Racism in Korea?

I am by  NO MEANS saying that Koreans are racist, but from what I have observed and heard, most Koreans seem to have a thing against people with darker skin, or at least they simply judge anybody with darker skin.

During a class yesterday, there was a new student so I asked where he was from, the other kids were joking and said he's from Thailand. From there, we somehow got into a conversation about people with darker skin. When talking about dark skin, my students used the word 'dirty'. They also had a Korean word they used for people with darker/tan skin, but I can't remember it. From what I understood, Koreans consider people with dark skin to be dirty and poor. Apparently in most Asian countries people with darker skin are considered poor and dirty because their dark skin indicates that they spend a lot of time outside working under the sun. In the Philippines, I remember seeing soap that was supposed to whiten your skin, which I think is weird since the Philippines is in the tropics and it would be almost impossible to avoid the sun and avoid getting dark.

I find this an interesting topic because in recent news, a K Pop singwriter tweeted incredibly racist comments about the African-American community. It's incredibly offensive, but I think it's a must read article. Click here to check it out.

In America, people pay to get tan. In Asia, people pay to get white. I think both are weird.

Other recommended interesting reads:

• Can't We All Just Get Along?
• White Skin: Why Racism In Asia Isn't Quite What You Think

 

Music Monday

I'm obsessed with this song. I love the song and the video and everything. Shout out to Gina Parks who introduced me to this song.

Does anyone else think that the lead singer looks like Ewan McGregor?

'Wat' a Day

My train for Chang Mai didn't leave til the evening so I had the full day to explore the city. I started wandering around, trying to discretely follow other foreigners in the hope that they would lead me to something exciting. However, I stopped stalking a group of foreigners because they looked even more lost than me, but somehow found myself at the gates of the Grand Palace. It was incredibly crowded with Thai people and foreigners. Apparently I was at the Thai only entrance, and I couldn't find the entrance for foreigners. So I roamed around the palace walls until I spotted one! Another foreigner who looked just as lost. Thus I met Nick, guy from New York, in Thailand for about 2 weeks, heading south for the beaches the next day, and my first friend on my trip. It was perfect, now I had someone to take awkward solo pictures of me.

Awkward picture #1. Hello ugly outfit

I would like to mention that apparently my skin was too exposed for the palace, so I had to rent a skirt and shirt to cover my ankles and shoulders, so my outfit inside the palace was awful! Please don't judge me, rather enjoy the photos and the vibrant colors that my mismatched patterns emit.

The Grand Palace was grand indeed, it was HUGE. I don't even think we saw everything, and it was incredibly beautiful. So beautiful it hurt. Okay, I just exaggerated a bit, but seriously, every square inch of the 2,351,000 square feet was stunning. The palace ground were vast and it was filled with temples, courts, palaces, random beautiful buildings I didn't recognize, and gardens. The majority of the time I didn't even know where exactly in the Grand Palace we were, but it didn't matter. We also saw the infamous Emerald Buddha, where you weren't supposed to take pictures but of course I did. I felt a little weird going into all these temples because it is a sacred place for Buddhists, and some Thai people were praying and trying to have a peaceful moment while the rest of us were scrambling around trying to get the best pictures.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha

After the Grand Palace, Nick and I decided to head across the river to Wat Arun, also known as Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan. I also enjoyed my first tuk tuk ride from the palace to the ferry. It was frightening and yet exhilarating. It's amazing how tuk tuks weave in and out of cars and lanes and end up going the wrong way on a side of the street and somehow you still manage to live. 

Tourist alert!

Wat Arun was spectacular in a completely different way that the Grand Palace was. I think I even liked Wat Arun better (shhh). It was old, made from stone, and had vibrant colors. The wat's construction began in the 1800s! Whoa. It was amazing how old it was, how weather has damaged it, and how many people have climbed or touched the wat and yet how beautiful it still was.

Awkward picture #2

The climb to the top was awful. My fear of heights did not help. The steps were incredibly steep and tall, so tall that at one point I was crawling with my hands and knees. After climbing about 250 feet up, the view was totally worth the sweat and tears (Jokes! I didn't cry.) There was a great view of the river, and of Bangkok. Truly stunning.

The main temple

At the top

After Wat Arun, me and my new friend Nick had to part ways. I booked it back to the travel agency, picked up my pack, cabbed it to the train station, and prepared myself for my very first train ride. Look out Chang Mai, here I come!