“Madame Butterfly” (Image source: Movieposter.com) I have very little respect for Puccini, simply because of this opera.   My friend once met a marijuana-selling Frenchman in Seoul who said: I want to stay here forever. In France I would never, ever get laid, but here, girls are hitting on me just because I am French. Being a foreigner means many things in Korea. You’re “different”. This “being foreign” status entitles you to many advantages as well as prejudices. For instance, it you are a Caucasian-looking woman, men will assume you are readily available for sex. But on the other hand, if you are a Caucasian-looking man, your mother-in-law-to-be won’t grill you with “What do your parents do? “Where is your hometown?” “Do you own an apartment in your name?” “How much do you make?”, like she would a Korean son-in-law-to-be. Korea attracts a very wide array of migrants. There are the English teachers. The businesspeople. The Korean Studies students. Or, those passing by, on exchange student programs, on a Korean government (NIIED) scholarship, on an …