Difference between Chinese and Korean 2

•           Immigration: Part of the reason for the previous characteristic is because Chinese have been around a lot longer in the USA. Chinese started immigrating here in the 19^th century whereas Koreans have only started coming over in the last couple of decades or so. Therefore you will meet Chinese who are first, second, third, fourth, and even fifth generation. Koreans are almost always first or second generation. I wonder, given a few more decades, if Koreans will start being a lot more open to intermarriage with non-Koreans, and will be more OK with attending non-Korean churches. Is it an immigrant/generational thing, or is it a cultural thing which will keep their exclusivity intact even decades from now? We shall see. (Here’s an interesting contrast: Chinese & Koreans usually come to the U.S. to stay; Japanese often move back to Japan).
•       Language: Chinese is a tonal language. Korean (and Japanese) are not. Chinese write in pictograms, making it one of the hardest languages in the world to learn. Koreans have an alphabet—which is very easy to learn (in fact you could probably learn it in 15 minutes). So, Korean and Chinese look and sound almost nothing alike! It’s hard to believe they’re related. The relative ease of learning Korean, however, means that there are more Koreans who still speak Korean than Chinese who still speak Chinese. One thing the two languages do share in common, though, is monosyllabic words. Japanese, on the other hand, is multisyllabic. Just look at the surnames: while Chang, Lin, Wu, Lee, Kim, and Park are popular amongst Chinese and Koreans, Japanese is a dead giveaway with names like Takahashi, Kaneshiro, and Yoshimura (the only surnames in Asia which are longer are Thai names—e.g. Thanasukolwit, Pibulsongkram, Suramongkol).