2018 JB LIFE! Magazine Summer Edition

Resident Spotlight
Living as a foreigner in Jeonbuk
The story of Aaron Snowberger, a foreign Jeonbuk Resident
Words byTaeha Jeong
Photos byAaron Snowberger
According to a Korea Times
article published in January
2018, there are now 2.18
million foreigners residing
in South Korea, which accounts for 4.21% of
total South Korean population. However, not
all of them come to stay for their lifetimes;
they come and go after a few years of
residence—and that is what makes those
who stay in South Korea for a long time
unique. This is the story of Aaron Snowberger,
an educator and a freelancer who is spending
his 12th year in South Korea now.
When Aaron went to university, he first made
his connections with Asian culture. He studied
Chinese for three years, and that was when
he first considered going to Asia. He then
took two trips to China, and taught English
to high schoolers for a month in Weifang,
Shandong province. After graduating, Aaron
went to Japan for three months on a tourist
Visa to travel. It was then, when his Japanese
tourist Visa was about to expire, that he
decided to stay in Asia. If this had happened
to the majority of foreigners, they would have
chosen to return to their home country, but
Aaron’s decision was unique.
He started to look for job opportunities in
Japan where he received two offers—one
at an elementary school in the countryside,
the other at an after-school learning center
in the city. Even though these were good
opportunities, in the end, he rejected both
of them. Why? He'd also received a job offer
from Jeonju University, for a summer camp.
And through a variety of circumstances over
the next few years, he was eventually able
to acquire a full-time conversational English
teaching job there, where he still works.
When I heard his story, a question popped
into my mind—was there any opposition
from Aaron’s parents about his decision?
“Not really,” he said. When he received his job
offers, he told his parents that he planned
to either stay in Japan or go to Korea. To my
surprise, his parents respected his decision
without (much) resistance! Eventually Aaron
chose Korea because he preferred university
students to kindergartners. But ironically, he
ended up teaching English to elementary
students anyway at that first Jeonju University
summer camp and for a few years after that.
Aaron also shared with me his experiences
with being a foreigner in Korea.
“A Foreigner!”
This sentence is still one of the most
common phrases he hears when he
walks on the street. But even though he
is accustomed to hearing it, it still irritates
him because “foreigner” makes it sound
like he doesn't belong. Racism in Korea is
decreasing with the increasing population
of foreigners in South Korea, but he still
experiences some bias (both positive and
negative) during his daily life. One of the
most frequent and common stereotypes of
foreigners, especially Western people, is that
all Westerners have fluent English skills, and
they wish to speak English. In the end, lots
of Koreans want Western people to teach
English when in fact they have something
else that they want to do.
“Everyone wants me to be an
English teacher, but I don’t
really want to be one!”
In addition, Aaron told me that he actually
prefers to speak more Korean than English
because he wants more practice to learn
the language. However, sometimes when
he walks into McDonald’s or other small
cafés, for example, workers there speak in
English to him even when he speaks Korean
(apparently they also want to practice their
language skills). Even when he is with his
friends, the same thing happens. This is one
of the hardships that many foreigners who
study Korean experience. But it is not largely
recognized in Korean culture.
“Jeollabuk-do is the
breadbasket of Korea;
local farms Here Produce
the best Foods in Korea.”
Aaron, who has stayed in South Korea for
12 years, has settled in Jeonju. He said he
really loves Jeollabuk-do. He loves the food,
transportation, and lots of other things!
Currently he teaches Computer Science and
Graphic Design at Global Prodigy Academy,
English at Jeonju University, and works as
a freelance graphic designer and website
programmer. He also designed the layout for
this JEONBUK LIFE magazine! He married a
Korean citizen and has two children. Aaron
said he plans to go back to the US for his
children’s education someday, but he wishes
to come back to Korea and spend the rest of
his life here in Jeonju.
TAEHA JONG is a senior at Global
Prodigy Academy in Jeonju. He wishes
to major in Biology at college.
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