Angry Me

Well, I just got through searching through blogs regarding Koreans studying in the Philippines, and I'm disturbed. There's one article out there insinuating that Korean English students come here for prostitution and drug use. That's some self-proclaimed genius' point of view that probably has very little basis in reality, and with the students that I know, it has no basis in reality.

The actual post title in question is too vulgar to put here, but I almost want to post it here. I'll just answer what it was in reference to.

First off, Philippine girls have higher moral practices than an American would think (I'm American, so I'll speak to that.). The average age for sex here is 18 and older. Now, I'm not an idiot, I'm sure that's changing over time, but I believe it because I've been here almost 2 years. I see how things go. People here don't actually have much privacy. Homes are occupied with several family members and within those homes, the rooms offer little privacy, and the common culture is conservative regarding younger people and girlfriend/boyfriend stuff. I know things happen everywhere, but to characterize underage girls here as easy and sleeping with foreigners is highly prejudiced and wrong. Now, if the person that wrote that is actually Philippino, ok, then he's like someone I know here at work who exaggerates and has a different lifestyle than your average Philippino person.

That's just the begining. The person suggested that South Koreans come here to study English to have sex with teenagers and smoke pot, and are now accostomed to prostitutes. ERGH. There are prostitutes here, but even they are a bit on the tame side, and they are older people, not teenagers. Although some of the students here have gone to a questionable location in Batangas, all was on the up and up. By the way, both Korean and Philippino people don't believe in secrets, they blab all.

As far as drugs go, you've got to be kidding me. Drugs are not as common as I thought they woud be here. There's a certain way that law enforcement works that leads me to believe drugs should be everywhere. I KNOW there are drugs here, but the rich kids do them from time to time, it's not a given that any students would run into the availability. BUT that's not what bugs me the most. Drugs are extremely rare in Korea. Students don't just step off the plane and all of a sudden feel comfortable enough to engage in illegal activity that they aren't familiar with especially here. Some of the students are scared of the Philippines. "Philippines not safe for Koreans!" They tell eachother urban legends of the Korean who was murdered here and there...lots of urban legends, I roll my eyes. Although some of them might be true. Don't try and tell me that students come here and get addicted to prostitutes and pot. Oh, and you know what else? Students told me that if you're a Korean and you're caught doing drugs overseas, you will be prosecuted back at home as well!

I'm sure that occasionally a student has paid for a date or tried some strange cigarette, but that's not what was implied by the blog entry. I don't know if the writer was American, but I feel like mentioning that America is now the bottom of the barrel for sex and drugs and Americans should not feel like they are going to visit another country for something worse. A certian district in Thailand, ok, but your average Thai girl is going to want to be your friend and maybe catch a foreign husband. And that's another thing, the girls here are keenly interested in foreign men, but to fulfill their hopes of a married secure life, not ever thinking that they would be used as a toilet and offered money. Yuck.

The Korean students that come here are quite innocent with one or two exceptions.
You know, this has upset me! I can tell because I just proofread my entry and there were all kinds of spelling mistakes, forgotten words, dropped letters...out of all the entries I've written to date, I had to edit this one the most! I'm pissed.