Asian cultures obsess over face, ego and status. So it should be no surprise they create a fake sense of status through the use of proxy white employees. Businesses across Asia hire white men to wear suits and pretend to be consultants, board members, advisers or quality controls solely for the sake of making the enterprise appear international, worldly and globally connected.

Some may doubt the truth or the article or attribute it to a minor one-off scenario. I can attest the behavior is quite common, having witnessed it firsthand through the hiring practices in Korea. A hagwan is essentially an accelerated academy focusing on various interests - English schools being the predominant type. They would routinely NOT hire a well qualified Korean that could speak perfect English with excellent grammar in order to hire a foreigner in their place, preferably Canadian or American. Why? Just so they could boast the prestige of having more white, "native" speakers than their rivals. In a world where fraudulent bona fides begins in school, it's not a stretch to see the behavior carry over into bigger business.