My first conversation with a legit racist

I was sitting on a bench in the Itaewon subway station, waiting for my train to arrive, when a middle-aged Korean man sat down next to me. He kept glancing over at me but I didn't pay it much attention as I was not really in the mood for small talk. "You look like french man," he said after a few minutes. I looked up at him with a half-smile on my face, surprised that, after considering saying something to me, this was the best he could come up with. Once he found out that I am American, the conversation quickly turned to President Obama (I love saying that). Here is a transcript of our dialogue as I remember it:

Him: American choose black president. I don't understand this.

Me: What don't you understand?

Him: Well, the regular American is white man, no?

Me: Um...most Americans are white, yes.

Him: Well black man is lesser I think, but Americans choose Obama. This does not make sense to me.

Me: I voted for Obama and most Americans believe that all men are the same: white, black....korean

Him: (looking slightly offended by this) But, Obama's grandfather is not from America?

Me: What do you mean?

Him: Obama's grandfather was born in Africa. He is lesser American I think.

Me: Well, my grandfather was born in Ireland, but I am still as much of an American as anyone else born there.

Him: Ireland is fine, but Africa is low place.

Me: Umm....well, I dont think that is true and neither do most Americans.

Him: Yes...I don't understand that.

As far as I know, this was my first encounter with a legitimate and open racist. I had heard that Koreans have a tendency to be racist, mostly because they have such little experience with foreigners and hold backwards and unfounded prejudices against anyone who isn't Korean or white. Talking with this man was frustrating, not only because he was making blatantly racist comments, but because I was limited in my responses 

due to the language barrier. It was obvious that his understanding of English was limited to the point where I couldn't really say what I would have said if I was talking to a native english speaker. My friend Bradford said something interesting while we were talking about this on skype last night. He suggested that part of the Korean prejudice against black people is probably due, at least in part, to the way that black people are often portrayed in American media (tv, movies, most popular rap). If this is their only experience with black people/black culture, then it is not surpising that they would hold inaccurate and prejudice views. So looking back on my conversation with this man makes me see Korea in a different light, but it also makes me reflect on the fact that, even though Obama's victory is a huge moment in American equality, we still have a long way to go.

On a lighter note, here's a sweet picture of our new president: