Korea (and Japan) are notoriously xenophobic. They simply (as a general cultural characteristic) don't want people of different races settling permanently in their country.
I don’t think “xenophobic” is the correct word. They’re not afraid or contemptuous of individual foreigners. (Unlike say the French, or Middle Easterners.) At least in Tokyo, they seem to like tourists. But they have a strong sense of having their country, with its distinct ethnic and cultural identity, while other people have their countries.
> They’re not afraid or contemptuous of individual foreigners.
For Japan, superficially, perhaps, because this would violate rules of decorum, but in reality, no, people are quite hostile to foreigners, especially non-Western foreigners. Being openly racist toward Chinese or Korean immigrants is considered perfectly acceptable. Discrimination in employment, access to housing, healthcare and service by businesses on the basis of country of origin is also common. Despite being technically illegal under the Japanese constitution, there is little to no protection of these rights, outside individual lawsuits.
Perhaps it depends on which culture defines the word "xenophobia". Mere prejudice is sufficient according to one definition[1], which is indeed still evident in Korea. Also, attitudes towards foreigners are perhaps harder to hide when such foreigners stay longer (e.g. for the purpose of residency, not just tourism).
I don't know about Koreans. But I don't think the Japanese "dislike" foreign cultures. They have a strong sense of and preference for their own culture.
> I suspect you’re mistaking not wanting/being able to speak English for not wanting to interact with non-Japanese people.
Language doesn't have to do anything with it, it's more base than that. On a crowded subway for example, Japanese people won't want to sit near a white person or might get up and move if you sit near them.
People here avoid sitting near everyone. If you have 5 bags of stuff(cause that what tourists do), or even if you are overweight (something not that common here, and space-wise is a wise decision) then even worse.
But I don't think you are trying to have a conversation here, than just trying to push "facts" you read on reddit.
Not overweight and no bags at all. And it's one thing if they were already sitting and then get up if you sit next to them, but were fine sitting next to other Japanese. They are not exactly subtle about it.
I'm not trying to push anything, just recounting my own experiences.
I think the xenophobia of small town Americans is overstated. That said, it’s different because America is an individualist society. In a society where everyone is an island, it’s harder to explain why you care about someone with a different culture moving next door. By contrast in more collectivist societies, everyone is expected to follow the same norms and behave the same way, so people with disparate cultures moving in does actually create an imposition on everyone else.
An interesting story about Japan. I know someone who is ethnically Japanese, but who was raised in America and moved to Japan as an adult. He remarked he gets a lot of flak because he looks like he should know the rules, but doesn’t. It’s really not about “xenophobia.” It’s about having an orderly society where everyone knows the same rules and adheres to the same culture.
That’s a very American viewpoint. I think individualism should be punished. It’s why everything in America that requires social cooperation (public transit, government, etc.) is so shitty. Even just walking down the street—I nearly had a panic attack taking the New York subway the other day because of all the individualism.
> Not really. It's the viewpoint of most cultures throughout history.
Most cultures do not value individualism. It's not even universal to Americans, historically.
> Individualism allows for innovation and creativity.
So what? It doesn't allow for an orderly society that's pleasant to live in.
> This is a shame. Were you raised in Japan?
No, just a tourist who has eyes and can see what shit holes American cities are in comparison. I was raised in Virginia. At least there, at that time, Christianity still functioned as a check on American individualism. Unfortunately that has collapsed.
Most cultures absolutely do. Japanese culture is teh exception not the rule.
> So what? It doesn't allow for an orderly society that's pleasant to live in.
Of course it does. Those two things are not mutually exclusive at all. Unless you take one of them way too far like the Japanese do, with no discernible benefit.
> No, just a tourist who has eyes and can see what shit holes American cities are in comparison.
That's not because of individualism, that's because of corruption, lack of regulation and enforcement, wealth disparity etc. Other western countries with the same focus on individualism have very nice and clean cities.
> Christianity still functioned as a check on American individualism. Unfortunately that has collapsed.
The sooner any and all religions become forgotten, the better we will all be for it.
> Most cultures absolutely do. Japanese culture is teh exception not the rule.
By what measure? Most of the world is African and Asian, and those cultures are not individualistic.
> Of course it does. Those two things are not mutually exclusive at all. Unless you take one of them way too far like the Japanese do, with no discernible benefit.
The Japanese system produces tremendous benefits: an orderly society where everyone behaves according to rules.
> That's not because of individualism, that's because of corruption, lack of regulation and enforcement, wealth disparity etc.
Japan has corruption, wealth disparity, etc., as well. That isn't the thing that makes it different. Every society has those forces. Individualism just makes it harder to build a nice society in spite of them.
> Other western countries with the same focus on individualism have very nice and clean cities.
Most western countries aren't as individualistic as America. They're different than Asia, which is based on strong family networks, but it's not the worship of self that prevails in America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante.
> The sooner any and all religions become forgotten, the better we will all be for it.
I wouldn't hold my breath, given that the world is becoming more religious: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/27/religion-why-is.... Christianity was the glue holding American society together, and now that's breaking down we are seeing the consequences.
If we relied on individualists for everything we would still have no sewage system or water supply. Famously British parliament refused to fund a sewage system until they were tortured with stench for months.
Extreme individualism leads to societal collapse. In fact the concept of society means there are some limits on individualism.
The other day I saw a bigger toddler kicking a smaller toddler in a museum, with no parents in sight, and no one was willing to intervene until my wife did. People just look at their feet and ignore the issue.
There's a difference in punishing individual expression and freedom, and ignoring something bad going on. Cultures like Japan's punish people for wanting to veer away from the family expectations/role in any way. It's ridiculous and anachronistic.
Ignoring family expectations and social roles is "something bad." Why do you think you are special, and need to do something different than everyone else does?
I get that that's not what you meant by "Middle Easterners" but for what it's worth I think most foreigners would find themselves feeling quite welcome in Israel, as most people would feel happy that you decided to come here and want to make sure you have a good time and leave with a positive impression.
