Racism in Korea

Article: Is 'racism' something that only affects other countries? What about Korea?

Source: National Ilbo via Naver

Compared to 720,000 foreigners in 2004, the population of foreigners in Korea has risen to 1.57 million as of last year. Although Korea has already transitioned into a multi-cultural society, their understanding and acceptance of other ethnicity and cultures are only in their beginning stages. Voices of concern are being raised that the issues of racism will no longer be a talk of another country but one that must be addressed in Korea as well with thorough education and understanding.

One could begin with the racist terms that run rampant on internet culture. A college student in Seoul recently received a complaint from a Chinese exchange student over the use of the word 'jjangkkae', a racist term for Chinese, when ordering Chinese food.

In January, there was controversy over the name of a chicken fish at a restaurant. Because of its darker batter, the fried chicken dish had been named 'heuk hyung (black brother)'. An American had posted it on Twitter claiming racism while netizens defended it saying it was a friendly term that meant no harm. A netizen had argued back, "Try selling the 'heuk hyung' chicken in the back alleys of New York and see what happens. Then you will see if it's racist or not."

Issues with the Ebola virus also allowed Korea's ignorance on racism to surface once more. A foreigner attending Sungkyunkwan University posted a picture of a sign outside of a restaurant that refused to serve Africans due to the Ebola virus.

A Malaysian student at Kyunghee University also brought to attention Korea's mob mentality. "Whenever I get into a difference of opinion with a Korean, they claim that it's because I'm a foreigner that I'm not knowledgeable on Korean sentiment. In life, there will always be differences in opinions but Koreans unfairly blame it on religion or nationality. Koreans talk as if they represent the entire 50 million population. They need to realize that individual opinions matter as well."

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1. [+2,165, -131] Koreans hate even Koreans... can't imagine foreigners.

2. [+1,926, -122] It's racist if it offends someone, plain and simple. If a foreigner had called a Korean 'yellow person', would you feel good? Even if it's meant as a joke, it's still racism if it offends you.

3. [+1,568, -123] People with low self esteem tend to be more racist

4. [+1,382, -223] But black people are racist against Asian stoo... not that it makes Koreans being racist against blacks any better ㅡㅡ

5. [+420, -34] Reverse racism is an even bigger problem... Koreans are the majority in Korea and yet when they see a minority white person, they're too scared to even talk and bow to their every whim... while a white person who can speak a bit of Korean can immediately become a star on TV and make money.

6. [+285, -35] What I learned from traveling overseas is that the racist ones tend to be the dumber ones... Not educationally, but people who weren't raised properly by their parents.

7. [+233, -24] I agree with the Malaysian student about mob mentality in Korea. Koreans talk about everything as if the entire country is like that just to defend a point. I also think there's a strong need to acknowledge individual opinions.

8. [+155, -20] Just remember that with human relationships, no one is above or below you.

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