Before moving to Denmark we spent over a decade working in stunningly beautiful Korea. A country with thousands of years of history and tradition it is a truly amazing place. So, I should warn you that I will not be able to resist comparing our experiences here in Denmark to those in Korea.
Based on my research, in many ways the two countries are not dissimilar. Denmark and Korea are both geographically small countries with homogeneous populations. There is the Danish/Korean way and the wrong way.
When Koreans do a thing they do it in mass. We used to joke that in Korea there was a ministry in charge of scheduling that sent out itineraries to the populace as to how, where, and when to be. It’s not much different here. In fact there is a literal government platform for sending out national “to do” messages. In both places centuries of tradition give a rhythm and structure to people’s lives. To outsiders like myself, especially coming from a colonized multiethnic place like the US, it can seem an existence both comforting and confining.
Koreans and Danes can both be very nationalistic, not unlike folks from the US. The Danish flag is everywhere. This is complicated by the fact that being a Dane, versus a Danish national, or a Korean is often perceived by locals as an ethnicity more than a nationality. Koreans explicitly and often refer to themselves as being of one blood. Unfortunately, as I have experienced in the US, fervent nationalism readily wanders into the territories of xenophobia and racism even when nationality doesn’t equal ethnicity. This negativity towards, and othering of, foreigners is something I experienced regularly in Korea and have already seen a little of in my short time in Denmark.
In Korea, however, the othering can also be positive. As foreigners we were outside of the complex social construction that is Korean society. We were far more often the beneficiaries of random acts of kindness and generosity than of scorn, especially outside of Seoul. On numerous occasions Korean friends confessed that it was easier to talk to me about certain subjects because I was a foreigner. This is one of the rare occasions where ignorance was a positive. It will be interesting to see how my obvious foreignness plays out in Denmark.