[KS] anti-Americanism in ROK

[J.Scott Burgeson]

Political dynamics of anti-Americanism in Korea aside,
I really want to object to some of the advice
proferred about avoiding conflict in public here. Many
people have commented (here and elsewhere) that they
know of foreigners who were minding their own business
and then were attacked or accosted by locals for no
apparent reason. I just want to say that minding your
own business here just isn't good enough! As a
foreigner here, you will attract attention whether you
want to or not. The point is how do you return that
attention? If you just ignore it, some locals will
find that attitude standoffish and feel insulted or
provoked by it and want to do something about it. But
if you pay attention and accept it and deal with it,
you'll be amazed at how few problems you have here.
Some people have talked about how the No. 1 Seoul
subway line is a danger spot for foreigners,
particularly at night. Well, two weeks ago I was
riding that line at midnight with my Korean girlfriend
who is 15 years younger than me--she looks like a
college student (because she is) while I clearly look
like I'm in my thirties. We were holding hands and
whispering in each other's ear and laughing and
sitting very close, all the while surrounded by
drunken ajosshi's everywhere. Yet there was no problem
at all because as soon as we sat down, I looked at
them briefly, simply to acknowledge their presence,
and that was enough. In other words, I acknowledged
them, rather than being superior and pretending that
their stares or attention weren't important to me. And
that was enough, after a second they ignored us and
that was that. When I was in Port Moresby in PNG two
years ago, a very dangerous city with armed guards
everywhere, I did the same thing--I nodded at people
in the streets, acknowledged them by making very brief
eye contact or whataver, and that was enough to make a
lot of people smile back at me, say hello or just be
friendly. Meanwhile, the few middle-aged Aussie
businessmen I saw in the streets there were strutting
around like lords of the place in their suits and
haughty attitudes, ignoring everyone, and I'm not at
all surprised that some of them got mugged or ripped
off--they didn't even have the energy to acknowledge
the locals as real people. And isn't that what all
this pan-mi demonstration in Korea is about--desire
for acknowledgement? Again, I cannot stress enough
that minding your business here in Korea ISN'T GOOD
ENOUGH! It's all about interacting with people and
engaging them rather that ignoring them, which is what
"minding your own business" means. Assume that
everyone is looking at you even if you can't see them
looking at you (because they often are). And if
someone checks you out directly, check them out in
return and ACKNOWLEDGE THEM! All politics is local,
isn't it? By acknowledging people on a personal level,
maybe that's enough to satisfy in a minor, intimate
way their desire for political acknowledgement on an
"international" level--at least long enough to avoid
any sticky situations, which is what everyone here is
talking about, right?
   --Scott Bug 

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