South Korea has a huge population of foreign English teachers that are teaching either in hagwons (after schools) or in the schools as an English teacher. Having so many foreign teachers is Korea's initiative to try and improve the English proficiency of Korea by having a Native English speaker in the classrooms teaching the students, and I think also to force kids to use more English as many foreign teachers don't speak/understand much Korean.
But I feel like as a Korean American, or gyo-po, I have quite a different experience as many other English teachers in Korea. "Invisible Foreigner" is the term that I came up with to describe myself. It's interesting because I walk the streets in my city and ride the buses, and to everyone else I am just another Korean girl. I walk the streets in my small city and see a Caucasian female waiting for her friend in front of the theater, and I see a crowd of random middle school girls flocking to her to just say "Hello." My perspective of how I view this country and culture may be similar to that same Caucasian female, but to the eyes of Koreans, I may just be another Korean girl that has a weird accent, unique fashion, and interesting habits.
I've had several conversations with my other foreigner friends, and it's interesting sharing experiences because the experiences are so different from each other. I've tried to come up with a conclusion whether I enjoy being a "invisible foreigner" rather than the opposite, but I don't think I will have an answer. There are good and bad traits for both.
Friends say, "I wish Koreans would just stop staring at me sometimes."
I say, "People have no idea I'm from America."
Friends say, "I met an awesome person on the subway today because they wanted to practice English."
I say, "I wish people would know I'm a foreigner to have random conversations."
Friends say, "Today, the cashier and I communicated by using a calculator and body language."
I say, "Today, the cashier got frustrated when I didn't know what she was asking me."
2 comments:
Good luck!
I kinda of know your pain. Since I am half I am always bounced back and forth between "oh you look korean" with people trying to talk in Korean and "really, your korean? I would have never thought. You don't look korean at all." to some people almost being offended that I am only half. It is strange.
To tell you the truth it makes me glad I live in America because I have been told that Half Koreans have a very hard time of it in Korea. Still proud of my culture none the less!
That's exactly how I felt when I was in Mexico, Guatemala, but especially Ecuador. I feel like an outsider everywhere I go, but at the end of the day I like seeing the world from a unique perspective that comes from the way God has made me. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us :)
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