By Shelton Bumgarner
One of my favorite books is ``It" by Steven King. The book is an amazing work of fiction because it works on a number of different levels.
The plot is a bunch of little kids discover that the source of all evil in the universe. ``It'' is a big spider that lives under a small Maine town named Dairy. Why there? Well, really, why not? Where else would it hide out?
That's how I feel about some of the more interesting characters who live in Korea. The last taboo about being an expat, for me, is how often you meet people ― men and women ― who anywhere else in the world would be described as ``sinister.'' You can't really put your finger on it, but you know you wouldn't really want to cross them if push came to shove.
To make this situation even more interesting, among expats in Korea these ``sinister'' people seem to be the ones with all the power. Somehow, these people who seem so interested in only hurting their fellow expats are the very people everyone (other than myself) wants to hang out with. It's very strange to someone of my background, but obviously very true.
This particular confluence of social interaction has led to more ethical conundrums in my life than I ever thought imaginable. It used to be that not a week went by that I didn't find my ethical universe stretched and warped as I came to realize some very bad people were very good friends with other individuals I liked, even loved.
Now, the confession I have to make is in the past I seemed determined to throw metaphorical rocks at these sinister expat spiders lurking peacefully in their holes. I don't quite know why, but I did. A lot of it had to do with my own cluelessness about how the expat world really worked and some of it was just bad luck.
It took me a long time to realize the dynamic of this darker side of expat life. I didn't see the universe for what it really was, if you will. I came from a small town and had never experienced big city life that can be found in Korea, so I made a lot of mistakes that I didn't realize were mistakes. Or, I as I sometimes joke to myself, I didn't realize I was violating the rules of good versus evil found in the Big Book of Being Bad.
In hindsight, I understand it maybe my run-ins with these ``sinister'' expats was part of my social acclimation as the effects of being a ``long term'' expat sunk in on my psych. I realize now that for someone as artistically inclined ― and conspicuous ― as myself, the best bet is to just leave these sinister spiders in their lairs. Generally, sinister people leave you alone if you don't bother them as they go about their nefarious business.
Your best bet is to not think of them as ``It'' or ``the devil,'' or whatever. They're just people who serve a social function ― one you may not agree with, but one that is going to exist regardless of what you do ― and that's just life. Although, to conjure up an image from the ending of another great book, Animal Farm, I worry that one day someone much like myself may encounter myself and a ``sinister'' person, and they won't be able to tell the difference.
The author is a writer-photographer working at an English language institute in Busan. He may be reached at migukin@gmail.com.