Through Children's Eyes

Today I walked into work and was greeted by one of my students who grabbed my arm and stared up at my face. He looked very intently and then smiled. He then grabbed two of his classmates who both curiously studied my face.

I immediately thought I had toothpaste on my mouth or something, and was going to go to the bathroom to find out what it was and clean it. Before I could get to the bathroom a whole crowd of kindergarteners was staring up at me preventing me from moving forward.

My coteacher walked by and said it was my eyes they were looking at. She had just taught a lesson about people from different countries, and how people from other parts of the world look different. I have brown eyes, but they are not as dark as the pairs of Korean eyes that were staring up at me.

The smile on my Kindergartener’s face makes sense when you realize (after a quick wiki check) that this boy is growing up in a country where more than 99% of the population is of Korean descent. Korean people actually call their society “the single race society” and rightly so. The list of countries more homogenous than South Korea is pretty short. It’s not even a list actually. The only country more homogenous than South Korea is North Korea.

Needless to say I stand out when I walk down the street in Gunsan (not as much as my coworker who has blonde hair though). The biggest culture shock I have experienced is coming from the melting pot of America to a pot filled to the brim with Koreans. I am an anomaly here for sure.

I don’t know what Koreans think of me when I walk past them on the street. I have had some people occasionally say hello or wave, but it is rare. People mainly keep to themselves when they see me, with one exception, children. Children ALWAYS react in some way when they see me on the street.

While I was running the other day, a car passed by and a child rolled down his window and yelled hello with a big grin on his face. One child hid behind her mother’s legs when she noticed me.  Some children show off their English to me buy shouting hello, while others just stare.

Late at night I was walking alone when a group of motorcycles rode by. They were teenagers riding recklessly down the street. A few of them did wheelies through an intersection. A kid was sitting on the back of his friend's motorcycle and turned to me as they passed. I almost hit the deck. He waved, yelled hello, and rode off.

It is entertaining to see children’s reactions, but the steady stream of poker faces I receive from adults reminds me I am the foreigner and that Korea doesn’t have to adjust to me. I have to adjust to Korea.