Top 5 Misconceptions about Mexico

Living in Korea for the last few years has given me a new and rather unexpected perspective I would not otherwise have. That is to say, if I hadn’t lived here, I probably wouldn’t have written the article you are reading right now. I know, it sounds weird, so let me explain. South Korea is a hotbed that attracts English speaking foreigners from all over the (native-English-speaking) world. Alright fine, Americans and Canadians. In California, we live in a bubble (I don’t mean that offensively) where our perceptions of Mexico influenced by our friends, and in my case, family which happen to be Mexican. Pretty much everyone in California is either Mexican, or knows quite a few Mexicans, giving you (us?) kind of an ‘inside-scoop’ into the culture.

With that said, what does the rest of the country, and by extension, the rest of the world think of Mexico? The people I have met in Korea (foreigners in this case, but also Koreans) have given me an idea of the misconceptions. Given what often makes the headlines, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but it isn’t pretty. In addition, I was surprised that very few people have actually been to Mexico, with the exception of border towns, given how close our two countries (okay three, you’re included this one time Canada) are to each other. Maybe the title is a bit deceiving as some of the items on this list are, to some extent, true. Nonetheless, this list hopes to calm your fears about traveling to Mexico, and/or to give you an insight to encourage you to visit what is easily (bias alert) one of the best countries in the world.

 

Here are people’s misconceptions about Mexico…

5) Mexico is a Third World Country

Spare Change - Misconceptions about Mexico
Credit: theatlantic.com

First off, what does that even mean? The term ‘third world’ was invented Read more