Scribblings of the Metropolitician

No, They Are NOT 'Getting Rid of the F-4 Visa'

I've heard this a few times through rumor, and now through mistranslation that is no better than mere rumor, since it's "news" that will confuse, instead of disseminate the proper information.

There's been talk that "they" are getting rid of the F-4 visa altogether, which doesn't make any actual sense. Were that to be the case, entire sectors of industry would be affected (God, what would happen to half of Gangnam and the Korean Americans working there?!), and the recent extension of the F-4 to three, rather than the previous two years, doesn't make any sense. Liberalization in the face of internal momentum towards a tightening? Doesn't make sense.

This is about the ethnic Korean Chinese and kyopos from Russia and former Soviet Republics. It always has been. Before, when I first got my F-4, it was nearly impossible for anyone of Korean descent not from North America or Western Europe to get an F-4. Since then, it's been liberalizing, to the point that several people I know from Russia and Kazhakstan have been getting them, much to my surprise. Of course, I thought that was great news, and a sign towards going in the direction of more open-minded and just visa policy.

Now, it has been made very clear that Korea has decided to tighten up things for the many ethnic Koreans from these areas who are entering the general working-class job market here in Korea. And yes, it is true that I have seen a lot more Korean-Russians and Korean-Chinese working in service and other blue-collar jobs here -- legally. I guess this is creating actual labor competition, which some sectors in society are complaining about.

However, this is different from the situation for the English-speaking kyopos who enjoy what are now 3-year, automatic renewal of F-4's. And it always has been this way.

The Korea Times article would be accurate, and make complete sense if it had translated the group affected properly. Here, as reported in the Kyunghyang Shinmun, the term in question is "중국동포," which most certainly does not translate into what the Korea Times is seeming to refer to as (all) "ethnic Koreans."

To make it clearer, here is what the Kyunghyang Shinmun quoted immigration as having said: “방문취업제로 국내에 들어와 일하는 중국 동포에게 재외동포 비자(F4)를 내주는 기준이 다음달부터 강화된다."

That would translate as: "From next month, requirements (strict translation: 'standards') for the overseas ethnic Korean visa will be strengthened for Chinese ethnic Koreans who came into Korea to work through the guest worker program."

This actually affects only a small subset of even those Chinese/Russian kyopos, since it only affects the process of those who came in under the "visiting worker system" and want to convert over to the F-4.

Not quite a cause for alarm, if the information in the Korean article is correct, which I have no reason to doubt. It's just that the Korea Times article not only doesn't translate their quotes well, it's misexplaining the situation by some poor and vague English copy.

But the word is out, and the "news" has been added to the rumor mill. Please direct people to the proper information -- this is a tweaking of visa change regulation for a subset of a subset of a group of "ethnic Koreans" who came in under a specific jobs program and are wanting to change into one particular kind of visa.

That's it. But that won't be what the rumor mill spits out, I'm sure.

Well, I've done my part. (HT to Albert!)

A Most Vexing Conundrum

Some of you may know about this particular situation, especially the lower down the racial ranking you may be. Sociologists have used something called a "social distance scale" to determine levels of peoples comfortableness with mingling with members of another race, especially when it came to whites and blacks during the 1960s and 70s. The scale kind of went in order of least to most comfortable, generally according to the categories of stranger, acquaintance, coworker, neighbor, a friend you would have over for dinner, or someone you would allow to marry into your family. You would rank members of the other race according to the categories, and it was a good way to see just what people meant by their willingness to accept "integration."

I just mention all this to set the stage. As it stands right now, no matter how much people talk about so-called "multiculturalism" in Korea and being receptive to people and ideas from other cultures, in reality and on the ground, I doubt most people in Korea would check any box higher than appointments or maybe coworker for a " foreigner." I recently did this experiment in my social issues class, and many of the Koreans in the class admitted that most people could not go past coworker, perhaps an English teacher an institute, and that is the best one might do if one is brown or black. The Koreans were all pretty much in agreement that most Koreans would not probably like a Nigerian family to move into their apartment complex, or that even a white coworker would possibly create a lot of tension.

And this seems to ring true on the bus. Basically, if you are a foreigner, and especially if you are dark and swarthy, people won't sit next to you, even on the most crowded bus where there's standing-room-only. It's actually pretty insulting, since what people are all saying is that they'd rather stand and then sit next to your inferior ass.

Knowing this, I have always stuck in a conundrum. Do I politely put my big bag in my lap and let the seat so empty, a constant reminder of how disgusting Korean people find me, or do I leave it there, and create the impression that I am a big, fat assh*le? I've been leaning on the side of the latter lately, since I am just sick of doing something charitable but made to feel stupid.

In the end, Korea is busy enjoying the fruits of consumable "multiculturalism:" nice Italian cuisine, Chilean wine, and the like. But deep dw, most Koreans don't even want to sit next to you on the bus.

Guilty! Of Being a 깜둥이(Ggamdungi/Nigger) in Korea!

Check this out.

http://thethreewisemonkeys.com/2011/07/19/the-case-of-u-s-private-andre-fisher-sentenced-to-2-years-for-alleged-robbery-of-a-korean-taxi-driver/

Sounds like a case of when I myself was arrested under ridiculous circumstances, but the guy wasn&'t lucky enough for his case to end well. I happened to be lucky enough to have a Korean in my party. Otherwise, this Metropolitician might have been writing from jail for the last couple years.

http://metropolitician.blogs.com/scribblings_of_the_metrop/2007/11/i-got-arrested.html

Good luck, dude. You're gonna need it. Being a nigger in Korea can be the worst crime one can commit, especially if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Some nigger in a hoodie did it!" Grab the nearest one you can find and send him up the river. sounds like South Boston in 1988.

Justice served!