Being in Alabama, it is quite easy to be mistaken as a Chinese because almost all of the Asians are Chinese/Vietnamese and it’s quite amusing and slightly irritating for me to correct them that I am from SOUTH KOREA, not from China.
It’s even funnier when a CHINESE mistakes you as a Chinese(we Asians know how to differentiate between different Asians so to me it’s even more amusing)
What do you feel when you are mistaken as a Chinese/Korean/Japanese(etc) by other Asians when you are not? For last 3 months, 7 Chinese students AND a restaurant staff member talked to me in Chinese and my friends thought it was quite funny.
I shop at many Korean markets in the DC suburbs, and many times the Korean cashier or waitress would address me in Korean. I don’t think anything of it. I’m in their establishment and many/most of their customers are Korean. I think many Korean immigrants tend to like being around their own culture and people, so they do think most other Asians that they come in contact with are Korean. I take no offense.
This happens to me a lot but with religion. I’m Middle Eastern and a lot of people assume I’m Muslim when I’m really a Christian. A couple of my friends also think ALL Middle Eastern women wear those Burqa clothing, lol. I’m a guy by the way.
I was a Japanese friend at a Korean restaurant. One of the hostess immediately starts speaking Korean tomy Japanese friend. Her expression was so funny. I honestly don’t think Asians can differentiate from one another at least 20% of the time. They are a few key features… but sometimes it’s hard.