ABSTRACT
Once, I dined alone in a hotel restaurant in provincial South Korea. After ordering, I left the dinning room for a moment. Upon returning, I thought it necessary to explain that I had already been seated. Before I could, the maître d’ said, “Your meal is waiting for you, sir.” How could he have known who I was amid so many in a very large restaurant? It took a while before I figured it out. The answer, of course, was that I was the one and only white person in the place. I was easy to spot, perhaps even interesting to follow, as I moved irregularly in violation of local prejudices.
