Multicultural Communities in Seoul

[Marin85]

can some koreans from the 3-4 biggest cities tell me how are we europeans (no britons) considered in Korea?
i suppose there is no prejudicies about us, right? but i'm more concerned how do koreans cope with us, do people like to hang out with europeans?
is people interested in meeting a new culture or do there is some mistrust towards foreigners?

when i was studing in Russia the past summer i met really a lot of koreans there, and i liked very much them, very nice people, and so different from other east asians!
but of course these were people studing foreign cultures so it's quite obvious they were open (well, it was not the case with chinese there for example, but japanese were also quite open, despite them being extraterrestrials ),
how is people in the streets?

and i would like also an opinion by foreigners living there, what do you think about koreans? are they as easy going as my first impression tells, or are they (let's say) like japanese, very conformist? is korean society more relaxed then japanese?

[Gag Halfrunt]

Originally Posted by Koreansentry

Interesting, in other countries, ethnic people are still banned from joining police and military.

Which other countries? It's certainly not true in the UK.

[Koreansentry]

Originally Posted by Marin85

can some koreans from the 3-4 biggest cities tell me how are we europeans (no britons) considered in Korea?
i suppose there is no prejudicies about us, right? but i'm more concerned how do koreans cope with us, do people like to hang out with europeans?
is people interested in meeting a new culture or do there is some mistrust towards foreigners?

when i was studing in Russia the past summer i met really a lot of koreans there, and i liked very much them, very nice people, and so different from other east asians!
but of course these were people studing foreign cultures so it's quite obvious they were open (well, it was not the case with chinese there for example, but japanese were also quite open, despite them being extraterrestrials ),
how is people in the streets?

and i would like also an opinion by foreigners living there, what do you think about koreans? are they as easy going as my first impression tells, or are they (let's say) like japanese, very conformist? is korean society more relaxed then japanese?

Japanese society is still very much not open.
Here is why.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/...070200523.html

http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/...aid_sign02.jpg

http://www.japanreview.net/review_arudou_and_lazlo.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6vCjqJ9U7k

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_ml...512_index.html

Just because you love Japan doesn't mean Japan loves you
http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=27656

[Koreansentry]

Originally Posted by Gag Halfrunt

Which other countries? It's certainly not true in the UK.

Japan, New Zealand & Russia.
There are more countries, I'll leave that for you to search.

[Sister Ray]

Originally Posted by Koreansentry

Japan, New Zealand & Russia.
There are more countries, I'll leave that for you to search.

My friend, I fear you are woefully misinformed.

The New Zealand police force is actively recruiting migrants.

Specifically, Chinese and Koreans. There are large numbers of Chinese and Korean immigrants in NZ. Frequently these immigrants have poor or no English. Thus native Mandarin/Cantonese/Korean speaking officers are hot property.

[Sister Ray]

Originally Posted by Koreansentry

Japanese society is still very much not open.

I find all North East Asian countries share this problem.

[Koreansentry]

Originally Posted by Sister Ray

I find all North East Asian countries share this problem.

Problem is actually universal, at least I expect Japan to be more open than South Korea, but it's not.

Japan have large number of Korean ethnics and they are still being discriminated from Japanese locals.

[Marin85]

Originally Posted by Koreansentry

Japanese society is still very much not open.
Here is why.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/...070200523.html

http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/...aid_sign02.jpg

http://www.japanreview.net/review_arudou_and_lazlo.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6vCjqJ9U7k

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_ml...512_index.html

Just because you love Japan doesn't mean Japan loves you
http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=27656

yes, ok, i know the situation in japan, i know their culture enough to realize what i like abot it and what i don't like.
what i'm asking here is only about koreans/korea, because i'm interested in them in this moment

[cydevil]

Originally Posted by Marin85

can some koreans from the 3-4 biggest cities tell me how are we europeans (no britons) considered in Korea?
i suppose there is no prejudicies about us, right? but i'm more concerned how do koreans cope with us, do people like to hang out with europeans?
is people interested in meeting a new culture or do there is some mistrust towards foreigners?

when i was studing in Russia the past summer i met really a lot of koreans there, and i liked very much them, very nice people, and so different from other east asians!
but of course these were people studing foreign cultures so it's quite obvious they were open (well, it was not the case with chinese there for example, but japanese were also quite open, despite them being extraterrestrials ),
how is people in the streets?

and i would like also an opinion by foreigners living there, what do you think about koreans? are they as easy going as my first impression tells, or are they (let's say) like japanese, very conformist? is korean society more relaxed then japanese?

Most Koreans would just assume any Europeans to be Americans. But for hot European women, some may assume Russian. Koreans generally have positive view of European countries according to several polls.

As for hanging out with Europeans, that would depend on the individual. Some would be shy, while others would be forthcoming.

[racetraitor]

Originally Posted by cydevil

Most Koreans would just assume any Europeans to be Americans. But for hot European women, some may assume Russian. Koreans generally have positive view of European countries according to several polls.

As for hanging out with Europeans, that would depend on the individual. Some would be shy, while others would be forthcoming.

