I believe one can tell a great deal about the true nature of a society by the way its men behave upon seeing or hearing of "outsiders" (however defined) becomeing involved with "their" women: do they find it a matter of no great interest and keep going about their business, or does each and every instance of an outsider openly cavorting with female members of the in-group set the local gutter press on the trail for blood?
I know in saying this I'm beating what's become a familiar drum on this site, but it really is in looking at situations like these one gets a feel for which countries in East Asia are truly in the grip of xenophobia: it's simply unthinkable that Japanese netizens would assemble a virtual lynch mob to harass women "openly enjoying sex with foreigners", let alone violently protesting "Kill the Black Devils!” because African students dared to socialize with local women. In picking by far the least racist and xenophobic nation in East Asia to criticize for being unwelcome to foreigners, Westerners who go on and on about Japan's faults in these respects show their utter cluelessness: Japan may not be a racial paradise, but I'd rather be a visible foreigner there than in Korea or China (or much of America and most of Eastern Europe, for that matter) any day of the week.
*The irony of the Tiananmen Square uprising is that the whole thing was provoked by anger at the Communist Party for not catering fully to the racist popular will. There's much to reflect upon in there for those prone to equating "democracy" with a liberal constitutional order.
PS: While we're on the subject of racism in Korea, perhaps the country wouldn't be quite as plagued with "low grade foreigners" teaching its children English if Korean parents and the hagwons they send their children to bothered to look for qualifications beyond merely having white skin. There's even a sexual upside in it for insecure Korean males - the danger of their women jumping in the sack with dark-skinned English teachers, however well paid, is essentially non-existent.
"The irony of the Tiananmen Square uprising is that the whole thing was provoked by anger at the Communist Party for not catering fully to the racist popular will."
When I first heard about this, I couldn't believe it - but it's true. The uprising came on the back of a wave of college protests in Nanjing over their "pure" Chinese women associating with beastly African men. The media NEVER mentioned this, and I'd like to know why.
I've generally found the Japanese to be a little insular (although that could simply be due to language barriers), but always pleasant and worth engaging. In China, however, the coolness towards outsiders is palpable.
Posted by: Steve Edwards | August 23, 2006 at 03:36 AM
It is just the usual thing in Korea. You would be lucky to find 1 out of 100 Korean men that did not find foreign men dating Korean men detestable. Conversely, Korean men hold their right to date any kind of foreign woman to be completely sacrosanct.
Posted by: Matt | August 23, 2006 at 07:50 AM
That should be "You would be lucky to find 1 out of 100 Korean men that did not find foreign men dating Korean WOMEN detestable". LOL.
Posted by: Matt | August 23, 2006 at 07:51 AM