The Vulgar Nature of the Korean News Media

Wow – it's really, really on, now.

60 whole minutes of bad journalism – a key informant is the "ex-girlfriends of English teacher" confirming all the media stereotypes about foreigners that they've been perpetrating for years.

No matter what the distorted media picture says, here's what I observed from my own experience, and believe is echoed by most of the people I know:

– Almost all foreign teachers I know in Korea are all qualified and have real degrees. It's the old streetlight-and-the-key idea; if you just look for your key where you can easily find it – under the streetlight – or expect to see it, then that's the only place it will be. So when the Korean media's busy salivating for any scandal involving fake degrees, it will find them. Funny thing is, as most foreigners working in Korean organizations have suspected for years, there are a lot of Koreans working with some seriously fake resumes.

– Almost all foreign teachers I know in Korea, as well as any I've heard of, spend their time teaching their classes, doing some tutoring on the side, and generally spending their time just like Koreans do: going to get a bit to eat, having a few drinks, watching movies, shopping, seeing some shows or exhibits, touring around the country – whatever. Yet, the Korean media would have you think that all we do is sit around smoking out, waiting in alleyways for unsuspecting Korean women, and sit around on computers making fake degrees for our friends. And there's any problem with fake degrees, the real problem is with lax hiring practices and hagwon owners (many of whom themselves have fake degrees, ahem) who actually don't care, or even know that their walking dictionary is a faker. In the end, all one has to do is pick up the fucking phone to confirm resume information. Who's really being stupid here? The schools and hagwons who get faked out by a non-graduate, or the faker?

– Yeah, many foreign men enjoy a lot of attention from Korean women (which is really the crux of a lot of this media bullshit), but that's not illegal, and pretty inevitable. Perhaps the Korean government should ban Hollywood movies, television shows, and pop music – and activate re-education programs to eliminate decades of American influence. Then "easy" Korean women will stop showing up in Itaewon and Hongdae bars, and the men can go back to being celibate scholars, sitting at home and studying hangul and Korean history, waiting with bated breath for their next conversation class to start.

The Korean media is always looking for a scandal, and race-baiting stories of foreigners as "sexual predators" are the favorites. Too bad there hasn't been, to date, a story actually involving foreigners committing sexual crimes. It's mostly been limited to the Korean media skimming message boards, blogs, and even YouTube looking for something juicy. Too bad the "scandals" have all been legal and consensual acts, even if some of the stuff they've scraped up is in bad taste.

And taking things out of cultural context – fact is, in America, I'd say nearly everyone I know has smoked pot or at least experimented with other stuff in college. Even the Presidents of the United States admitted to doing drugs (Clinton "didn't inhale" his pot supposedly, and Bush was a heavy drinker and did coke). This is not to say that it's OK to do it in Korea, but then again, when the only people being targeted and watched closely are foreigners, is it any wonder foreigners keep getting busted?

And if we wanted to talk about cultural context, then by American standards, half the Koreans I know are simple high-functioning alcoholics. And ask anyone who'd lived in Korea – even on my heaviest drinking day of my life, I could never go toe-to-toe with the average Korean salaryman. So who is more "depraved," again? As long as we're making judgments.

In the end, this really reminds me of the conventional wisdom that would sometimes pass as "journalism" in the pre-Civil Rights American South. The vast, vast majority of black men weren't going around raping white women, but many white people knew it as a "fact" that they were, and were ready to act to prevent it. And the racial/gender dynamics are the same, as much of this anti-foreigner discourse (well, much of modern Korean nationalist discourse itself) is centered around notions of protecting an innocent, infantilized, and highly feminized notion of national "pride" and "culture."

This is an old fucking trope. As old as kijichon fiction and film, which consistently relied on the stock racist image of the ultimate degradation of the nation, which always involves an innocent Korean girl forced to prostitute herself to the (invariably black) American GI.

One may think this an alarmist analysis, but when you break it down, and you look at the consistent pattern of the crap that gets reported as "news" regarding foreigners in this country – that bottom-scraping YTN Hongdae report, the "HIV foreigner" story and the YTN YouTube non-scandal are the best recent examples – it's all rooted in the racist, sexist symbology of fear and anger of foreign cock entering Korean pussy.

And I'll leave it at that, without spin or any more fancy academic ideas to break it down. Because it's a vulgar thought, it is best left expressed as a vulgarity. And as far as the Korean media goes – relying on emails from Hotmail accounts, YouTube videos, and the ubiquitous "Korean ex-girlfriend" who of course, never engaged in any of the pot-smoking herself – such race-baiting in reporting, lack of professionalism in confirming hearsay without talking to the party in question, or even double-confirming legitimate sources – this is the ultimate in vulgar news.

Comments

[A journalist]

I am not familiar with Korean media. But this is quite an outspoken piece. Regarding scandals, well, I guess media all over look for it, is it not.. Good piece!