That's pretty well right. When I'm unshaven, sometimes I get mistaken for a Russian. Basically, you don't want to be mistaken for a Russian. If you're a woman, they're asking if you're a prostitute, and if you're a man they're asking if you're dirt poor.

There are a lot of weird little cross-cultural landmines here, but for the most part Koreans around Seoul are generally not too interested in the presence of foreigners.

[Koreansentry]

Korea now have over 1 million foreign residents living in South Korea for long term.

1.1 Million Foreigners Live in Korea
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news...116_49665.html





Among about 1.1 million, the largest group came from China with 624,994 (56.5 percent), 443,566 or 71 percent of whom were ethnic Koreans. Korean-Chinese residents accounted for 40.1 percent of all foreign residents here, accounting for 41.4 percent of all unnaturalized foreign residents and 57.6 percent of all naturalized citizens.

Immigrants from Southeast Asia accounted for 21.2 percent, followed by those from the U.S. (5.4 percent), South Asia (3.9 percent), Japan (2.4 percent), Taiwan and Mongolia (2.1 percent), and Central Asia (1.8 percent).

[waterloo]

Originally Posted by Koreansentry

Among about 1.1 million, the largest group came from China with 624,994 (56.5 percent), 443,566 or 71 percent of whom were ethnic Koreans. Korean-Chinese residents accounted for 40.1 percent of all foreign residents here, accounting for 41.4 percent of all unnaturalized foreign residents and 57.6 percent of all naturalized citizens.

I always thought, shouldnt we exclude the Joseonjok/Chaoxianzu from the data?

[lucy.ice85]

i like this

[Koreansentry]

Originally Posted by waterloo

I always thought, shouldnt we exclude the Joseonjok/Chaoxianzu from the data?

You are right about that, the real data should exclude all Korean ethnics that came from China, Japan, Central Asia, Russia and America. Many Korean ethnics are coming back to Korea now.

These large Chinese residents inside of Korea are mostly Korean ethnic or Korean descendants. I've personally met couple of 1/2 & 1/4 Koreans from China. Even with Chinese mix, they do look alot closer to Korean than Chinese.

[dhuwman]

I think it all boils down to citizenship, because it's one of the most objective criteria to look at things. I mean if someone of Korean origin is a 4th or a 3rd or heck even a 2nd generation diaspora and possess a very limited Korean command and shares very little mindset with an average Korean, do you really consider that individual a Korean?

[Koreansentry]

Yes, if they take Korean citizenship then they can be Korean, after all they are genetically Korean as well.

[flesh_is_weak]

my questions may sound stupid, but i'll ask anyway ㅋㅋ

what's the general opinion held by Seoulites (and Koreans in general) regarding foreigners from SE Asia currently living in Korea? and would they be treated any different if they happen to be citizens of other, much more developed countries (i.e. Canada)?

and is it true that some people from SE Asian countries--especially from my home country, The Philippines--are (illegally) working in ESL schools in Korea?

I'm actually considering the thought of spending a year (or two) in Korea, although I'm still not ready to dive in right now

[Koreansentry]

Good or bad for Korea?

Increasing Number of Foreign Husbands in Daegu
Original article: http://www.chosun.com/site/data/html...080501216.html

Translation by Korea Beat

In recent years the number of male foreign marriage immigrants has been rapidly increasing in the Daegu area.

Daegu City announced on the 5th that it surveyed foreign residents last May, finding that of the 4,965 marriage immigrants, the 408 male foreign marriage immigrants made up 8.2% of the total.

That is a rapid increase from the 291 male foreign marriage immigrants present in 2007 and the 382 present in 2008.

Of those 408, 55 have already taken Korean citizenship via their marriages, the survey found.

The total number of foreign marriage immigrants increased by 3,809 in 2007 and 4,436 in 2008.

The number of foreign residents in Daegu this year stood at 25,424, an increase of 2,602, or 11.4%, from last year.

10,211 are foreign laborers, 2,965 are marriage immigrants, 3,040 are international students, 3,656 are children of foreign residents, 782 are overseas Koreans, and 2,770 are miscellaneous foreigners.

Foreign laborers and international students reached the numbers of 10,000 and 3,000, respectively, for the first time this year.

By citizenship, 43.6%, or 11,081 are Chinese (including ethnic Koreans), followed by 7,733 Southeast Asians (30.4%), 1,657 South Asians (6.5%), and 1,387 Americans (5.4%).

8,179 reside in Dalsu-gu, which has many industrial complexes or universities, followed by 5,032 living in Buk-gu, and 2,845 living Dalseong-gun.

A Daegu City employee said, “with marriage immigrants continually increasing in number, the children of foreigners and Koreans are increasingly rapidly.”

Foreign Wives Outnumber Foreign Husbands
Original article: http://www.chosun.com/site/data/html...080600231.html

Translation by Korea Beat:

A study has found that among marriage immigrants resident in Korea, foreign women married to Korean men outnumber foreign husbands married to Korean women by seven to one.

