All posts tagged: Korea University

South Korea and Racism. Again.

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Sam Okyere talks about racism in South Korea Just because you don’t know it’s called “being racist” doesn’t mean you’re not being one A couple of years back, I wrote about racism in Korea. Recently, Ghanaian-born South Korean TV star Sam Okyere’s JTBC interview has got South Koreans thinking about the issue of racism once again. Okyere’s experiences of racism, optimistic outlook, and integration in South Korean society echo those voiced earlier by Stanley Hawi in 2015. Racism exists in South Korea. There’s no denying this (There is racism in every society, no matter how”educated” or less “educated” their general population may be on the issue). It manifests itself in different ways: Here in South Korea, white women are labelled whores, because they are sexually liberated, so I, also a man, deserve to have a go at them. Korean women who date white men are seen as sluts, because they remind me of the government-sponsored whores we leased to the GIs. South Asian women are seen as subhuman, because we bought you, and thus you are a living doll, to …

Korea University in Photos

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Today I visited the university I did my Bachelor’s at  to meet some friends, and took advantage of the beautiful weather to take some photos. There are so many international students on campus in fall, about 1400 this year, which is a lot considering only about 2000 new students are admitted every year. When I got to campus, a welcoming party was en route and a cheering session was planned for the evening. Media Hall, constructed 2013. View from Samsung Centennial Digital Library (Yes, it really is called that) Graduate school library, home to many frustrated doctorate candidates and postdocs who smoke outside the building looking glum. Close-up of one of the towers at graduate school library Basketball court – man pointing his finger is the traffic officer. Students eating Chinese delivery in front of the Main Hall, a designated historical site and administrative building. A group of students were gathering by the staircase for a group photo Posters promoting university societies, clubs, and graduate recruiting events Some of the posters read: “Calling all investors”, “Doosan …

My Non-Valedictorian Speech That Was Never Caught on Camera

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Me looking all grown-up and holding my $40,000 degree (no taxes!) Photo source: Un-graduating friend working as my assistant du jour Hello Citizens of the Internet! I graduated today, and since I was not one of those fancy valedictorian-summa cum laude people, I decided to write a little dedication to the wonderful people I met during my five years at university. There’s a little part dedicated to the horrible people too, but feel free to skip over that. TO THE HUMAN BEINGS: Dear Professors who wrote me recommendation letters for graduate school: Thank you for accepting and writing recommendation letters for me. Because I wasn’t an excellent student and you had no reason to write them. From one of you I took two development courses in which I got As, which was great. But from another of you, I’d only gotten Bs in history, and I kind of know that you didn’t really know who I was until I turned up at your office asking for a recommendation. But I know you were too gracious …