Hope you enjoyed our in depth discussion on this topic! Let us know if you have a topic that you'd like for us to discuss on the channel/podcast or any quick questions you'd like for us to cover in shorter videos! 👇🏽
Trinidadian subscriber here! I get that you were directly addressing the Chicago teacher & students (and its all good) but I wanted you to know that you have international subs as well 🤗 Loved all that you said! And while I dont mind being a forever foreigner (Trini 2d bone we say here), the fact that my half-Korean son or daughter will be a foreigner kinda hurts a bit. But if Chinese & Japanese are foreigners, who am I lolz? In relation to what Becky said about English entitlement, there's a quote: "Being smart doesnt make you a better person, it makes you a person who should know better."
All of this helped me when I was in Korea a couple of years ago. The other thing that helped was that I only went to Gangnam once and did not go to the other tourist places. I took the subway and bus instead of taxis, ate a Korean restaurants with no English menus, shopped at smaller grocery stores and lived like an average Korean person. After a while, the coffee shops and restaurants treated me like an average Korean. Once you realize that you are being treated like everyone else, you won't get offended and will see it as a compliment.
SO glad I found this channel. I'm working on my plan for living in South Korea or Japan longterm, this is very informative on culture. The "foreigner" label would have rubbed me the wrong way, it makes sense not to absorb that as a negative statement.
Excellent video. Yes, definitely all the tips and guidance that you both gave is 100% applicable for approaching people in any country. Good job!!! 👍 Additionally, following the advice that you give usually results in understanding your own culture better. Or if you don't understand it better, at least you will come out of the experience with an awareness that you never had before.
Just subscribed bc it is so refreshing to listen to an intellectual conversation and reflections instead of the usual ‘superficial dribble’ (totally mu perspective from my own world view😊) of K-pop, favorite food etc. Well done!
Also interesting point about different countries and their own views towards history and war. This really hit home when in Vietnam I learned that they call it the “American war” whilst we in the West refer to it as the “Vietnam war”.
i became interested in korea three years ago and yes it is always good to learn about korea's history i have learned from documentary and historical korean dramas i have not been to korea but i hope one day thanks for the video
Becky you look more and more beautiful every video and you two bring up so many good points. But did you have to bursts our bubbles on Korean entertainment lol.
I agree with the need to be able to recognize your own worldview and bias. As an American, I've noticed other Americans or foreigners in Korea immediately interpret anything that they perceive to be negative as due to racism, which leads to antagonistic attitudes towards the culture and people around them. For example, I see foreigners talking loudly on their phones or with others while using public transportation - which is generally not allowed and just inconsiderate (not everyone wants to spend the entire ride hearing about what you ate and the details of your personal life) - and when told to be quieter, they become defiant. Just like losing the entitlement mindset, they should lose the obnoxious victim mindset. Try not to project your own hate/racism based worldview onto another country and culture and be a little less ignorant and self-centered.
Perfect example: I watched the Gwanju (May 18 uprising) documentary and was SHOCKED to learn that America was part of supporting the military that was killing its own citizens because of the protesters attempting to warn people against martial law. I am Puertorican and I’m not ignorant in knowing America has blood on her hands. I can see now that there’s still open wounds of May 18th to this day, and I hear Koreans have their “iffy” thoughts on America and rightfully so.
Could you talk about the korean society where young koreans tend to not marry, have no children/few children, leaving korea for better opportunities cus of the competitiveness in getting a job?
IMHO, yes, this is happening to a certain extent in Korea (but I believe stories of Koreans leaving Korea for better job prospects while true is a bit blown out of proportion by some media outlets). Also, this is not just happening in Korea. It is happening in other Asian and Western countries including the US. It is estimated that the world population will peak in the next couple of decades and then start to decline due to worldwide falling birth rates. The trend toward decreasing populations has already started in some countries.
