Life in Korea

I was reading The Korea Herald - one of Korea's 2 daily English newspaper - when I came across an interesting statistic that gives some perspective on life over here. A summary:

Foreigners who live in South Korea account for 1.5% of the country's population of 49 million. There were around 720,000 foreigners in South Korea as of May, up 35% from last year. About 36% of the foreigners are laborers, 12.2% are from international marriages, and the children of those marriages count for 6%.

Korea is one of the most homogeneous countries around (rivalled only by North Korea perhaps) and must be the most homogeneous 1st world country (it has the 11th biggest economy in the world). It is shocking that a country this well off would attract so few foreigners. I have a few reasons why I think this might be the case:

- Koreans are a loyal, nationalistic people. They have put up with a lot of crap over the years, largely from the Chinese and Japanese, that they now seem a little bit distrusting and overly unified as a people. They enjoy white people because they like Western pop culture and the English language, but foreigners from any other area seem relegated to 2nd class. They aren't afraid to tell you what they feel either, whether it is your breath smelling or your face being dark (our Indian friend Tina was often called 'darky' in class at our school). Toss in the historical punishment from their Asian neighbours, and the people have a bit of a chip on their shoulder and are riding sky high right now. They only seem to want English-speaking Caucasians immigrating.

- They have come from economic instability to near-powerhouse in such a short time that educated, English, Caucasians are not yet aware of the power of Korean enterprise. When you consider that worldwide brands like Hyundai, LG, Samsung, and Kia are Korean, as well as national powers Doosan, Lotte, and SK, there is a lot of wealth to be shared. However, a lot of people view Korea as a 2nd world country at best with no knowledge of the culture, so it does not seem an ideal place for setting up shop. The fact that the number of foreigners is growing so rapidly suggests the word is getting out.

- I've heard it mentioned that Koreans as individuals are as nice as anyone you'll ever meet, but as a whole can seem rude, crass, unapologetic, and selfish. I have never found this, personally, but the perception might be enough to turn would-be immigrants off before they get to know the culture and people that make up the nation.

I thought I had more to say but I can't think of it right now. It's probably for the better.