The view of an Asian American in Asia...

What it’s like being an Asian American in Asia. So you may think, that’s a weird post. Why is it so different than being just an American in Korea? Surprisingly, it is very different being Asian American than just being Caucasian American over here. So in this post, I will tell you my experience of being an Asian American and the differences of what I have witnessed of my other foreigner friends living over here.

My gorgeous mom and I

So to give you a little more background of my life, I am half Filipino, half American. My mother is Caucasian (but she says she is Filipino in the inside haha) and my father is Filipino (born and raised in the Philippines). I was raised by my mother and so I have only known my American side of the family and culture. I have always been proud of being an Asian and was always interested in learning about the culture, food, music… I love being called a Filipino and everyone knew that. I would always let everyone know back home that I was not just American but I was half Filipino. I was (am) a bit dramatic, so I was very easily offended if people did not know that I was not part Asian. I liked being unique and didn’t want to be considered just American like everyone else I wanted to be called a Filipino (even though I have never been there, do not know the language and my mother is fully Caucasian. Yes, I admitted it I am a bit overly dramatic.) 

We are proud to be Filipinos!

So let’s fast forward to now. 

Being a Filipino American in Korea, at first I didn’t realize it but through this past year and now I have been seeing a very distinct difference in living life over here compared to my Caucasian friends. Being an Asian American I was born with Asian looks; dark hair, round face, flat nose, “Asian” eyes and so on. Being in Korea, appearance is a big deal, if you look like everyone else than you fit in. So looking “more” like them I can blend into the crowds easily (until I open my mouth). I have had many experiences of being mistaken as a Korean. I will give you some examples of what I am talking about. I have been stopped multiple times by Koreans asking about directions (in Korean) and once I give them the look of a deer in the head lights and open my mouth, they realize that I am not Korean. I have even had a teacher come to my school talking to me in Korean and then I told her I was an English teacher she couldn’t believe that I was not a Korean. I had another experience of shopping at a farmers market with Mandy. I was talking to the Ajummas, asking them how much the food was (in Korean) and as we were leaving they asked where Mandy was from and I told her that we are both from America and they couldn’t believe it. They told me that I was Korean because I looked Korean and I could speak it. I have had many more experiences like these but those are a few to give you the idea. When people find out that I am not Korean they never assume that I am from America. They always ask if I am Cambodian (not Filipino…weird). Most people have an idea of what “Americans” are supposed to look like and if I don’t fit into that box I am automatically considered not part of that. I am always proudly informing everyone that I am American and actually get annoyed when people don’t see that. Know remember when I said I love being unique and a bit of a drama queen? Well, here it is again. I am now in Asia and I want to be called an American. What? Why am I so crazy! Haha

Me posing for a picture in Korea

Okay, so now I will tell you the experiences of what it’s like being a Caucasian in Korea. Again, this is just from my observations. I may not be 100% right because I have not experienced it but this is what I have seen while hanging out with my friends. I think the most distinction for us is the appearance part. We are both foreigners and experience the same things when it comes to language, food, culture, and so on. But because appearance is such a big deal over here and not being in a Country with a lot of diversity, blending in is the biggest problem. Like I said earlier, I can blend in more easily. I can walk down the street without anyone paying attention to me. I am just another person in the sea of people. But, if I am walking with my friend every head will turn to look at this “foreigner” person walking. They will most likely get someone using their very minimal English (Hello, How are you…) to them. Privacy is just not thing to them, especially if you live in a smaller country town with very few foreigners. Basically, they can never walk out of the house without being stared at. For most people, they don’t like being the center of attention. They just want to be able to walk down the street without people turning their heads when they pass by or a group of old men saying “hi” every time they pass by.

On the other hand, Koreans love the “American” appearance. If you have blonde hair and blue eyes (Which my very beautiful Bestie does) then you are gorgeous and they will tell you that. Koreans love “American” face features and it is very common to see women and men get plastic surgery to alter their eye lids or noses. Mandy is always being told by people here how they love her blonde hair, blue eyes (they ask if she is wearing contacts haha), her nose and apparently her head size? They are also very blunt when they talk about her so that can take a lot of people by surprise and take time to get used to. Me on the other hand do not get those comments. I get, “what do you eat at home?”…. and things like that. Haha Thanks, I know what you are trying to imply.

 

My Beautiful Bestie and I

This post is not trying to tell you how racist Koreans are no, I am just stating that I have a very different experience than my other foreigner friends here and I just wanted to point out my point of view. Korea is not as diverse as America; yes we know that so when everyone looks similar and then they see someone who looks different they are curious. Let’s put it this way in 2012 there were 50 million Koreans living in Korea. In 2002 (yes, that is a while ago but this is all I could find) over 200,000 English Teachers were living here. So let’s assume that that number has increased a bit but we can safely assume not over the millions. So in a Country where millions of people look alike and the 200,000 or so not looking like the rest, they will always be the ones who are different. I am not here to judge, I am just stating a fact.

So to conclude this post, I guess I am trying to say that I love being an Asian and I love being an American! I am learning to embrace both parts of my heritage and not favoring one over the other. God created me the way I am and I am very blessed to be called a Filipino American. *^o^*