[Mark]

So this is Corea's comeback to the New York Times piece? Lame....

[rothkowitz]

Put like that,Mark,yep.Pretty darn lame indeed.

[Korea Beat]

If you want to read what's being written you can see a translation on my blog --

http://koreabeat.com/?p=267

Personally, while I do find it bad and upsetting, it doesn't get to me the way it used to. There was a time when this kind of BS would have me fuming and wondering why I should stay in Korea at all. Eventually it hit me -- at least I could leave Korea and go back to a life in another country, on the other side of the globe. What I was going through was very small beer compared to people who don't have that option, like minorities in my own country, or mixed-race kids in Korea.

[daniel]

I don't think this is just restricted to Korea. I mean seriously.

Current affairs shows in most (if not all) countries sensationalise their stories with manipulation and distortion to the point where it borders on being an outright lie.

Here in Australia, shows like "Today Tonight" and "A Current Affair" are just few examples of how the media will distort and skewer information.

Like three weeks ago, "Today Tonight" ran a show on how new immigrants/new Aussies were ignorant of the rather ambigious but often talked about 'Aussie values'. To prove their point, TT sat down two Chinese students (new Australians) and quized them on 'Aussie values.' What did we see? Well, that's the funny part- I only saw TT broadcast questions they got wrong. They were ridiculed. TT claimed that through this interview, they proved how "most" immigrants did not have a clue on the "English language... and our 'values'" ...

... It was later found out that they were asked 10 questions, 8 of which they answered correctly. TT only portrayed the 2 they answered incorrectly and made a whole story out of it.

As you can see from this little example, it's not just Korea and the Korean news media that is 'vulgar'. Distortion and manipulation is widespread, whether in Korea, Australia or the US (Fox News?). Plus, I don't think there's anything one can do to stop this as the media does this solely for ratings. And we all know that ratings=$$$..

just my 2 cents

[ZenKimchi]

"...sexist symbology of fear and anger of foreign cock entering Korean pussy."

Stop stealing all my great lines from the Food Journal.

[Ethan]

Are you kidding me? Almost ALL foreigners are qualified to teach? I don't know who you hang out with, but when I go out in Itaewon and meet some of the teachers there.. man, I'd say at least 10% of them are not legally qualified. Meaning, a lot of them come here without a college degree, especially from Canada since they can stay here for 6 months without a visa. Let me count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, .... I know so many of them. If you honestly think "almost all" of them are well qualified.... you're definitely mistaken. There are tons and tons of foreigners who come here on a tourist visa and teach English. Let's not also mention that in most cases, teaching a private lesson is prohibited. Nonetheless, I see a lot of them doing so. You can always blame it on the employers, sure. Media may be harsh. But when will the English teacher community start taking some responsibility for their own actions?

[AaronM]

Daniel,

Agree that shows like TT and ACA in Aus are guilty of similar mischief, but at least there is usually balance and an attempt to correct the lack of facts by shows like Media Watch on the ABC. Moreover, in a healthy media culture there would be two-way debate with the programs in question coming in for some analysis from other quarters of civil society. The thing is, I don't see that here. Where are the NGOs working to challenge the racist views that seem mainstream to me? Where are the shows portraying whitey being anything other than a Hanbok-clad monkey who will politely answer the fished-for compliment-seeking questions such as "do you like the kimchi?" The Korean media flat out has a problem with coming to grips with otherness and can only portray it in one of two manners; barbarians at the gate or fawning sycophancy for their own supposed cultural superiority.

[Ethan]

So I just read your post on "The Ring of Academic Power." I love the contrast. When the media talks crap about Koreans faking their education credentials, it's a huge scandal and you have to criticize every aspect of the Korean society and why things are so screwed up. But then, when the media criticizes the foreign teachers, you are so quick to defend the community and redirect the criticism to the media. I honestly believe that the percentage of people who fake their edu background is higher for foreign teachers here. After all, what do they have to lose?

Do I think Korea has issues with putting too much emphasis on the education background? Yes. Do I think it's a problem that some foreign teachers fake their diplomas? Yes. I just would like to see that instead of defending every criticism of your community, you would acknowledge the validity of certain criticisms, when you are such an outspoken critique of the Korean community. That may actually encourage Koreans to come around a bit more, making your criticism more worthwhile.

Also, being fair and balanced would be responsible journalism, but who says blogging is journalism?

[Hugh]

So, Ethan, you just look at English teachers in Itaewon and magically come up with a number like 10%? Or is it, 10% of the English teachers you've boozed with in Itaewon are fakes?

Have you ever considered that Itaewon is exactly where a guy teaching illegaly on a 6 month tourist visa would like to hang out? That regular teachers, especially long-term ones, by and large don't end up doing shots on a barstool beside you?

There's no surer sign of bullshit than when someone starts hauling random statistics out of the air, trying to give his opinion the veneer of science.

[MigukNamja]

Ethan,

"But when will the English teacher community start taking some responsibility for their own actions?"

