Germans randomly saying "ni hao" to my girlfriend in public
What exactly is their purpose with this? Are they trying to hurt her or mock her? How is this socially acceptable?
My girlfriend has told me several occasions where she's walking on the street minding her own business and some random person will walk by and say "ni hao" to her and just keep walking.
My girlfriend isn't even Chinese, she's Korean. Are Germans really that ignorant?
Also, what about the ethnically asian people that are born here?
What prompted me to write this post: we went to a restaurant and as we were going in, a group of Germans were coming out, and one of them said that to her and just kept walking. I looked and it seemed like she didn't hear it, so I didn't confront him because I knew it would make her feel bad. But I have to admit it really made me angry.
I guess aside from ranting, I'd like to know if anyone has any insight WHY they do this? Is it with malice? Do they think they're being funny?
I thought a country like Germany, with its genocidal racist history, would be better at this?
--- Edit
For those saying that it's just a greeting, I'd love to hear your counterpoints:
Germany has a lot of Asians, it is not something novel.
Germans don't greet other German strangers randomly on the street.
If an Asian person is randomly greeted in a foreign language with no context whatsoever, the assumption is made that that person is foreign. Is it acceptable to make asians who are born here feel foreign?
If an Asian person is actually a foreigner, but has been living here for years, don't you think it makes them feel FOREIGN when this happens to them? Do you think a person likes to feel foreign in a place they've lived for years, their home?
Do Germans randomly greet Turkish looking strangers on the street in Turkish? Why not?