@@RobinKwonSooHan That could be! I dont live in Korea so the stories is all i have. Thanks for sharing! I know that a lot of other countries have this problem, but as a Korean adoptee I am most interested in Korea :)
@@soundslikenostalgia I totally understand and get where you are coming from. As a Korean adoptee myself (from the US), from time to time I wondered what Korea was like. Now, having lived in Korea for 6 years, I can honestly say that a lot of the stuff you see on RUclips is click-bait and unnuanced, reductive interpretations of Korea. This couple does a good job of sifting through all of that noise, but since they are not Korean adoptees, their experiences (and even perspectives) are a bit different from what a large portion of the returning Korean adoptees experience (I base this on my own experience and those of other adoptees I've heard from or read). On top of this, Korean adoptees (and perhaps this is obvious) have individuated experiences of returning to Korea, so every experience (adoptee or not) is unique. I apologize for being too wordy here. It's a pet peeve of mine when people use reductive, uncritical thinking to explain a whole culture/society. Anyways, hopefully you will get a chance someday to visit. Are you on the Korean Adoptee Facebook page? It's a good way to find out more about Korean culture from a Korean adoptee perspective. Also, I am currently doing research on Korean historical consciousness and the development of Korean (news) media as an influence in the lives of returning Korean adoptees to Korea. I can recommend you some books if you want to know more about the Korean adoptee experience in Korea...just let me know :)
@@RobinKwonSooHan Could you link me the facebook page? I will probably visit Korea next summer for exhange program. Hopefully the pandemic is tolerable then :) Perhaps it was my bad.. i could have been more precise with my comment, but i really didnt think much of it haha. Just posted some thoughts i was thinking of.
@@soundslikenostalgia No worries...I'm sure they appreciate your comment...as far as the facebook page, I think if you just go to facebook and use the search function for "Korean Adoptees" you'll be able to find it quite easily :)
Hope you enjoyed our in depth discussion on this topic! Let us know if you have a topic that you'd like for us to discuss on the channel/podcast or any quick questions you'd like for us to cover in shorter videos! 👇🏽
Trinidadian subscriber here!
I get that you were directly addressing the Chicago teacher & students (and its all good) but I wanted you to know that you have international subs as well 🤗
Loved all that you said! And while I dont mind being a forever foreigner (Trini 2d bone we say here), the fact that my half-Korean son or daughter will be a foreigner kinda hurts a bit. But if Chinese & Japanese are foreigners, who am I lolz?
In relation to what Becky said about English entitlement, there's a quote: "Being smart doesnt make you a better person, it makes you a person who should know better."
All of this helped me when I was in Korea a couple of years ago. The other thing that helped was that I only went to Gangnam once and did not go to the other tourist places. I took the subway and bus instead of taxis, ate a Korean restaurants with no English menus, shopped at smaller grocery stores and lived like an average Korean person. After a while, the coffee shops and restaurants treated me like an average Korean. Once you realize that you are being treated like everyone else, you won't get offended and will see it as a compliment.
Find you someone who looks at you the way Becky looks at Cedric
SO glad I found this channel. I'm working on my plan for living in South Korea or Japan longterm, this is very informative on culture. The "foreigner" label would have rubbed me the wrong way, it makes sense not to absorb that as a negative statement.
Excellent video. Yes, definitely all the tips and guidance that you both gave is 100% applicable for approaching people in any country. Good job!!! 👍 Additionally, following the advice that you give usually results in understanding your own culture better. Or if you don't understand it better, at least you will come out of the experience with an awareness that you never had before.
Excellent! TY....
all the student will watch
Just subscribed bc it is so refreshing to listen to an intellectual conversation and reflections instead of the usual ‘superficial dribble’ (totally mu perspective from my own world view😊) of K-pop, favorite food etc. Well done!
Also interesting point about different countries and their own views towards history and war. This really hit home when in Vietnam I learned that they call it the “American war” whilst we in the West refer to it as the “Vietnam war”.
