Korean Generalizations About Foreigners

In high school and university English classes my teachers and professors often warned us to be careful in using the words ‘always,’ ‘never,’ ‘all,’ and ‘none’ in our writing.  There are very few absolutes in this world, and most statements have exceptions.  Korean and Japanese people live by generalizations, especially when it comes to other cultures.  It can’t be blamed just on lazy thinking.  Having a very “us-versus-them” mentality about the world, makes it easy for them to accept even the most obviously ridiculous generalizations.  If I had a dollar for every generalization I’ve had to refute, especially when I taught adults, I’d have a nice little pile of extra money stashed away. 

“All Americans are fat.” - Am I fat? No? Then not all. Use ‘some.’ Also, not all Koreans are slim, right?  So that sentence isn’t even necessary.  And, ‘fat’ is rude, it’s more polite to say ‘overweight.’

“All foreigners are violent.” - Am I violent? Have you ever seen me or any of the other foreign teachers at this school have a fight with anyone? No?  You said that because you watched some drunk, American soldiers fighting in Itaewon on the news, right?  If you must, it’s more correct to say those drunk, American soldiers are violent.  Drunk people behave badly everywhere, by the way. [Besides, I don’t recall ever witnessing adult men fighting in the street in the U.S., but adult Korean men fighting was a fairly common occurrence on weekends.]

“All Americans eat hamburguers.” - Many people who try to eat healthy avoid burgers.  They might eat fish and chicken instead. Also, many people, like me, don’t eat any meat. Teachers Amanda and Martha are also vegetarian. The three Americans in this building don’t eat meat. Is it correct to say ‘all Americans?’ "No."  What should we say instead? “Some.”

“All foreigners wear shoes in their houses.” – My mother, who knows very little about Asian culture, and isn’t even interested in coming to visit, hasn’t allowed anyone to wear shoes in the house for as long as I can remember.  Many people in other countries, whether for reasons of cleanliness, or because they don’t want to ruin their hardwood floors or carpets, take off their shoes in the house. So, again, should we say ‘all?’ “No, some.” 

I was asked by the staff of the home for disabled adults I’d worked at through the English village’s Teach Away program, to give a talk about English language and culture.  For the culture segment, I talked about generalizations.  “Kimmy,” my Korean co-teacher, translated.

I said that Koreans often base their ideas about people from other countries on hearsay or on one person they met.  Say, for example, you meet someone who dislikes eggplants.  Is it correct to say that all foreigners hate eggplant?  Eggplant parmesan, baba ganoush, and ratatouille are popular eggplant dishes from other countries.  That means that many people are eating and enjoying them.  That also means that we cannot say that foreigners dislike eggplant based on the one person you met.  Everybody is different. 

Even within a family, people can be very different.  For example, I like strawberries.  (Korean strawberry season is in March, so I had strawberries on the brain.)  My brother hates strawberries.  He doesn’t want strawberry ice cream, strawberry milkshake, strawberry shortcake, nor strawberries and whipped cream.  No strawberries for him, please.  If a Korean met him, learned about his aversion to strawberries, then assumed that all foreigners disliked them, she’d be wrong.  In the same way that if they met me, learned that I liked them, then assumed that all foreigners liked them, she’d be wrong. Every person is different, don’t expect everyone to be just like the person you heard of or met before.  Not even all Koreans are exactly the same, right?  I’m sure you can think of many differences between you and your co-workers or family members.  

The perspective I shared was one they had never considered, so it gave them something to think about.  Hopefully, their future encounters with people of other cultures won’t be fraught with generalizations.   

On our last day teaching there, we said goodbye to the students and staff.  They thanked and wished us well.  As “Kimmy” was about to drive out of the gravel parking lot, one of the staff members ran out of the main building and motioned for us to stop.  Then a second one came running holding a white, plastic bag. “A thank you gift for you, teachers.”  We thanked them, said goodbye again, and drove away.  I was going to wait until we returned to campus to look in the bag, but “Kimmy” was curious, so I opened it.  It was a container of fat, juicy, ripe strawberries.   

2014