfect in this world. However, I can definitely say that most Koreans are very kind and humane because they are the ones who love to share what's so called '정情'-'human affection.' With these responses, I hope people's conception will gradually change in a positive way and thank you for your e-mail.


Sincerely,

Seeun Yim

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Hi, I read your blog and found it quite interesting. My name is Diane, and I'm currently not in korea- I'm studying biology in a Canadian university named Queen's. I don't completely disagree with what you've said-( by: JJ) about how Koreans are racist and such. However, I think that it's not just about Koreans because there are many kinds of people out there in the world. Being out here in America since middle school have given me many opportunities to meet various kinds of people and share many experiences with them. In America, even though everyone's supposed to 'tolerate' differences between one another, I've met many people who were racists- and they were not Koreans- surprise~! Also, even when working or volunteering, I found many people frustrating to work with because they were unethical, selfish, or lack sensitivity toward others...see, what I'm trying to say is the issues you talked about is not just about 'koreans'. it's about people in general. I think it's not logical to say that koreans are not ethical in general and such- how would they be working abroad and be successful if their nature was unethical? People from other countries wouldn't work with them or even face them!I think it's about individual differences and how mature they are. From your ( by: JJ) passage, I could see how ( he) you were frustrated with your work experience in korea with some nasty koreans. I guess they weren't treating you right. Hope your experience in korea will be more pleasant this year and meet some genuine people to show you the warmth of our culture and people.

contributed by: Diane Lim

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