Full respect.. few videos and you show maturity and serious approach diet and deep
i became interested in korea three years ago and yes it is always good to learn about korea's history i have learned from documentary and historical korean dramas i have not been to korea but i hope one day thanks for the video
Koreans are so much fun, blasian are also awesome people.
Becky you look more and more beautiful every video and you two bring up so many good points. But did you have to bursts our bubbles on Korean entertainment lol.
I agree with the need to be able to recognize your own worldview and bias. As an American, I've noticed other Americans or foreigners in Korea immediately interpret anything that they perceive to be negative as due to racism, which leads to antagonistic attitudes towards the culture and people around them. For example, I see foreigners talking loudly on their phones or with others while using public transportation - which is generally not allowed and just inconsiderate (not everyone wants to spend the entire ride hearing about what you ate and the details of your personal life) - and when told to be quieter, they become defiant. Just like losing the entitlement mindset, they should lose the obnoxious victim mindset. Try not to project your own hate/racism based worldview onto another country and culture and be a little less ignorant and self-centered.
👏🏽👏🏽
Perfect example: I watched the Gwanju (May 18 uprising) documentary and was SHOCKED to learn that America was part of supporting the military that was killing its own citizens because of the protesters attempting to warn people against martial law. I am Puertorican and I’m not ignorant in knowing America has blood on her hands. I can see now that there’s still open wounds of May 18th to this day, and I hear Koreans have their “iffy” thoughts on America and rightfully so.
I am korean but Living in america is better for me. I am awed of how you can live in korea.
Could you talk about the korean society where young koreans tend to not marry, have no children/few children, leaving korea for better opportunities cus of the competitiveness in getting a job?
IMHO, yes, this is happening to a certain extent in Korea (but I believe stories of Koreans leaving Korea for better job prospects while true is a bit blown out of proportion by some media outlets). Also, this is not just happening in Korea. It is happening in other Asian and Western countries including the US. It is estimated that the world population will peak in the next couple of decades and then start to decline due to worldwide falling birth rates. The trend toward decreasing populations has already started in some countries.
@@RobinKwonSooHan That could be! I dont live in Korea so the stories is all i have. Thanks for sharing! I know that a lot of other countries have this problem, but as a Korean adoptee I am most interested in Korea :)
@@soundslikenostalgia I totally understand and get where you are coming from. As a Korean adoptee myself (from the US), from time to time I wondered what Korea was like. Now, having lived in Korea for 6 years, I can honestly say that a lot of the stuff you see on RUclips is click-bait and unnuanced, reductive interpretations of Korea. This couple does a good job of sifting through all of that noise, but since they are not Korean adoptees, their experiences (and even perspectives) are a bit different from what a large portion of the returning Korean adoptees experience (I base this on my own experience and those of other adoptees I've heard from or read). On top of this, Korean adoptees (and perhaps this is obvious) have individuated experiences of returning to Korea, so every experience (adoptee or not) is unique. I apologize for being too wordy here. It's a pet peeve of mine when people use reductive, uncritical thinking to explain a whole culture/society. Anyways, hopefully you will get a chance someday to visit. Are you on the Korean Adoptee Facebook page? It's a good way to find out more about Korean culture from a Korean adoptee perspective. Also, I am currently doing research on Korean historical consciousness and the development of Korean (news) media as an influence in the lives of returning Korean adoptees to Korea. I can recommend you some books if you want to know more about the Korean adoptee experience in Korea...just let me know :)
@@RobinKwonSooHan Could you link me the facebook page? I will probably visit Korea next summer for exhange program. Hopefully the pandemic is tolerable then :) Perhaps it was my bad.. i could have been more precise with my comment, but i really didnt think much of it haha. Just posted some thoughts i was thinking of.
@@soundslikenostalgia No worries...I'm sure they appreciate your comment...as far as the facebook page, I think if you just go to facebook and use the search function for "Korean Adoptees" you'll be able to find it quite easily :)
I laughed at the Oli London reference
But yes to leave your entitled mentality at home. ✌🏽
Haha I had to sneak it in there 😂