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American rejected for job teaching English in South Korea because he's black
- Thread starter Dram
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Frozenprince
Banned
It's not even just the media, it's their entire cultural identity.
Can we put the totality of the blame on south koreans? Because this seems like a side effect of the treatment they get on America.
RACE WARSS!
RACE WARSS!
Well, you know, to be fair, there are some pretty white Africans.
Crimson_Gold
Member
What?!?!
Like, a racial tornado? Metaphoric?
I imagine it's fairly difficult for anyone who isn't white, as that is the Western ideal.
Yo, who's going to warn the Koreans?
My roommate in Shanghai constantly complained how he was discriminated, because he was from Africa. A lot of it has to do with Asian culture, how there is this notion that white skin is superior and a sign of higher status in society. People also have harsh opinions and preconceptions on top of that. Many young Chinese people mentioned to me repeatedly how "black people only steal and are bestial" or some such. It is just a fact that racism is going nowhere.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
Honestly the bit about not hiring an Irish person because of perceived drinking habits was much more surprising
Gordon Shumway
Banned
The negro need not apply..
Fuck the person who wrote that right in the throat.
I..I feel like this doesn't belong here?
DontBeThatGuy
Member
lol, shit, they weren't even trying to be subtle about it.
Thread derail bait
Would that constitute as something being taught?
If thats the case, I think I'll have to refuse, I'm far too handsome for that.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
lol..
AcademicSaucer
Member
I blame foreign K-pop/K-drama fangirls.
entremet
Member
East Asians are also pretty racist against pacific rim Asians as well, who tend to have darker complexions.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Especially since Koreans drink twice as much liquor as any other nation.
http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-drink-most-liquor-map-2014-2
Vicetrailia
Member
Wow, it's in their cultural DNA.
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
Welcome to Asia. I'm proud to say that at least the cram school I work for in Japan has employees from Africa, South East Asia and places other than US and UK (obviously minorities from those countries are also considered equally). I've heard stories like this before though.
Tallshortman
Member
No, clearly another country's racism is now also America's fault. It's not even a media thing, old asian people have held these views far before their countries even had mass electronic media.
Also, yeah anyone who knows about SE Asian culture in terms of how they generally view black people will not be surprised by this.
Jaffaboy
Member
Funnily enough, my friend met that girl several times as she'd found another job. Apparently on every one of those occasions she got absolutely fucked lol
shadowfall
Member
That is unfortunate. But would that teacher really want to work where he feels unwelcome?
There is not just racism to black people but to dark skinned people in general. The white obsession in all Asian countries is pretty sad. In India you even have fairness cream for your genitals.
I wonder if there is a place in a world where there is truly racism. Recently found out that Canada has that as well - which I assumed was a lot better than US.
There is not just racism to black people but to dark skinned people in general. The white obsession in all Asian countries is pretty sad. In India you even have fairness cream for your genitals.
I wonder if there is a place in a world where there is truly racism. Recently found out that Canada has that as well - which I assumed was a lot better than US.
um, I still can't give blood in the U.S. Because I'm British.
And I've lived here for twenty years.
Kuro Madoushi
Unconfirmed Member
As someone who taught there years ago, I worked with both a black gigantic male teacher who was adored by his students and who spent the final years of his life there and was subsequently buried there, and a black lesbian teacher who loved her time there and was the subject of adoration despite looking like, in her own words, 'a female Urkel', I'll say this:
1. This article is pretty old
2. This isn't all of Korea
3. East Asia isn't used to multiculturalism like they are in the West. These aren't universal truths or understandings from a group of people who mostly interact with their own race.
That good enough for you?
Kind of an ignorant question, but what happened to your accent?
I'm genuinely curious
Upsidedown Fuji
Member
What as horrible thing to happen to someone so qualified for a position to be turned down due to appearance. This is not acceptable behavior even if you're in an ethnically homogeneous country. No excuses. I hope he finds an even better place to teach/work at than the school that turned him down.
you're a weird bloke.
HORRORSHØW
Member
shit like this saddens and angers me as a korean. i can empathize with mr. jones in a way, being discriminated by koreans because i am heavily tattooed. xenophobia is still deeply ingrained into the korean psyche unfortunately.
DoktorEvil
Banned
Bullshit.
That is clear enough for there not to be miscommunication.
It's upsetting to read PoC Americans being treated like they aren't good enough to represent America.
So yeah, it's not "White Is Right", It's "I think you're like Stereotype X, so we won't hire you".
