Article 5 for the Communicator

“’Mianhamnida’, not ‘I’m sorry,’” said my Korean teacher as she was walking past two students in class. She was trying to get them to stop speaking English with each other and focus more on Korean. That’s probably a good idea, and it certainly wouldn’t be odd…if the rest of the circumstance wasn’t known.

One woman was Thai; the other one was Chinese. They had both been living in Korea for several months. And yet, the language the chose to converse was English. Not Thai, not Chinese, not even Korean—English.

English is an odd thing overseas. Signs are often in the native language of the country and English. Many people speak English (at least a little) abroad. And many English words are incorporated right into different languages, especially the ‘technology’ words. In Korean, “TV” is “Tee-Bee,” “computer” is “Kam-pyu-taw,” “internet” is “en-taw-net.”

But what’s odd is “wife” is also “wai-puh” and “sex” is also “sek-suh.” That says a lot.

Native English speakers are in a privileged position. We can go nearly anywhere in the world and find someone to talk to. We can get jobs overseas simply because we were born in a certain country and know that country’s language. We have an automatic advantage in business and technology fields because we are fluent in the language of international business. We are, in a global sense, very very lucky.

And with that luck comes a lot of strange circumstances. There are people in Korea that have lived here for years that can’t speak the language. It’s not absolutely necessary to learn (you can get by with broken English and hand gestures) so many people don’t bother. My former roommate has been here for seven months, goes to the bars every weekend, and still can’t even order himself a beer in Korean.

Many foreigners I know here can’t even count to ten.

As I’m sure you can guess, this breeds two things: surprise and resentment. Honestly, the resentment isn’t nearly as common as you’d think. As surprising as it sounds, Korean people don’t seem to expect you to learn Korean or to learn about Korean culture if you’re a Westerner. The simple truth, though, is that although I might not see the resentment, I’m sure it’s still there. I’m sure if a group of foreigners came to the United States and expected us to learn their language, more than a few people would be upset. I can say, though, that if you’re interested in anything Korean, most people are delighted to share—which brings me to my second point.

The other day I was walking up the stairs to my new apartment when I bumped into a Korean teenager from my building for the first time. He looked up at me in awe as I came down the stairs.

“Oh hello,” he blurted out in surprise.

“Annyong haseyo,” I said back. He stood dumbfounded by the fact that I could say “hello” in Korean. He was still standing there on the stairs staring at me when I turned around at the bottom of the stairs.

That’s extreme but not that extreme. Koreans are generally surprised to hear a foreigner speak Korean, especially a foreigner whose native language is English. I even get free things sometimes at fruit stands or restaurants just because I know how to ask for them properly in Korean. Believe me when I say my Korean isn’t very good, but also believe me when I say I get a lot of shocked looks from just knowing the simplest words.

I never was one to be a strong supporter of learning foreign languages before I came to Korean, but if you ever plan to see the world, I suggest you learn one, if not out of respect for another culture….if not to broaden your horizons…if not to put a good face on America to the rest of the world…then at least to get free stuff when you go to the market and surprise the hell out of a fruit stand owner when you ask how much the apples are in their language. You can save yourself a couple bucks on your food budget.