Pure Race

In my textbook, in every chapter, there is a cartoon about a dog. The dog – named Sujae - learns English by context. Sujae writes a letter and mails it to his friend’s web address; he gets confused when all the other dogs play hide-and-seek; he shows up to a potluck dinner expecting a pot of gold. (He’s a bit dim.) In the current chapter we’re studying, he’s walking through a park and meets another dog wearing a funny hat. “Oh, he’s from Nigeria,” says Sujae. This bubble is followed by another that is filled with “!#@$#%$@^%#^,” which, to me, looks like he’s swearing at the other dog. But, the other dog speaks, saying, “What did you say? Do you speak English?” Sujae is surprised that the other dog speaks English better than he does, even though the other dog is from Nigeria.

So, what do the kids learn from this comic strip? My coworker faithfully explains it every time, “people in Africa speak English better than people in Korea.” Interesting. Then, she goes on to explain that people in South East Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam) speak English better than people in East Asia (China, Korea, Japan). When we returned to the office after class, she proudly told me that Korean people speak English better than the Japanese – and then she emphasized that it was an American reporter who said so. (I’ll let Paul discuss that one.)

Last week, in my teacher’s class (both Paul and I teach classes to our coworkers as well as our students), we read a piece on foreigners in Korea. For a long time, the only foreigners living in Korea were the American soldiers; but in recent years, in the midst of Korea’s economic boom, more foreigners have come – not just native English teachers, but Thais and other internationals who come to work in factories for low wages and poor working conditions. My coworker explained to me that though many foreigners come here and marry Koreans, none of our students had a foreign parent. “How do you know?” I asked. I wondered if it was a question on their admissions application.

“Thais have dark skin, large eyes, are short, and speak English very well,” she explained. “Koreans have light skin and smaller eyes, and big noses,” (I think she meant flat noses). “But some of our students have dark skin,” I said, quickly clarifying that they had darker skin than she. “Yes, but Thais are very dark,” she said.

We continued our conversation, and while I was intrigued, I also felt like I was walking on eggshells. I asked about some of the problems Koreans face regarding foreigners. “They come to Korea, and marry Korean men.” Korean women then have a problem finding husbands. But intermarriage points to a much larger problem in a Korean’s mind.

Koreans believe that they – along with the Jews – are the only pure race in the world. How this fits with the fact that the Chinese and Japanese have raped women in Korea – and occupied the country - throughout history, I’m not really sure. But the Koreans are sure, and I suppose that’s what’s important. Intermarrying with other races will put an end to their racial purity. When our married friends Kevin and Brenda explain that not all of their parents were born in Germany, the students proclaim, “mixed blood!!”

Pure race. Mixed blood. Just the words are enough to make us feel uneasy, and yet, they’re so proud…