The Dangerous Sub-Society

During my three month stay in Korea I learned a lot about the way different cultures work, think, and interact. I met people from all over the world and learned so much about many different ways of life. But before I came to Korea my primary goal was to learn mostly about Koreans and interact with Koreans. I learned the basics of the Korean language in an attempt to show my willingness to try to connect with Koreans. But my experiences kept making me feel like I would never be able to truely connect with Koreans and be part of the Korean society.

As I tried to connect I faced several different obstacles that blocked my path to reaching my goal of emercing myself in Koeran society. The first obstacle was language. In my attempts to learn the language I faced a lot of adversity. Most of the time when I would try to speak to Koreans in Korean they would either interupt me and tell me they speak english or just respond in english.  Occationally they would respond in Korean. It was very difficult for me to practice Korean and get comfortable speaking because there is an expectation for caucations like myself to only speak english which has arisen because the majority of foreigners in Korea are there to teach english. But I was not an english teacher, and this led me to feel disconnected from Korean society and amplified the fact that I was an outsider. 

It is also very hard to break into the Korean society because they have a very strong 'in-group out-group' system that was explained to me by a Korean and a Korean-American now living in Korea. They tried to explain that in Korean society people tend to form very strong 'in-groups' with people that they are friends and family with. Anyone who is different or not part of the 'in-group' is henceforth, in the 'out-group.' People who are in the out-group will have a very hard time fitting into an in-group. Many Koreans whom I have talked to that have spent time abroad said that they even have a hard time fitting back into Korean society because people imidiately notice they are different. This system tends to create gaps between those in an in-group and outsiders. I want to clarify that this is not because Koreans are rude people, it is simply based upon their set of values. They highly value harmony in relationships and avoid conflict and dissagreements whenever possible. So creating an 'in-group' helps to maintian that harmony. Koreans are deffinitely nice people, I believe that this is just their way of forming a social system based upon their set of values. But this does pose a problem for those who want to be a part of the main society because any type of difference may cause a native Korean to feel uncomfortable fully letting someone into their 'in-group.' 

As somone who was different in Korea I felt that I was not being fully accepted into Korean society and never made my way into an in-group. Instead I found myself in a sub-society of other foreigners. Most other foreigners agreed with me that it is hard to fully assimilate into a purely Korean society. It seems that some foreigners thrive on this idea of being different because it brings a lot of attention to them. As I was explaining before, Koreans are nice people and tend to be very generous when dealing with foreigners, expecially caucations. This attention can lead to being complaicent because one may feel priveledged. I was having a conversation one evening at dinner with an American, a native Korean, and a Philipino. I was expressing my frustration about how I'll speak Korean and people will respond in english and how I felt on the outside of society because people treated me differently. The girl from the philipians told me that most people thrive on the feeling of being different and being a foreigner because they enjoy the attention and priveledges. To me, this didn't really cross my mind. To me, I wanted to be part of the 'main society' but instead I was forsce to be a part of a 'sub-society.'

It took me several weeks to even become part of a sub-society. And before  I became part of the sub-society of foreign friends I made I went through a lot of frustrating times feeling lonely and stressed. It made me very uncomfortable with my situation. And as I went through the adventure of adapting to a new society I started to draw connections with my struggles and that of homeless people. The only problem being, homeless people have it even worse. 

Homeless people are living in a sub-society. One that is not formed by choice, but one that has resulted because they have been sheilded from the 'main society.' Just as I was ousted from the 'main society' in Korea, I took refuge in a 'sub-society' of foreigners. But unlike myself homeless people do not recieve special attention and they definitely don't recieve generous hospitality. Instead they recieve hostility. The 'main society' tends to view them as lesser people because of their situation and rejects them from the main society because they are viewed as different and outcasts. The problem with homelessness is not that they are financially poor or because they smell bad it is because they are relational poor. They are limited with who they can interact with because they are rejected from interacting with the 'main society.' 

To people that are not homeless, the answer to how to help the homeless may be found by looking at how to integrate sub-societies into 'main societies.' There are clearly more complexities to the homeless situation, such as finances, jobs, housing, health issues, addictions, and other such issues, but the biggest problem is when someone has lived in the sub-society of homeless for many years they may have a hard time assimilating back into the 'main society.' Some may integrate easily, while others may not. But this is an issue of homelessness that needs to be addressed and I feel has been widely overlooked.

-Andrew Breighner

I know nothing about the homelessness 2

                                                   Seoul City

           I was scared, and terrified that I could not think anything. Really, I could have just took a bus or a train and leave. But at that moment, I must have believed that I was homeless – I thought I had nowhere to go.

            I kept looking for the old man, but I failed to do so. While looking for the old man, I found another man sitting on the other side of the stairs. I walked up to him and asked if he saw the old man I was with.

“He went down that way.”He pointed toward the opposite side of the station. “I have never seen you before. Where is your hometown?”

I answered him that I am from Incheon city. Then he asked: “Why are living out here?”

            He thought that I was homeless. I hesitated whether I should lie or tell the truth and finally, I told him the truth. When I told him the truth, he seemed mad.

“Don’t even dare to dream about experiencing the homelessness. It sucks.”

He almost yelled as he was saying the words. He was not mad at me, but it seemed like he was mad about his life.

“It is really dangerous out here. People steal things from each other and even hurt each other.”

He pointed at his teeth. He did not have 4 front teeth.  

“Do you see this? I lost them from fighting someone on the street. Fighting is very common here. Let me tell you a story, not too long ago, a drunken homeless woman stabbed three people with her knife in front of Seoul station. Out of those three, two were not homeless. Lots of people here carry knives in their coats.” And then he showed me a scar on his neck and continued.

