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Asians and Asian Americans face racism in online game (2 of 3)
Why are Koreans targeted? HUK HUK ^_^
This phrase, "huk, huk" annoys English-speaking players because
they don't understand what it means. Koreans are targeted and singled
out because they stand out more they other ethnic groups. They create
game names that announce their Korean heritage or if in a non-Korean game
they let others know. Somehow, the peception of Koreans as foreigners
has stuck to the minds of American players. So even while other foreigners
migrate to the US servers, namely the Australians and Europeans, the images
of Asians as perpetual foreigners still remain. The language barrier remains
key as Asian players with limited English skills have difficulty communicating
with American players. Being unable to communicate with Asian players,
American players take on the stereotype that Asians are stupid. Other
foreigners such as British and Australians, they can hide their identity
because they can converse online in English while French can claim to
be French-Canadian. More troubling is that some American players have
gone around pretending to be Koreans (online we call them trolls) and
generating hatred among American players.
The online gaming community in general dislikes cheaters and Pkers. When an American player with the handle name such as "NecroPK" cheats or kills another player, they're called such names as "stupid jerk", "idiot" etc... However when the same thing happens but this time the player who cheats is has an obvious Asian looking handle name the tone of the message change to "stupid gook". What we are witnessing is that racism and hate carry over from real life.
Many people have posted on the message boards on D2 fansites defending the Koreans. They point out the that the internet is a global community and is shared by all. Some take the stance that by limiting Asians strictly to the Asian server is an attempt by Americans to create segregation. Others feel that whoever bought the game should have the right to play where ever they want. A minority even has gone so far as to theorize that the company Blizzard started the rumors about Koreans lagging the servers so as to take the blame off from themselves. But all this does not usually reasonate within the mindframe of the game's target audience -- majority White, male youths.
