Pronunciation:

\ˈfȯr-ən, ˈfär-\

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

Middle English forein, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin foranus on the outside, from Latin foris outside — more at forum

Date:

13th century

"This site is something of a go-it-alone misfit for bandying about the term ‘Westerner’ instead of the more common ‘gaijin’ or ‘foreigner’. When I’m walking down the street, I tend not to think of myself as anything other than me, but, if forced to wear a label, I would go with Western because the ideas underlying the society I was raised in derive more or less from Greek thought filtered thought the Abrahamic religions. However much I strive, I will probably never escape this. I realise that Westerner is problematic because it excludes people from non-Western countries who experience Japan with the same sense of detachment. But foreigner is no better due to the subject-relativity of the term. The postman is as foreign to me as I am to him. When a Westerner returns to his own country, he’s no longer foreign but he is still a Westerner and, if he wants, he can still be a gaijin, a non-Japanese. But the label gaijin is just loathsome. For an example of why, look at the following terms in which it makes an appearance:

Gaijin Bar: decrepit establishment that no right-minded Japanese would ever visit. Identifying marks are soggy beermats, pay-as-you-order drinks, live TV sports and military guys placing each other in friendly headlocks.

Gaijin Card: ID that non-Japanese must carry on their person to prove that they have the legal right to be in the country.

Gaijin House: cheap-ish, communal lodgings for anyone looking for a place to bed down for a short-term period.

Gaijin Power: getting your own way by feigning or flaunting ignorance of the social code.

Gaijin Talent: foreign guest who adds novelty value to a Japanese TV show by being able to speak Japanese. Take Patrick Harlan, or ‘Pakkun’: an American feted by Japanese for being a Harvard graduate who puts his Ivy League education to good use by doing pretend kung fu kicks and interviewing B-list Hollywood actors.

Now, if you place a disparaging English word - crap, for example - in place of gaijin in each case, you’ll find that the meaning doesn’t change. In some cases, the meaning becomes clearer. The connotations are perfectly obvious: gaijin means, in cases one to five: flighty, suspicious, transitory, ignorant, quaint. Better make sure the drinks are paid for and demand rent on a weekly basis."

The term "Weigugin" doesn't have the same power as Gaijin (nor does it have the same power as the Foreigner Belt, which gives "all of the superpowers of '70s supergroup, Foreigner.") But it still symbolizes us as outsiders. Look at the Hanja (which is similar to the Kanji, the only difference is that Korea uses the traditional character for country - 國 - instead of the modified Japanese character - 国)

外: outside 國: country 人: person.

It is amazing how well many of the above concepts apply to South Korea. In stead of Gaijin Bar, we have the Foreigner Bar, known as being a hang out for foreigners (See Itaewon for many prime examples.) Instead of a Gaijin Card (Gaikokujintourokushyoumeishyo), we have an Alien Registration Card (all Korean also have national identification cards, so it isn't as big a deal here. What is a big deal is that fact that despite given a registration number, it is almost impossible for people to register to website since most websites require a national identification number, and if we do manage to register, we can't buy anything since we mostly don't have Korea-issued credit cards.) There is no equivalent to Gaijin House in Korea because basically there is a whole section of society that lives in piss-poor housing known as one rooms, which is basically just like it sounds. In my one room, I don't have a sink in my bathroom (which thankfully is in a separate room, but is annoying none the less.) Gaijin Power is a concept well known to westerners in Korea, but it doesn't have a specific term. Basically, when someone knows that are doing something stupid that is against cultural norms, they just say, "It's ok, I'm a foreigner, I can get away with it." Note that this does not count when it comes to doing things that normal Koreans do all the time (see here for an example - be careful about posting that crazy picture of you online!) Lastly, Gaijin Talent does exist in Korea, though once again, there is no specific term. The best example of this comes from "The Beauties' Chatterbox", a show where different girls from around the world discuss their experiences in Korea (in Korean no less.) Many of these girls have become quite popular, starring in commercials, photo shoots or risque late night semi-pornos (Sorry can't find the link.)

Now westerners, for the most part, are a migratory species. We are here for a year or two, do what we do, then get the hell out of here, not sure how much we improve the quality of English. But there definitely is more of a community here of westerners that did not exist back in Japan. People here are much more likely to say hello to a random westerner. Still, I think more can be done to improve the communication between foreigners westerners in Korea, especially Cheongju. So with that in mind, I recommend you check out Life in Cheongju, my new wordpress blog that I am using specifically to provide information for people in Cheongju. It's still in it's infantile stage, but with luck, by the time I leave Korea I'll have it exactly where I want it. Check it out here.