#5 Other foreigners

That’s right, some foreigners like to complain about other foreigners.  It usually occurs after the foreigner has lived here for awhile, say about 9 months.  They start acting like they’ve got their shit together and they try to start acting more “Korean” whatever that fuck that is.  They also start making comments about how annoying other foreigners are or they start a stupid blog.  It also has a tendency to come in conjunction when a foreigner begins a relationship with a native. 

Nothing, and by god I mean NOTHING is more ignorant, arrogant and annoying than a foreigner that’s in a relationship with a native.  The foreigner usually has this misguided notion that language skills, historical references and culture can be transmitted via bodily fluids.  The foreigner immediately becomes an expert on all things Korean.

 Try this out sometime:  ask a question about Korea to a foreigner that you know is in a relationship with a native.  First he/she will futitely attempt to answer the question, if they can’t answer the question the next thing they do is say “hold on, let me call my SO”   If they call their SO in your presence, the phone call is immediately started with a phrase in Korean to show off their newly acquired Korean skills and then immediately switches to English.

The combination of their newly acquired language skills thru bodily fluid exchange, Koreans’ overzealous response to a foreigner speaking any Korean and the genuine low level of intelligence found in the average human being makes for an incredibly annoying foreigner that is an expert at Korean pronunciation.  If you’re having a bad day and you need something to brighten your mood.  Observe a foreigner correcting another foreigner on the finer nuances of Korean pronunciation.  I’ve observed the following exchange before:

Foreign Man #1:  We gotta go to Youngsahn

Foreign Man #2:  No dude, you’re pronouncing it all wrong!  It’s YOUNGSAN!

Foreign Man #1:  Fuck it, let me call my girlfriend. 

 Note:  Foreign men married to natives are the MOST guilty of this.  Why bother learning Korean when you’ve got a live-in translator!