“Marriage immigrant” means people who marry Koreans and live in Korea but do not change their citizenship, continuing to hold foreign citizenship.

On the 6th the Korea Immigration Service (출입국ㆍ외국인 정책본부) published its June statistics, according to which there over 126,000 foreigners married to Koreans and living in Korea, and over 110,000 of them are women, seven times the figure of 15,000-plus men.

A member of the Ministry of Justice said, “it appears that men who have trouble finding a wife and work in factories or on farms are frequently finding brides from overseas.”

The places in the country with the most foreign spouses are the Danwon-gu area of Ansan City (2,797), and in Seoul the Yeongdeungpo-gu area (2,776) and the Guro-gu area (2,357).

The three areas with the fewest foreign spouses are Yongin City in Gyeonggi-do (2), Ulleung-gun in Gyeongsangbuk-do (9), and Ongjin-gu in Incheon City (20). There are 671 in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu.

There are over 32,000 in Gyeonggi-do, over 29,000 in Seoul, over 7,000 in both Gyeongsangnam-do and Incheon City, and over 6,000 in both Gyeongsangbuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do.

Over 68,000 (54%) are Chinese, of whom over 34,000 are of Korean descent.

The Chinese are followed by the over 29,000 Vietnamese (23% of the total), over 6,200 Filipinos (5%), over 4,900 Japanese (3.9%), over 2,800 Cambodians (2.3%), over 2,300 Mongolians (1.8%), over 2,000 Thais (1.7%), over 1,500 Americans (1.3%), and over 1,400 Uzbekistanis (1.1%).

Another 55, amounting to less than 1% of the total, are from the United Kingdom, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Peru, Belorussia, and Bolivia.

Although in 2007 the order was “China-Vietnam-Japan-Phillippines”, last year the order was “China-Vietnam-Phillippines-Japan” with marriage immigrants from The Phillippines exceeding those from Japan.

A member of the Ministry of Justice said, “in the 1980s there were many Japanese women who married Koreans through the Unification Church (통일교) and other Christian organizations, but in the early 1990s, after the establishment of Korea-China relations, Chinese people really began coming here for marriage, and in the mid-1990s Filipinos, Thais, and Mongolians began coming, and now we are seeing more diverse groups including Vietnamese.”

[dhuwman]

I'm all for diversity

[moshiso17]

프랑스가 '이슬람 공화국' 된다?

'39년 안에 프랑스 는 '이슬람 공화국'이 될 것이다. 네덜란드 는 15년 안에 인구의 반을 무슬림이 차지한다. 독일 은 2050년 '무슬림 국가'가 된다….'

최근 인터넷 동영상 사이트 유튜브에 서 조회 수가 1000만 건을 넘어서며 폭발적인 인기를 누린 동영상 '무슬림의 인구 통계(Muslim Demographics)' 내용이다. 이 동영상은 "유럽의 출산율 증가는 무슬림 이민자들에 의한 것"이라며, "이슬람은 유럽에서 칼과 총, 폭탄 테러 없이 승리하게 된다"고 주장한다. 영국 BBC방송은 이 동영상이 주장하는 이슬람 비중에 관한 수치들은 대부분 과장됐다고, 지난 7일 보도했다.

그러나 영국 의 데일리 텔레그래프가 EU(유럽연합) 내 회원국들의 인구통계자료를 분석한 결과, "2050년이면 EU 내 무슬림의 수가 20%까지 급증할 것"이라고 보도했다. 작년 EU 회원국 내 무슬림 인구는 전체의 5%에 불과했다.


이미 벨기에 브뤼셀에서 태어나는 남자아이의 이름으로 가장 많은 7개 중에는 모하메드(Mohamed), 아윱(Ayoub), 메흐디(Mehdi), 함자(Hamza) 등 이슬람 이름이 절반을 넘는다.

스페인 에선 전체 인구에서 외국에서 태어난 이민자 비율이 1998년 3.2%에서 2007년에는 13.4%로 증가했다. 프랑스의 마르세유와 네덜란드의 로테르담은 전체 인구에서 무슬림이 25%에 달한다. 런던 · 파리 · 코펜하겐 등의 주요도시도 10%에 이른다.

인구의 90% 이상이 가톨릭 신자인 오스트리아 의 경우, 2050년에는 15세 이하 인구의 대부분이 무슬림으로 바뀌게 된다.

이 런 유럽의 인구학적 변화는 교육·주택·복지·노동·예술 등 다양한 분야에서 상당한 영향을 미칠 것으로 보인다. 데일리 텔레그래프는 "만약 EU의 정책결정자들이 이런 인구 변화에 대해 충분히 논의하지 않을 경우, 이것은 '시한폭탄'이 될 수도 있다"고 보도했다. 미국 에서는 EU 내 무슬림 증가가 외교 정책에도 영향을 끼칠 수 있다고 판단해, 관련 보고서가 미 공군에 제출됐다. 독일에선 터키 이민자들을 반영한 선거법 개정이 진행 중이다.

http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/new...newssetid=1270