Forget the first word in this book's title; that element doesn't appear as though it will be a significant factor until volume 2 of this graphic novel series is released. Instead, Torres focuses on a different word in the title: "foreign." One could argue this book is about culture shock, about being unable to accept a world that's so different from the one you know. But ultimately, this is about the natural human desire to fit in, to belong somewhere. It's easy to relate to the main character's sense of being alone in a massive crowd, to his sense of being lost... not physically, but adrift in the sea of his own life. Torres tells a wonderfully personal story that explores the same sort of ideas as Sofia Coppola's much-lauded Lost in Translation, but it's done in a much more overt and accessible way.
Joel, a recent university graduate from Canada, decided to take a job teaching English in Korea. It sounded like a good prospect, you know? He'd earn some much-needed cash and get to experience an exotic and exciting new culture. Well, he's been at it for nine months, and Seoul just isn't for him. Despite the camaraderie of his co-workers, who are also young folks from Western countries, he feels alone and confused all of the time. He hates his apartment. He hates his job. And he's had enough.
Manga doesn't often appeal to me. The exaggerations often strike me as being too over the top, and often, it strikes me as being too stylized and busy. Eric Kim's work in Love as a Foreign Language works, though. Joel's panic and irritation comes shining through, and he conveys the almost alien quality of life in Seoul. He distinguishes among the characters clearly, and he handles the more comedic moments of the story perfectly. His style reminds me of a prominent manga artist, but I just can't place it (as I'm not really a connoisseur).
The overt language barrier the main character faces in this book is not something to which I can relate, but I can appreciate the sense of being left out and confused while everyone around acts as though everything is normal. And Joel's problem isn't just with the locals and the language and customs... he feels isolated among his English-speaking co-workers because none of them are feeling the same sort of ennui and anger.
Ultimately, Joel's struggle isn't with Korean culture or his co-workers. It's with himself. He's directionless. He has no desire to be a teacher. He has no desire to live in Korea. But he doesn't know what he wants to do. So many of us can relate to that feeling by thinking back to how we felt after graduating high school or college. Joel seeks purpose, seeks a place in the world, and he's tried to fill with it this job in Korea. It was the wrong decision for him, and he's not so much angry that he made a bad choice, but that he has no other option to explore next. 9/10
