I grew up as a child of immigrants, speaking a language other than English, and being brought up with a set of values that differed from the societal norm. I thought I knew a thing or two about what immigrants go through. Back then, a number of things brought be back to reality.
- First, I didn’t look like an immigrant. I was a white kid wearing semi-normal clothes and I spoke English without an accent. The only way someone would know I was a second generation immigrant was by asking me, or by knowing the regional history of my last name.
- Second, lots of people around me did look like immigrants. They were all white as well, but that didn’t stop them from being victims of racism. I knew I wasn’t an immigrant partly because I witnessed more suffering than I felt.
- Third, I can’t remember when my national identity was formed. I am proud to be Canadian and I always have been. I can’t trace it back to a ceremony or crossing the border for the first time, by boat, plane or automobile. I know those moments are precious for other people, but I have always called Canada my home, and have never had my right to do so questioned.

Moving to Korea has opened my eyes to the immigrant experience in many ways. I would like to share with you some of our experiences here that we hadn’t imagined. Before that though, I want to add that it is in many ways a small disadvantage relatively speaking. Greater society here recognizes the value that English teachers play, and Christians here are truly grateful for the work of missionaries here in the past. Although we do not feel comfortable with that label, we are often introduced as such, and we benefit from the ire legacy. Perhaps the most significant difference is that we are here on assignment, so all of our costs are covered.
1. Sales staff at stores avoid us - You might think this would be a good problem, but when you’re looking for something, a little guidance would be helpful.
2. We used to stay in a lot - The inability to communicate makes us stay in more than we normally would. This sometimes means that we eat at home instead of going to restaurants, we do not seek out entertainment options, and we hesitate to seek medical help.
3. We very often eat the same meals - We don’t always know what is in the packages at grocery stores, and even when we do, we don’t always know how to prepare it. This means we stick wo what we know how to make given what resources are available, which is a slowly growing repertoire of dishes.
4. People talk about us behind our backs - More than once, we’ve gotten on the elevator at our apartment and the person in it pushes the button for our floor without us telling them which floor we live on. How do they know? They know, they all know.
5. People expect so little of us, and yet so much - Anytime we show up somewhere without having been given specific driving directions, they are impressed. We eat kimchi … with chopsticks, and they are impressed. But when we say a simple Korean greeting, they are frustrated when we don’t understand the long, quickly spoken response they give.
6. We forget everything - I’m shaking a person’s hand, and their name has just come off their lips, and I have already forgotten it. And it’s not just names, but simple vocabulary, locations, foods, etc. My brain just doesn’t recognize the sounds, so I forget it.
7. People ask how long we’re staying - We don’t plan on living here forever, but it’s clear when certain people that ask that, that they don’t expect us to stay.
8. I can’t demonstrate actual intelligence - I’m usually limited to speaking with simple English sentences so that people will understand me or extremely simple Korean sentences. Little kids laugh at how my Korean handwriting looks childish as well as my frequent spelling mistakes. The two of us can have a five minute conversation about how to construct one sentence we will try to use at the convenience store we are walking to. For someone who once got some sense of dignity from the semblance of intelligence, this is tough on the ego.

These problems have gotten a lot better over time, but they are still frustrating.