“My impression of actual Asians is that they are civilized people. South Korea and Japan are completely modern civilizations, and I certainly did not feel unsafe when I visited Korea.”
I might even be wiling today to visit S. Korea, Japan, and China. As far as the Mideast is concerned, I’d pay a lot to avoid visiting any of that hideous part of the world.
FYI, I and my wfe and I, with our son, and our 2 daughters, one one of the girls born in Yong-son, lived there for 2 1/2 years.