Gaijin, Farang, Gweilo

How does that work exactly Raven... I haven't been to Korea but I always read about how Korea tries to keep everything inside Korean yet I can't help but notice a huge American influence from housing to entertainment... and yet they don't like Americans... Am I off base from the s#*t I've seen on the net and in news?

In this thread, I want to establish how you feel about Asian words used to refer to Westerners. Sure, you've probably had this conversation before but I want this to be the definative thread.
Perhaps in the West, we are a little too PC and tread on eggshells over words that are often used as humourous and friendly ways to address foreigners. On the other hand, there are words that are clearly racist and insulting.
The above are a selection of well known words for Westerners in Japan, China, Thailand and Laos. I would like to know of more so that I can learn.
How do you feel about being referred to in this way? From my point of view, when I spend long periods in rural Thailand, I grow very weary of locals who see me every day refer to me as 'The Farang', even though they know my name. Worse still, they will often refer to me as such when talking to my partner as though I wasn't even there. To me, it is insulting and I am deeply offended by it in the long term. I feel it is no better in this case than being called n##ger, long nose, roundeyes, whitey, spick, polak, kraut etc etc etc.

However, if you don't spend much time in a country I guess it can be humourous and fun to have a bunch of schoolkids shout 'Farang Farang' at you in the most innocent way possible and to be seen as a curiosity and in that case, what's the problem?... but when does it get too much for you, when your name effectively becomes 'Farang'?

As I said, please fill me in on the words used in other countries if you can and please tell me how you feel.

..... I've experienced walking down the street with a woman of color, and males of the same race making comments towards her as if I wasn't there.

But this is really a totally different situation.
In USA you can expect that the person of a different race will understand your language (usually English) -
and people have all to accept the fact, that they are Americans and nothing else.
Races are mixed, you don't know who is a foreigner or an American. Just looking at the race and not from where he/she is from.

My observation here in Asia, in my case Japan, is that as longer as you stay at the same place with the same people and as better you speak the local language, as more you will be accepted by the community.

Nobody calls me in my area 'gaijin', despite the term is not derogatory. - Because they know me. Despite 98 percent in Japan are pure Japanese, native Japanese speakers.

It should be said, that Japanese are also frequently complaining about other Japanese, when they are moving to a new area where nobody knows them, especially people from rural areas to the cities.

Remarks like 'imo-ni-chan' 'imo-ne-chan' (potato-boy, potato-girl = farmer) and similar remarks are not so rare.

I see no much difference between a foreigner or a Japanese, if unknown in the community around, and expect (and tolerate) some remarks. - It is also said, that certain Asian foreigners Chinese and others) are much more subject to critics than Caucasian foreigners from the US or EU.

...you can be surprisingly disarming of people like that if you make it a joke right from the get go showing it doesn't faze you...