Today, Andrew and I went to Korean town to eat some Korean food and to make some Korean friends.
After eating, we decided to talk to two young guys while they were eating at the little restaurant. Andrew started conversation with them, and they seemed friendly until one of them asked me, "are you Korean?". When I told them that I was, in fact, Japanese, they turned to each other and talked in Korean for a few seconds before telling us that they were having a private conversation and didn't want to be bothered.
Did they refuse us because i am Japanese?
I know that I need to understand the history of Korea and my country, but regardless of that manner, that was utter discrimination!
Aside from that event, the atmosphere at the restaurant was terrible. Especially among the more elderly, who experienced great hardship due to the Japanese before World War II. As soon as they were able to determine that I was Japanese, they gave us mean looks and avoided us, or uttered profanities in Korean. I know it's an assumption, because I don't speak Korean, but there's a certain manner about people when they're cursing someone. Most of the time, if someone suddenly makes a disgusted face and turns their head to speak, it means they're using profane language.
Needless to say, that was really really uncomfortable.
I just wanted to make Korean friends, and to eat some Korean food...
Why did I have to be treated like that?
History is cruel.
Why did my ancestors attempt to enslave another country?
Why do I have to bear with their foolish actions?
When I realized the far reaching negative effects of the Japanese invasion of Korea, I truly became upset. It's not something that I can do anything about, but I lose the ability to connect with so many people like me just because of our backgrounds. I can share so many stories with a Korean friend, like the social differences between our countries and America, being in the country for the first time with such little English comprehension, and the anxieties that come with being so far away from my family.
After eating, we decided to talk to two young guys while they were eating at the little restaurant. Andrew started conversation with them, and they seemed friendly until one of them asked me, "are you Korean?". When I told them that I was, in fact, Japanese, they turned to each other and talked in Korean for a few seconds before telling us that they were having a private conversation and didn't want to be bothered.
Did they refuse us because i am Japanese?
I know that I need to understand the history of Korea and my country, but regardless of that manner, that was utter discrimination!
Aside from that event, the atmosphere at the restaurant was terrible. Especially among the more elderly, who experienced great hardship due to the Japanese before World War II. As soon as they were able to determine that I was Japanese, they gave us mean looks and avoided us, or uttered profanities in Korean. I know it's an assumption, because I don't speak Korean, but there's a certain manner about people when they're cursing someone. Most of the time, if someone suddenly makes a disgusted face and turns their head to speak, it means they're using profane language.
Needless to say, that was really really uncomfortable.
I just wanted to make Korean friends, and to eat some Korean food...
Why did I have to be treated like that?
History is cruel.
Why did my ancestors attempt to enslave another country?
Why do I have to bear with their foolish actions?
When I realized the far reaching negative effects of the Japanese invasion of Korea, I truly became upset. It's not something that I can do anything about, but I lose the ability to connect with so many people like me just because of our backgrounds. I can share so many stories with a Korean friend, like the social differences between our countries and America, being in the country for the first time with such little English comprehension, and the anxieties that come with being so far away from my family.