Understanding Racism in Korea
Black face on national television. Shows Korea's lack of exposure/sensitivity to black people.
We recently posted a video that discussed anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea. In the video we said that in general, older Koreans are anti-Japanese and that younger people are not as racist. And then we got a flood of comments from Korean netizens saying things like “You’re wrong! I hate Japanese people!” … Idiots. I don’t think they realize how ridiculous they seem to the rest of the world. But they have their reasons, and I understand where they’re coming from.
Author’s Note: Racism is a very sensitive subject, and an ultimately complicated issue.ย A blog post is way too short to fully analyze and explain racist sentiments in any country. But I’m going to try anyway.ย I’m sure I’ll get some backlash in some form. But remember, these are only my opinions and conclusions, and I take full responsibility for any hate comments or racist internet trolls to come. Let’s get it on!
General Racism in Korea
Korea is one of most homogenous countries in the world. And although pluralism has recently started to penetrate the peninsula, the vast majority of Korea is still without diversity. And that means there’s still much xenophobia, in particular with the older generation who spentย their entire lives living with Koreans, eating Korean foods, doing Korean things. When their way of life is changed with an influx of non-Korean people, foods and things as is the case in recent years, fear and even anger are not irrational reactions. Of course it’s the same with any country that has experienced an influx of immigrants or foreigners (i.e. America, England, France, etc.). But for Korea, it’s magnified because even as recently as the late 90’s, it was extremely uncommon to see a foreign tourist, let alone an immigrant.
Nationalism in Korea
If you haven’t noticed, most Koreans are super proud of Korea. Of course Thais are proud of Thailand, French of France, Brazilians of Brazil, etc. But in Korea, it’s not just nationalism. As a people, it was a means of cultural survival. Historically, Korea has been overlooked for its more globally recognized neighbors to its east and west. Everyone knew of China and Japan, but Korea was often the forgotten country in the middle. Nationalism in Korea was a way of ensuring relevancy on the global scale. That’s why even to this day when people of Korean decent are in the international spotlight (i.e. Hines Ward, Super Bowl MVP; Daniel Dae Kim, American actor; Yoshihiro Akiyama, MMA fighter; etc.), Koreans rush to claim them as their own, no matter how far or distant their connection to the motherland is. It’s Korea’s chance to be noticed by the world.
Also, nationalism in Korea was a means of cultural survival quite literally during the Japanese colonization era.
Olympic Soccer 2012 – Political statement after the Korea-Japan match
Korean Racism towards Japanese
During World War II Japan did a lot of things to piss off many Asian countries, not just Korea. In Korea’s case, however, Japan attempted to assimilate Koreans into Japanese society. The Korean language was essentially banned at schools, and classes were conducted 100% in Japanese. Even to this day, my 81 year old grandmother is still more comfortable reading and writing in Japanese than she is in Korean because of her education. She is completely fluent, and she often mixes her Japanese with her Korean without even knowing it. The Japanese policy of assimilation was essentially working.
But language is minor compared to the sex slave issue. During World War II, Japan used Korean women as sex slaves to ‘boost the morale’ of their military. Women were enslaved to service thousands of Japanese soldiers. It’s a huge diplomatic issue even to this day. Sex slave survivors continue to demand the Japanese government for formal apologies, which has yet to happen.
So Japan tried to eliminate the Korean language and culture, and they enslaved Korean women for sex. For those that lived through the era, racism and hatred is a completely natural and understandable reaction.ย For younger racist Koreans that hate Japanese, however, it’s a combination of their extreme national pride and their desire for history to be accurately reflected (the Japanese government denies/deflects many of these accusations). Anti-Japanese sentiment was also encouraged by the government to a certain degree, as the Korean government banned Japanese cultural imports (i.e. music, movies, comics, tv shows, etc.) until as recently as the late 90’s. And of course, there are families that teach this form of racism to their children.
Today, Korea-Japan relations are better than in the past (especially because of economic trade), but these historical issues continue to cause some Koreans to have anti-Japanese sentiments.
Korean Racism towards Chinese
In Korea, Chinese citizens are Korea’s number one immigrants. And ironically enough, it’s Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans from China) that make up the majority of the Chinese population in Korea. But that doesn’t stop Korea from seeing them differently. Although they are of the same blood, Joseonjok are in the end still immigrants.
