Was Hunter Davis and "Self-Control in a Foreign Country" fake?

A couple days ago an American named Hunter Davis wrote a harsh, judgemental letter to the Korea Times after his Korean girlfriend had been assaulted by a foreign guy. Titled "Self-Control in a Foreign Country," it reads:

First and foremost, I would like everyone who is reading this to know that I feel extremely lucky and honored to be living and teaching English in Korea. Korea is a beautiful country filled with amazing cultural traditions as well as breath-taking scenery.

This article is in response to an article written by a Korean girl addressing some negative actions taken by Korean citizens against foreigners living in this country. Her article was published on the Korea Times online edition this past spring.

Having good luck is something many people take for granted, but not me. Many other foreigners living in Korea, mainly U.S. military and English teachers, are not aware of how lucky they are to be able to live in a country almost free of things like crime and drug abuse that plague many countries in the West.

This is the reason for writing this article. Foreigners in Korea need to have a better understanding of the basic principal that we are guests in another country. Too often, I see and read about drunken and disillusive foreigners causing problems and getting into trouble. Is it really that hard to maintain a positive public image of oneself while in a foreign country?

I came to Korea six months ago from the U.S. to teach English. Soon after arriving here, I met a beautiful Korean girl that I am lucky enough to call my girlfriend. She is a university student in Daegu. Unfortunately, I live an hour and half away so we are not able to be together except on the weekends.

This weekend was different. Her family wanted to spend time with her as it was her last weekend of summer vacation so we did not get to spend our typical weekend together where we enjoy dinner, movies, the occasional trip to the beach and perhaps some shopping. I did see her briefly for a few hours Saturday afternoon.

My girlfriend returned home to Daegu at her father's request that evening. She called me to tell me she had gotten home safely and was going to go to bed early and had no plans for the night. Everything seemed normal so I went to bed early too.

Sunday afternoon rolls around and I had not heard from her. I finally decided to call her at around 4 p.m. When I talked to her she sounded sad, upset and hurt. She told me that she had gone to downtown Daegu to help a friend get home that had had too much to drink.

On her way home, a foreign man followed her and assaulted her in a secluded part of downtown Daegu at about 3 a.m. Sunday. Like I mentioned earlier, I have only been in Korea six months and the amount of time I have heard about assaults on Korean girls by foreign men is absolutely horrifying and despicable. I thanked God after she told me repeatedly, ``I'm OK, I'm OK.''

It turns out, that I myself am REALLY not okay. Needless to say, the man tried a series of unsuccessful advances on my very frightened girlfriend. When she told him she was not interested, the man assaulted her by punching her in the stomach and in the head, and then left her lying on the ground. If there is any kind of luck in a situation like this, it is the fact that the assailant did not inflict any more harm and that she was not sexually assaulted.

I am well aware of the large concentration of American men living in and around Daegu city. There are numerous military bases located there, which in my opinion cause nothing but problems for the citizens of Daegu and do nothing for the U.S. except to continue to give my country a ``black eye'' by tarnishing the reputation of the respectful and civil Americans living in Korea and elsewhere.

I like to consider myself as a reasonable person, so I will address the fact that I am well aware not all U.S. military men go around assaulting Korean girls late at night ― only a small number of people are guilty of this crime. What I don't understand is how a foreign man can justify an action such as assaulting or raping a Korean girl and think that they are entitled to do so?

True, many, if not most of these incidents go unreported. And I am working hard to convince my girlfriend to go to the police about the incident. We all know that we will never find the guy who did this to her, but I also know that it's the right thing to do.

Finally, I want to send a message to every foreigner living in Korea. Be it an English teacher, a businessman or a GI, show some respect for your hosts. Exercise some self-control for once in your life. Korean people are kind people by nature. Do not take advantage of this kindness.

davishb21@gmail.com

On Dave's people were speculating that his girlfriend was actually out with her real, Korean boyfriend at 3 a.m., rather than simply having gotten out of bed to help her drunk friend. Some thought he might have been a sock of another foreigner either trying to rile Koreans up or to sling mud at the rest of us. And others suggested that the letter was written by a Korean impersonating a generic foreigner, given some of the awkward language, the several mentions of enjoying and respecting Korea, the picture of a white guy in a baseball cap and backpack that accompanied the letter, and of course the use of a national newspaper to smear an entire demographic. The email address appended to the bottom of the letter turned out to be a phony, too.

A Dave's poster said she worked with the guy, although another linked to an advisory on Korea Bridge that said the real author was impersonating somebody else. Nevertheless the article seems to have been removed from the KT site. Is an apology in order for printing inflammatory garbage like that? For not verifying the identity of the author? For allowing an assault that may or may not have happened to be a vehicle used to besmerch foreign men? For letting a guy suggest that foreign men feel entitled to sexually assault Korean women?