I would like to travel to Korea to teach English in these. Though I would like to know what issues I may face being so many races. I know this may be an issue for some countries but not others.
Will it be harder for me to get a job? Should I only claim one nationality? Also my skin is always changing tones, so I wouldn't be able to pass that off for long.
Can any mixed people give me advice about your traveling experience in other countries?
Update:I am chinese, Native American, German, Irish, and African.
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If you look Caucasian, getting a job in Korea will be really easy. If you don't, it'll just take you a longer time, but brace yourself for the rejections! ^^
However, as long as you are an English native speaker, you will definitely get a job in Korea. No worries about that.
Good luck to you!
I've got good news and bad news.
The good news is that if you want to teach English in South Korea (by the way, have you looked at the exchange rate lately) you'll find that your foreign appearance makes you more likely to get a job than a Korean-American or other pure Asian. This is because the schools will take your picture and put you in advertisements, and parents will think "OH BOY! A REAL LIVE FOREIGNER!" and sign their kids up for your class. They prefer foreign teachers because their children are often very shy around foreigners at first, and need to be accustomed to speaking to foreigners, and also because they often believe that only foreigners speak true, native English (though this is often not true).
If your passport is American or Canadian (or from any of the other English speaking countries) just say "I'm American" or "I'm Canadian" or whatever nationality based on passport you are. DO NOT say "I'm part Chinese." Koreans look down on Chinese, for the most part -- I don't, but Koreans in general do. If you weren't aware, Korea is a racist country and between 8% and 9% of children polled in Incheon said they thought all Chinese should be banished from the country. Koreans believe that Chinese steal Korean jobs. As for other nationalities, I'm a fourth-generation German-American, and yet some Koreans are so naive, they actually think I speak English with a German accent. SO WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T CONFUSE THEM BY BREAKING DOWN YOUR GENEALOGY! Just say you're from the country for the passport you're carrying.
Now for the bad news: I've lived in Korea for four years, and continue to stay here because I speak the language well and it's the most convenient Asian country for me to be living in right now, but I do not recommend it to newcomers, because as you may have noticed, the exchange rate is so bad, you'll make nothing compared to what you could make in Japan, Taiwan, or perhaps even Vietnam or China. Recently on Dave's ESL Cafe, there was a thread about how McDonald's shift managers in the US make more than standard-level English teachers in SK. Maybe you aren't interested in it for the money, but keep in mind that there are four other Asian countries that arguably pay just as well or better, and many people find those countries much more interesting.
However, maybe you have a special reason you want to go to Korea. There are some redeeming qualities here. Best of luck, whatever you choose.
Korea is so diverse. You'll see Russian, Indian & Filipino [sp] & every other race here. You want to teach english here? Then thats BETTER for you that you are not Korean. They want different people from other places so that the students can learn. I know a couple here who teach at this University. & Guess what they are? Full white. My dad thought English, & people see him as this Black man but they LOVE him!
I am mix Korean, African, Native American, White & Egyptian, & it is perfectly fine here for me. I'v been here about 11 years & it's wonderful. I'v been/lived in 4 countries. Korea, Japan, U.S & Canada. & I feel more accepted here in Korea. Yeah, it's pretty weird. I feel like a foreigner when I go to the states. I'm just wayyy to Asian-fied.
Tough for you. As long as you look 'white' you're fine. Blacks have trouble getting jobs in korea because of deep rooted racism and xenophobia. Especially now days when the economy is so bad, many koreans are blaming the foreigners for their trouble. They blame the foreign workers for taking their job, taking their women, murder, rape, everything they can come up with. By foreign workers i mean darker skinned people such as Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, etc. One advise, just say you're American. Don't break down your genealogy.
i dont know where you are heading to in korea but my mom is a head administrator of a private middle school in korea. she told me to ask people but i havnt.. the pay is $1600 a month . its not a full time teaching job and the housing is provided...
but..
my answer for your question is ..
i have been in america for almost 5 years now.. and sometimes its hard for me to hang around with koreans when i go back home.
so i go to american church and hang out with americans .
and what i saw was americans hang out with americans and koreans who can speak english. i dont see it's a hard thing for an american to blend in with koreans. well you are gonna experience some culture shocks...
koreans are not racist but since a lot of people havnt seen a lot of black people before or/and it could be from lots of hollywood movies, some or a lot of people have stereotype about black people but not everybody..
no matter if you are black or not some poeple are gonna stare at you ..
i dont know where you are going but if you have problems while you are in korea i would be more than happy to help u out.
my email is [email protected] .
Just what exactly are your ethnicities?
Just so I know what advice to give you.