For the most part, immigrants in general are coming from poorer countries looking for better opportunities. Since they’re coming from poorer countries, immigrants in any country usually get blamed for stealing jobs and benefits from citizens, causing danger and harm to the population, and they generally have a bad reputation (think Mexicans in America, Vietnamese in France, or even Koreans in Japan). Also, when an immigrant and a native citizen commit the same crime, it’s usually the immigrant that gets highlighted in the news and not the native citizen. This happens in most countries, not just in Korea. And in Korea, it just so happens that Korea’s immigrant population is dominated by Joseonjok.
And although they are of Korean decent, their association with China probably gives ethnic Chinese citizens a bad reputation as well. It’s obviously not the only source for anti-Chinese sentiment. Far from it. But the sheer number of Chinese immigrants definitely is one of the main reasons for anti-Chinese racism in Korea.
Mini Psy has been subjected to racism for being half Vietnamese
South East Asians / Other Asians
All that immigrant based racism towards Chinese? Apply that to Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai and Filipino nationals, the newest immigrant demographic coming to Korea. Most of them are coming as foreign brides for Korean men, and many are also birthing interracial children. This rapid increase in international marriages and families started in the 2000’s and continues today. It’s a new phenomenon that’s happening very quickly. And for many Koreans, it’s scary to see their country change so drastically and so quickly.
Korean Racism towards Americans
Koreans have a love/hate relationship with the United States of America. The US was South Korea’s most influential ally during the Korean War. Without the US, there wouldn’t be a South Korea today. And many Koreans have a deep appreciation and even fondness of Americans because of this. But after the war, the United States installed military bases in South Korea to protect from the North. Some support it, some don’t (this in itself is a controversial topic that I don’t want to get into). And those military bases are very active with thousands of US soldiers roaming about. With thousands of Americans, there’s bound to be a few idiots that make all Americans look bad.
Any time an American soldierย runs over people with a tankย orย Korean girls are raped, it becomes huge news stories that overemphasize their Americanness and deemphasize their individual stupidity. Also, the weekend fights and arrests with drunk American soldiers near US Military installments help perpetuate the bad reputation as well. Couple that with general cultural differences between the East and the West, and you got yourself a few reasons for why anti-American sentiment exists in Korea.
Korean Racism towards Black People
Black face on national television. Shows Korea’s lack of exposure/sensitivity to black people.
Racism against black people (Africans, Americans, Caribbean, etc.) comes from a fear of the unknown. Again, Korea has historically been one of the most ethnically pure nations in the world. And although caucasians and other asians are seen often enough in Korea, the reality is that some Koreans will go their entire lives and never see aย black person. So to see someone that looks completely and utterly different can be awe inspiring. For some it’s a curiosity. And for others its fear inducing. Just like most forms of racism, this one is purely out of ignorance.
Again. I don’t want you to get it wrong. There are tons of Koreans that have very positive sentiments for people all around the world. In fact, most of the Koreans around me are quite international, and have many international friends from all over. That’s because I tend to avoid the ignorant people I encounter in Korea. I don’t like dealing with idiocy. But as crazy as they are, and as much as I don’t agree with them, I do understand where some of them are coming from. Obviously this blog post doesn’t do any justice to the extremely expansive and complicated issue of racism in Korea. And yes, there are more reasons. Of course there are. But many of those reasons are ridiculous (i.e. they’re dirty, they’re poor, they’re stealing our women, we’re pure blood). Essentially it’s a racism that is based on ignorance, and I’m not going to waste my time with that.ย Butย I do hope this blog post brings some awareness and understanding to the reasons for some of the racism found in Korea.
It’s a complicated issue that deserves plenty of discussion. Leave a comment and don’t be an idiot please.
P.S.ย To the racist Korean netizens that hate on SeoulisticVideos, you’re welcome.
183 Comments
What about Koreans against Singaporeans? :X lolol
Singaporeans don’t necessarily apply to the South East Asian portion of the post above. They’re not part of the international marriage demographic.
That doesn’t mean Koreans like Singaporeans too. During my time in Korea I found that Koreans will be cordial (and some are nicer than cordial) to Singaporeans but they will be a lot nicer to Americans. E.g. Pay more attention to Americans, hang around them more. That’s not exactly racism but I’d call it prejudice.
This mention about preferential treatment of Americans(whites) to Singaporeans stem from various things, including a pro-English mindset in South Korea. After all, American English has been placed on a pedestal to the point of excluding other speakers of English. Personally, from my experience as someone who was born in Singapore at best, but lived abroad outside of my country of birth for almost a decade(I am now proud to say that I am culturally Canadian and Australian more than Singaporean), I find that South Koreans do have a kind of subconscious hierarchy when it comes to relating to people of other races. I get away with a lot of things though, partially because I look very Korean and also speak Korean myself better than a lot of ‘gyopos’ because I learned the Korean language in university. Whether this has to do with racism against other Asians, racial preference(partially because I speak with a North American accent), or just because I met the good people, I cannot say.
