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By John Redmond
Media professional and Texan J. Kim found herself on the receiving end of Korean racist employers after she was fired 20 minutes into a job because they required a "real American."
After voiceover sample was selected by a client, her agent booked studio time, only to have the client cancel because of her Asian appearance. Kim took to social networking sites to make her point.
"Hahaha, I guess a Texan isn't a real American?" she posted on Facebook.
Also commenting on her looks and name, she added, "Or does it have to do with my squinty eyes and me not choosing to go by an American name? I mean come on ... they chose my sample!"
The response to her comment was pretty strong. "Sorry to hear it ... but that is how I feel about doing work at Arirang (TV) ... wrong skin color, despite skills," said a man, who just identified himself as LO.
The argument also touched on the issue of gyopo, or expatriate Koreans, native speakers and the perception from Korean employers.
"I've known some really smart people who couldn't fathom that I could be from Texas. Koreans can't distinguish 100 percent fluent English from 95 percent fluent, so they need the white-face seal of approval, even if they happen to be Russian...," said another Korean-American, G. Lee.
"You know that a lot of gyopo have an accent ... not a Korean accent, but specifically a gyopo one (you know which one I'm talking about ... it's all over Arirang), and Korean speakers often can't hear the difference, so they play it safe," stated a woman known as An. D.
"Not to mention I've had to re-record things done by ‘gyopo' who were actually Koreans who had lived abroad for many years and tried to pass themselves off as native speakers. I've also been told not to reveal to clients that I'm half-Korean, lest they assume that I, too, am not a ‘real' American," she added.
As in many cases, the issue came down to stereotyping and the actions of a few that has tainted the job market.
"I blame it on the Koreans that lived in the U.S. for awhile, but don't have perfect English and try to pawn themselves off as one and just make people like me look bad," Kim concluded.
