Following a visit in France between two waves of Covid-19 infections, I decided to reactivate this blog and to review some of the more or less surprising questions I was asked by friends, relatives, acquaintances, and even strangers. All these questions made me realize how little people in France, or at least a large number of them, know about South Korea, and about Asia in general. I must admit that fifteen years ago I certainly didn't know much about this part of the world either. But I figure that by sharing my experience, I can maybe correct some misconceptions.
Most of the questions I was asked were not relevant, they often revealed a lot of prejudices, and some are even a bit annoying, especially when people ask them systematically.
It is the case with this first question, which inspired the title of this series of posts. When I tell someone that I live in Korea (or some variation like "my wife is from Korea" or "this summer I'm going to Korea"). The chances are very high that I will be asked the question that kills. In three words:
"North or South?"
It's borderline Pavlovian. I have the impression that my interlocutors ask me the question without even thinking. The answer that comes to me spontaneously is: "What do you think?" Sometimes I manage to remain courteous and simply answer "South, of course." Sometimes I go for irony and answer "North." "Really?" my interlocutor then says, which proves that they did know the answer. Indeed, what are the probabilities that I could live in what is probably the most closed country in the world, where the regime is autocratic and the economy is in shambles (they even talked about food shortages in 2021). Entering North Korea is very complicated, and I am not even sure that it is possible for a foreigner to actually settle there.
But that won't stop them from asking this question. Maybe it's my fault, I should think about saying "I live in South Korea", but sometimes I forget because it's so obvious to me. But it's a fact that many people can't talk about South Korea without thinking about North Korea. For example, if you read an article about South Korea (about K-Pop, Squid Game, or anything unrelated to the country's foreign policy), you can be sure that the comments section will be full of references to the North, which are often completely off-topic.
In short, if you meet Koreans or expats living in Korea, avoid asking them the killer question. This will be a very good starting point. But there are quite a few other irrelevant questions to avoid, which I will address in future posts.
