Gyopo

The word Gyopo (교포) is my least favorite word in the Korean language. Gyopo means a Korean who was not born and/or raised in Korea. For me, gyopo is a word that is filled with hate. Censuses show that roughly 7 million Koreans live abroad. With 50 million Koreans living in the South Korean peninsula, by using the term “gyopo,” Koreans effectively isolate 8% of its population.

For any person living abroad, it can be difficult. You long for home and miss everyday familiarities. Children born from immigrants oftentimes visit their home country rarely, if at all. So, for many who are the children of immigrants, there is often a sense of loss. Yes, they were born in this country, but in reality they are from another. This tends to be the case with my Korean American friends; they call themselves American, but at the same time, their true home is Korea. Yet with the word “gyopo,” it turns many Koreans away from Korea.

Gyopo is a harsh word.  It’s a word that really pushes Korea’s homogeneous mentality—you’re only Korean if your parents are Korean and you’re born in Korea. For my Korean American friends whom I have here in Korea, life can be a bit of a struggle.

One of my good friends is a so-called “gyopo.” Though he was born in Korea and has even done his military duty, he is still “gyopo”—not Korean. He speaks Korean fluently, with no accent, yet the Koreans around him reject him. He’s not Korean, he’s American. He dresses like an American, he talks like an American, he acts like an American. He’s not Korean. He’s American. We often have lunch together and he will tell me how often he is rejected. His Korean friends don’t want to have drinks with him or dinner with him. When working in group projects, he’s treated as the foreigner, not as a Korean. A family friend offered to set him up with his friend’s daughter but warned my friend, “Treat her like a Korean. You’re American, but you need to be Korean around her.” When he said these words he became depressed. He is Korean. He was born in Korea. Yet he did not grow up here. Therefore, he will never truly be Korean.

Many Koreans who live or were born abroad face the same struggles that my friend does. Often times, they don’t socialize with native Koreans, they socialize amongst themselves. Even in their “home” country, they are isolated. While not all non-native Koreans are treated like this, the vast majority are.

The largest population of non-native Koreans is located in China. They are known as the Chaoxian in China and as the Joseonjok in Korea, 2.5 million Koreans live in China. In China, they are not accepted. They are not Chinese. In Korea, they are not accepted. They are “gyopo.” For Koreans living in China, it can be a difficult road. They live in a country that does not accept them, and their home country treats them as if they are foreigners.  For the these Koreans, the Joseonjok, life is much harder. Unlike Koreans who grew up in western countries and tend to be much wealthier, Koreans who grew up in China tend to be much poorer. Since they don’t have as much money, they face more discrimination. They are often blamed for stealing native Koreans’ jobs and for crime. For Koreans born in China, they are the bottom of the racial hierarchy in Korea.

My boyfriend is a native Korean, born and raised in Korea. He spent two years in the US and speaks English almost as well as any native speaker. Anytime we’re out in public and Koreans speak to him and in English, my boyfriend gets excited. He’s a foreigner. He feels flattered that Koreans think he’s a foreigner, and it makes him feel proud. Yet sometimes I don’t think he realizes the implication of what being a Korean foreigner is like. Yes, he’s excited that Koreans are treating him as a foreigner as they do me, but being a true Korean foreigner is not that romantic. He doesn’t understand the isolation and discrimination that comes with being a “gyopo.”

Not all Koreans treat non-native Koreans like I have mentioned in this post. Yet the Koreans that do this have often lived or studied abroad themselves. It is oftentimes the Koreans who have had little to no international experience (whether that be from traveling abroad or even having a foreign friend) that treat non-native Koreans like “gyopos.”

“Gyopo” is a word that I hate. I wish sincerely that it was a word that didn’t exist. But it does and the stigma is there. I hope that one day Koreans can accept all non-native Koreans and treat them as equals, but that day seems like a long way off. 

Racism in Korea (Part 1)

While Korea is a wonderful country filled with some of the kindest people I have ever met, racism is still a very large problem here. Korea is a “homogeneous” nation. They are a nation of one race—Koreans. And while this certainly isn’t a bad thing, the idea of having a homogeneous nation creates racist attitudes towards non-Koreans.

This article was posted the other day. Koreans are very upset by this and have been calling Bali racist. This article, along with some other incidents that have started to bother me about Korea’s attitude towards foreigners made me want to write this post.

So why did I share a link about Koreans getting banned from establishments in Bali? Because this is the exact same thing that happens to foreigners here. Foreigners are well aware of bars that ban foreigners *cough* Ho Bar *cough*. But bars aren't the only ones that are guilty; clubs, restaurants, and taxis are just as guilty.

This video (not mine) was taken in Itaewon. Itaewon is (in)famously foreigner and English friendly. The fact that this video takes place in Itaewon is astounding. As more foreigners enter Korea (as part of the government’s plan to attract tourists and foreign business), the fact that this trend is increasing, rather than decreasing is simply disturbing.

When I first came to Korea, I witnessed very little racism. The worst things I saw were Hongdae bars banning American military and old men asking if I was Russian (aka, was I a prostitute). Yet in these last 2 years in Korea, I have seen a dramatic shift in attitudes towards foreigners by business establishments.

When I was living in Ulsan, my Korean and foreign friends and I went to go to a club. They let our Korean friends in, but refused to let us in because we were foreigner. After telling them off, we all left the club. A few weeks later, a Canadian friend and I were trying to buy 김밥 (gimbap) for an activity we were doing with our students. The store we went to was famous for having the best gimbap in the area, and as expected, it was very crowded. We order the gimbap and were told it would be about 20 minutes until we got out gimbap. 20 minutes passed and the restaurant still hadn’t made our gimbap. They were now making orders for Koreans who had ordered after us. I decided to go inside and ask why it was taking so long. When I went inside, I looked the prep station; it was organized so that the order receipts were at top so that the orders could easily be seen and made. Our receipt was till at the end…with the word 외국인 (“weigookin”, foreigner) written in large letters across the top. As each new order came in, our order would be moved to the back. I talked to the owner and told her to cancel our order because we didn’t want to eat there anymore. The owner threw a fit and demanded that we pay even though they had not even made our gimbap. After a while of arguments, they finally made the gimbap, but tried to charge us extra. Incidents like this are far from rare nor are they limited to places outside of Seoul.

It’s not unheard of for foreigners to be refused service by a taxi, or charged extra by them. Restaurants are guilty of this practice, too.  Clothe markets like in Dongdaemun will charge extra if you’re a foreigner. 

I will continue the rest of this topic in the next post.

**Disclaimer** Not all Koreans and Korean places are like this. Most Koreans are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Don't let the 5% change your view on other 95%.