“Someone I don’t even know tried to stab me while I was sleeping. That’s street life. If you have anything curious about it, just ask me and go back to you home.

I was frightened. This feeling was similar to the feeling I had when I was in New York City witnessing Ronnie (a homeless guy I met there) attempting to buy drugs from a dealer. Later, when the man calmed down, I asked him the reason he is out on the street.

“I became homeless during the IMF. I used to own a clothes factory and had 35 employees under me.”

            Soon after the homeless man finished his words, a man halted as he approached to us. I looked up and saw him coming toward us. The man stopped right in front of us and greeted to the man whom I was talking to. The man did not have focus on his eyes and he was rocking his body back and forth. He looked at me and said:

“Do you want a cigarette?” He lifted his right hand toward the pocket on his left chest. Then I realized that his hands were bloody that I could not even tell the shape of his hands.”

I told him that I don’t smoke but I could not make an eye contact since I was intimidated.  

“Do you really want to experience the homelessness? This is the reality kid!” The homeless man whom I was talking to shouted as he pointed at the man in front of us.

“Have you ever seen anyone dead? I was on the streets for 4 years and I don’t remember the number of people I saw dead. People who I drink with yesterday die today. I look like a tough guy right? But this life on the street makes me cry so many times.”  

I was speechless. I was just dumbfounded from the shock. The guy who tried to give me a cigarette went on his way. After he went, there was a few minutes of silence. Finally, I opened my mouth and asked him if he wants to eat something.

            “I wish to drink some alcohol. Can you get me some?”

I said I couldn’t and I told him I can get food for him. But he refused and asked for a bottle of soda. I ran to a store nearby and bought him a bottle of soda.

“Many people on the street cannot eat well. They drink too much alcohol and now their stomach cannot handle food well. Some people throw up if they eat. One time, I could not eat for 22 days and went to a hospital.” He said after he had a sip of the drink.

I asked him why don't people quit drinking then.

“You cannot live on the streets without drinking. That will be too harsh. You must drink to bear it.”

I asked him what would be a good way to help the homeless.  

“The homeless people have problems too. They should not make others uncomfortable. There are homeless people who pee inside Seoul station or even poop. But other people have problems too. One time, a worker in Seoul Station pushed a homeless on a wheel chair to kick the person out of the station. Unfortunately, the homeless person fell from the stairs and died. What’s more maddening is that the worker was determined as an innocent person at the court.”

 That was an appalling story. I asked him if anyone attempted to have a conversation in order to understand him.

“There have been some people who gave me food here and there, but for past 4 years, there has not been a single person who tried to talk to me. That’s for sure.”

For other people, the homeless were merely animals in the zoo who can be content only with food.

I asked him one more time if I can stay with him for one night to learn about the homelessness. He firmly said “No” and said that I must go back. I thought for awhile and eventually came back home. On the way back, I kept thinking whether I should have stayed or not. However, I came to a conclusion that I need to find a homeless who is willing to accept me to his daily life before I do anything. I will keep looking for the one as long as I am in Korea. Pray for me.

Issac Won

I know nothing about the homelessness 1

            My heart was pumping like crazy. I was sweating and tentative to walk forward. As I was getting closer to Seoul Station, my mind was spinning and changing thoughts hundred times per second. Tonight, I planned to sleep outside on the street with the homeless. Andy decided not to join me since such action could cause him some legal problems; moreover, he is too noticeable among the homeless in Korea where there are no white homeless people.

            I wandered around to find a homeless man to whom I can connect with. I figured that it would be meaningless to just sleep outside by myself since I would not be able to learn anything about the homeless. In fact, I was looking for someone like Greg (my homeless friend in Harrisburg, PA) who is willing to help me to learn about the homelessness. It was not easy. Many people were drunk and mentally unstable. It was almost to the point where I could not really distinguish between the homeless and simply drunk people.

            Finally, I saw an old man sitting on the stairs near the main gate of Seoul station. I approached to him and asked if he wanted anything to eat.

“I don’t need anything to eat. I just need water. Could you get me some water?” the man said politely.

I ran to a convenient store in the station and brought him a bottle of water and I discreetly sat next to him.

“Did you eat yet? Do you want some of my kimbab?” He asked me as he showed me his kimbab (it is a Korean dish that resembles much like Sushi rolls)

I told him that I am not hungry then he started to eat. While I was sitting with the old man I could notice the pedestrians looking at me weirdly. Maybe after he had 3 pieces of kimbab, he stopped eating.

“I can’t eat anymore. My stomach hurts.” The man said in pain and he continued: “My stomach cannot handle much food.”

We were sitting down together for like an hour. I asked him various things including the reason he is on the streets. The old man became a homeless about a month ago because he could not work anymore. His children are living far south of Korea; therefore, he rarely gets any help from them. After awhile, I carefully asked him if he can help me out to experience the homelessness in Korea.

“No.. I am afraid I cannot help you.” The old man said with his confused look and said: “I like to be alone.”

I tried to convince him but I couldn’t. He was saying that it is illegal to be with a young man (which is clearly a lie). I gave up to convince him and asked him where I can get cardboard boxes. He told me the location and I went there telling him that I will be back soon.

            When I came back, the old man disappeared. The sky was already dark, and I did not know what to do. I felt like I was abandoned. I have been to Seoul station perhaps more than 100 times since I came to Korea but the place looked too different for me tonight. It was cold, hostile and grotesque.

Issac Won