I apologize to my readers for not providing an English version of my little letter – it just took so much mental effort to write that I got lazy and kept putting off writing up an English version.
It occurs to me that it's funny how language functions. Even though Korean is a second language, I think I learned it the "right" way – naturally and in relation to real-life contexts – so I either think in Korean or in English. So what I realized after writing this letter is that even though I wrote it in Korean as a native speaker of English translating what I could much more comfortably say in English, it was still kind of work translating it back to English.
Weird.
Anyway, here's the text of the letter, albeit probably with a smoother flow in English than in Korean; after all, I am a native speaker of English and know what I wanted to convey, even if it came out awkwardly in the Korean. But I still tried to keep this translation as accurate as possible in representing the relative simplistic level I speak in Korean as opposed to English.
What I think worth noting is the different tone one takes in Korean when dealing with stupid-ass people. I find that in Korean, I end up entering a mode of half-indignant, half-wounded, sarcastic self-deprecation that is intended to make the attacker look bad. In English, it's more like attack, parry, attack, parry.
Anyway, I realized that I need to read and write in Korean more. Thanks for reading!
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Hello -
My name is Michael Hurt. I was really surprised after reading your comment.
Although I'm a dirty, trash-like "nigger", I'm still a human being. Also, I am certainly not "anti-Korean."
Please think for a moment after reading my blog again. Even though you can dislike foreigners criticizing Korea – it might be something that puts you off – you shouldn't hurl insults. Is this the kind of behavior you, as a Korean, can be proud of? Are these the acts of a true patriot?
I'm not criticizing Korea without knowing anything about it, and I believe that I do a lot of good work here.
I have done a lot of good work through the Korean-American Educational Commission (Fulbright), Korean Educational Development Institute, Seoul Alternative Learning Cooperative Network (namely, the Haja Center and SSRO.net), the MIZY Youth Center, the Korean Commission for UNESCO, Hanguk University of Foreign Studies, Ewha Women's University, and numerous other good organizations.
And also, I studied Korean hard from an elementary level and am writing this letter. I have been doing Korea-related work for 13 years and lived in Korea for 7 of them. As I'm 35 years old now, this means I've spent 1/5 of my life in Korea. I've spent half of my adult life here. (Please excuse the awkwardness of the last sentence, but I wanted to write this letter completely by myself, so I am not having it corrected.)
Anyway, even though I have done a lot of good work here in Korea – if you could ask my Korean pupils, co-workers, and friends about me, you would know this. But since you have only had relations with me through the Internet and don't ever need to see my face directly or meet me, it seems like you are able to insult me easily.
However, such insults still hurt, nonetheless, even if I am a dirty, filthy American. About that, I wanted to say that you were absolutely right.
People like me shouldn't be in Korea.
After I finish my Korea-related dissertation, I will leave this "great land of the Han people" (daehan minguk). Please don't worry about that.
So I am thanking you from the bottom of my heart.
You seem like such a wise Korean man.
