Source: KoreanClass101.com

Whether you realize it or not, you've played the foreigner card. Anytime you've gotten away with something that a Korean couldn't. Anytime you've done something that a Korean couldn't - or wouldn't. Sometimes it's played for you - anytime a local treats you different because of your foreigner nature, the foreigner card has come into play. Not knowing the language may be one excuse, while not knowing local customs / traditions may be another.

But what exactly are we talking about here?

We're talking about differential treatment - sometimes better, sometimes worse - that foreigners get in Korea because they're foreigners. You may be given a free pass on getting out of a 회식 (hoe-sik, or after dinner party, usually with copious amounts of alcohol) that your Korean co-workers would never get. You might be offered something that a local thinks you might need - some advice, some directions, etc. At the same time, differential treatment is what enables a taxi driver to take the long way to your destination (if there are Koreans being ripped off by Korean taxi drivers, I'd love to hear!), and any number of other unfair practices.

I should take a step back here. After two years and six months in what was once a super-xenophobic country, I can count the number of truly discriminatory cases on one hand - and have a finger left over. At least one can be credited to my lack of knowledge (not knowing it was illegal for the driver to quote me a rate instead of turning on his meter), but the others? They're in the past, and they're not worth bringing up again.

There aren't too many situations where the foreigner card is truly beneficial, and the longer you've been in Korea the less you need it. If you've been in Korea for any length of time, you already know not to sit in the smaller sections of the subway (the ones meant for senior citizens, pregnant women, and so on). You already know to be deferential to older people (although where you draw the line is almost certainly different). When do you actually need the foreigner card?

The acid test

The acid test seems to be thus: Is playing the foreigner card needed for a genuine benefit, to avoid a loss or problem, or just to f*ck with a local? Not giving up my subway seat to an belligerent ajosshi (older man) when other seats are close by? Fine, or reasonable. Not moving over one empty seat to allow a couple to sit together? Probably unreasonable, unless scooting over that one seat puts me next to the aforementioned belligerent ajosshi.

Gord Sellar recently asked who would police "small percentage of elderly people who are completely aggressive jerks, and possibly mentally ill? The young people can't, and their elderly peers either can’t or don’t dare.” In a word? Foreigners! Under the totem pole of Confucianist relationships, our place is either the lowest of the low (as an outsider with few or no relationships to the local population), or without a place in the system at all. I would argue we have nothing to lose by standing our ground. We have no face to lose, and unless we're with a Korean or know the language, you can safely ignore whatever may come out of their mouths.

The aggressive ones can be dealt with (whether male or female) in many of the same ways they attempt to garner a seat or a better position: a push-aside, a shove, or perhaps even an elbow should the need arise. Shaming them into submission is unlikely to work - how many drunken ajosshis have you seen pissing on the street in full view of anyone walking by?

In closing, let me say that I do (as a general rule) respect older people - when they're being / acting respectable. That drunken ajosshi trying to score a free English class gets little respect, but the lady needing help with her groceries gets a helping hand.

I can't say the foreigner card has come in really handy for me - has it for you?

Readers, when have you played the foreigner card?

© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.