There is no English teacher community, at least not one that has any degree of control or influence over all English teachers.

For while the vast majority of foreigners teaching English in Korea are here legally and live within the bounds of the law and of cultural norms, there are a substantial number of slackers and malcontents who are here not to teach English, but to be malcontent and well...slack.

For them, teaching English is merely a way to get money and a visa. Their main purpose is still malcontenting and slacking.

Therefor, since they can't rightfully be called "English teachers", they can't really be part of an "English teacher community".

In general, voluntary opt-in to a self-regulating body only works if there is (near) 100% participation. If even a small percentage break the rules, the self-regulating body is pointless.

[MigukNamja]

AaronM,

Exactly. "Barbarians at the Gate" and "Fawning Sycophants" represent the extremes. Anything in the middle (which is where the vast majority lie) is boring.

Cooked-up drama sells. Everyday life does not.

[MigukNamja]

Ethan,

Let's have fun with statistics and start with:

"man, I'd say at least 10% of them are not legally qualified"

1. How much time did you spend with each teacher to judge whether they are unqualified or not ?

2. Did you meet 10 people and judge merely 1 to be unqualified ?

3. If so, do you think you can judge all English teachers in Korea from 1 person ?

4. If you met 20 or more, how did you find the time and social connections to meet so many ?

5. What the heck are you doing spending so much time in Itaewon for ? Do you have a fascination with English teachers, U.S. soldiers, foreigners in general, bars, prostitutes, other ?

[jstele]

AaronM,

You obviously don't watch enough Korean media to judge.

[AaronM]

OK, jstele, since you know me and are qualified to judge that I am unqualified to judge, give me some examples of foreigners represented in terms different from the ones I cited in Korea's media.

[The Metropolitician]

The basic problem here is that it's race-baiting and creating a whipping boy. Personally, I don't think the problem is as rampant as the Korean media does, and if there are problems, they are rooted in there being an unregulated system that either doesn't CARE about academic qualifications, or even encourages fakers working here bcs it'll be cheaper than paying for the real thing. In any case, again, the problem is structural and related to Korea, not talking about the essential character of foreigners.

And this is linked to other supposed "facts" about foreigners, namely that we are dangerous and make Hongdae a horrible place to be (to the point where I also heard people talking about "it must have been foreigners" when that Hongdae double murder happened last week), that we are HIV+ bailjumpers, and that we are somehow more likely to molest children (which the Korean Teachers' Union came out and said).

The context here is reports aren't meant to do anything other than point fingers and stir up more racial hatred. On the whole, foreigners here are a positive addition to Korean society; foreigners here don't generally commit serious crimes; foreigners generally quietly earn money and pay Korean taxes; and there hasn't been a single case of ENGLISH TEACHERS killing, raping, or molesting people. So why does the Korean media always represent this group as near-to-evil?

That's my question. That's the context this came up in. If the Korean media really wanted to get to the bottom of anything, it wouldn't be following sensationalist stories based on the phone calls and tips of alleged ex-girlfriends and would rather be concentrating on at least including some of the supposed problematic people themselves.

Yeah, sometimes you can't provide balance when there's no balance, but at LEAST if you're doing a show about black people, then you should interview some. If I was doing a news reports about Korean merchants in LA in 1989 and the problems in black neighborhoods, all my sources wouldn't be black people who disliked Korean merchants. As a journalist, I'd at least fucking hire a Korean translator and take my ass into a few stores and see what they have to say. As it is, in all these stories, ONE key factor is missing – the voices of the people in question.

If you think that's "fair," well...as they say, opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one.

[The horse's mouth]

One of my relatives got his PhD from an American university, no trickery involved. He even taught in the US for a few years...But, he had a hard time finding a after he returned to Korea. It wasn't just because of the competition...far from it. No, he also refused to pay a bribe whenever he was asked for one by a university. So, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if many more Korean university professors are found to have forged their degrees.

[Hugh]

"If the Korean media really wanted to get to the bottom of anything, it wouldn't be ...."

And therein lies the truth, Met. My long time in-country here has given me the impression that Korean media have not the slightest interest OR EVEN KNOWLEDGE THAT AS REPORTERS THEY SHOULD BE INTERESTED in "getting to the bottom" of anything. Like most professions in Korea (doctors, lawyers, you name it) they are utterly lacking in any shred of professional integrity.

[Korea Beat]

AaronM -- correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the bias-fighting organizations mainly run by people affected by that bias? That's generally the case in the US. There are NGOs in Korea which advocate for foreigners' rights -- I've translated several articles about them -- but there's never been one for westerners, certainly not for ESLers.

Why? Because our "community" does not band together. And because very few people in it bother to learn Korean beyond a survival level even after spending many years in country. Until we take the responsibility to learn Korean and advocate for ourselves, in Korean, then no matter how offended I am by this kind of media BS, the complaints will always ring a little hollow to my ears.