The More I Know . . .

Foreigners in Korea are pretty much in the dark as to the “real” Korea. This is often not too bad, as it somehow protects us from the magmatic atmosphere, that is Korea, and not the "Sparkling Korea" presented to tourists. To be honest, the more I learn about Korea, the more I am thankful that I did not grow up Korean. The lives of Koreans are difficult from a surprisingly early age and it doesn’t seem to improve much, until you reach a very advanced age when you can basically fall back on your seniority.

One thing that foreigners are often ignorant about is the violent crimes in Korea. Most of us feel that it is very safe—and sure, compared to South Africa or the Bronx, I guess it is. However, Korea is not free of violent crimes. Read the following post by a Korean-American (I think) now living in Korea and trying to figure out the country of his origin: “Korea is an Angry, Toxic Society.”

The main points from What If I Stumble’s post is that Koreans pent up their anger and frustration until one day when they snap and go berserk. In Korean society, like many Asian societies, keeping face is valued tremendously. Furthermore, the hierarchical system is so engrossed into society that anyone with seniority over you (be it in rank or age) can basically arbitrarily #$@! on you, and you just have to take it. Not "taking it," is a sign of disrespect and weakness. Those that cannot take it either snap and kill someone, as the post by What If I Stumble attests, or they snap and kill themselves. Korea has the highest suicide rate among the OECD countries, having surpassed Japan last year.

Foreigners function in a mostly liminal space in Korea where the arbitrary rules of society are a bother, often a serious irritation, but seldom so terrible that murder or suicide is considered. The big difference for foreigners is probably that we know that we have an alternative. We do not need to be in Korea; we can go back to our countries of origin or find a haven somewhere else. For Koreans “escaping” is not that easy.