CrocMother
Banned
I fucking knew someone was going to bring up that storm near Kansas City when I opened the thread. Dammit GAF.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Hey now, I'm sure the southeast Asian brown skin shades would have been fine for them too! At least if they were from a place with an acceptable stereotype...
Phil N DeBlanc
Member
I encountered this as well in China. The EF school I was hired at, the guy running the place asked me to help find more teachers for the school. His stipulation was that I only find "people of quality". Which I initially took as just meaning teachers who weren't there to just screw off. However, when my initial find was turned down I had this stressed to me again, "people of quality". So, upon asking for clarification on just what he meant, I was told, "No black people."
The fear seems to be that a person of color would scare the kids, and that would make parents upset and pull the kids out of the school. The fear of upsetting kids and parents was a main deciding factor on how we did things. Basically boiled down to anything different might be bad, therefore it is bad.
The fear seems to be that a person of color would scare the kids, and that would make parents upset and pull the kids out of the school. The fear of upsetting kids and parents was a main deciding factor on how we did things. Basically boiled down to anything different might be bad, therefore it is bad.
jongkookie
Member
I'm not surprised tbh. My university had a lot of transfer students from Korea and even those people discriminated against Korean-Americans for various reasons. And no, I'm not kidding. It didn't matter to them that you could speak the language at the same level and that you understand the honor system, if people knew you as John Kim instead of Kim Jo-han you're immediately outcasted out of their "social circle."
Hell, the Korean Student Association was one of the most secretive groups on campus. Their posters were all in Korean when the poster "laws" specifically state that it has to relay the same message in English or it won't be accepted. Funny thing was, none of the Korean-American's I knew were part of the KSA. They were in the Asian, Vietnamese or Filipino student group coz none of those groups cared what color you are and what country you came from.
That said, this isn't really limited to Korea... all of Asia seems to hate each other for various reasons.
Hell, the Korean Student Association was one of the most secretive groups on campus. Their posters were all in Korean when the poster "laws" specifically state that it has to relay the same message in English or it won't be accepted. Funny thing was, none of the Korean-American's I knew were part of the KSA. They were in the Asian, Vietnamese or Filipino student group coz none of those groups cared what color you are and what country you came from.
That said, this isn't really limited to Korea... all of Asia seems to hate each other for various reasons.
Aswell, I can tell you first hand as a Black Canadian, racism exists in Canada but our forte is how well we hide it.
HORRORSHØW
Member
fuck those fobs lmao
Not really. If you're white you've kind of won the genetic lottery as far as universal acceptance goes.
Dreams-Visions
Member
[QUOTE="God's Beard!";170622665]Imagine being an 8 year old excited to meet an American for the first time and opening the door to a gorilla.[/QUOTE]
I damn near died laughing.
<3
I damn near died laughing.
<3
Doesn't surprise me tbh. Seems like the Far East look down on people with darker skin tones in general. Skin colour is still highly linked with social class and ideas of beauty in many parts of Asia.
I was recently reading some blog accounts that described how people from South Asian countries were treated with contempt whilst living in Hong Kong.
Apparently (Chinese) people won't even sit next to a South Asian person on trains/buses. Landlords will refuse accept tenants if they happen to be south Asian or black. Getting a job as a foreigner is much harder if you're not white.
However if you happen to be a passing tourist, they don't seem to care and will happily take your money.
I was recently reading some blog accounts that described how people from South Asian countries were treated with contempt whilst living in Hong Kong.
Apparently (Chinese) people won't even sit next to a South Asian person on trains/buses. Landlords will refuse accept tenants if they happen to be south Asian or black. Getting a job as a foreigner is much harder if you're not white.
However if you happen to be a passing tourist, they don't seem to care and will happily take your money.
GloriousBagel
Banned
Koreans aren't the only ones that are straight up racist, most Asians for the most part are pretty damn racist.
Dealing with my ex Vietnamese girlfriend''s dad was a nightmare lol
Dealing with my ex Vietnamese girlfriend''s dad was a nightmare lol
DontBeThatGuy
Member
That "the kids are scared of strange foreigners" line is so strange, because first off, a white american is very much foreigner, and secondly, why wouldn't you want to try and put a kibosh on that fear by hiring the very qualified black man and actually giving these kids a legitimate perspective.
Get your shit together, Humans.
Get your shit together, Humans.
MasterOfPastures
Banned
South Korea is the most racially homogeneous country IN THE WORLD. Add a cultural psychology of being historically oppressed/invaded/ravaged, and you get a psyche that is quite resistant to unfamiliarity.
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