Racism is definitely real in South Korea, based on my experience where I was told to my face that I cannot teach English in South Korea because I am Asian in heritage and appearance, and hence do not fit in with the profile of an English teacher, whom they see as someone blond-haired and blue-eyed. That came from an education officer at EPIK!
But well, just like what Keith had said, you have to really avoid the idiotic people. Idiocy permeates every society, and there will be idiots everywhere, even in Asia where the blatant racism that we witness (think, KKK and various other types of anti-black slurs which are politicized on television and in public) in the USA is absent.
So would Koreans harbor any forms of racism towards a Singaporean? As you would have already known, Singapore doesn’t consist of one race, and Singapore is one of the unique country that names it’s citizen a name which is not a race. So would Koreans see us as Singaporeans or would they see us as Chinese, Malay, Indian? (The 3 main race that makes up Singapore, Chinese being the majority, making up 75% of the population). I’m very curious and have never asked a Korean friend, however I have never been treated with prejudice or racism.. I learn the language and eat their food, as I’m Chinese, I have fair skin too and I’m fluent in the English language. I’m so curious as to how Koreans see Singaporeans
What about Latin Americans/Hispanics? I’m sure there have been unions between the two before, but I’ve never heard a Korean’s opinion towards them, or thoughts of international marriage between the two. It’s something I’ve been really curious about.
I used to LOVE south korea !
no i don’t like it at all..
:'(
My appreciation that you had the courage for touching this very sensitive subject! ๐
I have been living in Korea for three months now and I have to admit that I’ve been exposed to some of those stereotypical racist or better, xenophobic behavior in general. I didn’t like it, my friends didn’t like it and it hurt.
But as in every country, you cannot put all Koreans on the same level and I have had more positive experiences, like Koreans selflessly helping me in desperate situations, than negative ones. Maybe because I, as a German, don’t necessarily fall under one of those listed groups except for being a ์ธ๊ตญ์ธ in general.
Overall, I feel welcomed here and there are several examples within my Korean friend circle and the academic staff of my university here who prove that this society is starting to become more open by dealing with this issue.
Absolutely! Most Koreans I’ve come across are very pleasant and friendly as well. I am glad the majority of your experience is positive. ๐
Wow, Keith. Way to keep it real.
From a Western perspective, one thing that I could add that may have been overlooked, or maybe you just didn’t find it as important to touch on. But a lot of Westerners overlook this one, or can’t conceptually understand or even fathom this mindset: Collectivism.
Korea, like a lot of Confucian societies, have a strong sense of collectivism, sacrificing the individual desires for the “greater good” of the group. This tends to result in a lot of generalizations about Koreans, even by Koreans, because people tend to be a lot more like-minded (despite having individual personality traits) and like-mannered. Of course, there are exceptions, but there is still…somewhat of a “hive mind,” so to speak. I’ve noticed a lot of Koreans will even repress their own personality for the greater good of the group their with just to not appear as an anomaly.
Even kids: Just today, I was teaching a group of 1st graders English, and one of the text questions I asked was “What is your favorite color?” to which one girl responded “Green.” Suddenly, the most dominant girl in the class answered, “Pink,” and the girl who formerly said green changed her answer to pink, and no other girl dared to say anything other than pink.
Now, what does this say about racism in Korea, and a lot of Westerners’ inability to understand it? Well, in the west, we have a lot of individual liberties as to how we can express ourselves. We can go full on “This is Amurrica,” and tell anyone off, be a saint or a jackass, say anything we want to anyone we want, and not care. Because most Western countries (I’m remiss to say all because simply…I haven’t been anywhere in the West outside of America) don’t think as a group, but value the individual over the collective. So when we leave the sanctity of that landmass that holds that attitude, and enter another landmass that values the collective over the individual, then Houston, we have a problem. And we still automatically assume that individualism is treasured. Even if we’ve heard about the collectivism in Asian countries, we don’t fully believe it or even understand how thick it runs until we’re in the thick of it. I’d say this is one of the biggest sources of culture shock foreigners have in coming to Korea, and some can’t take this heat.
With that said, as much as we auto-assume individualism reigns supreme worldwide, Koreans tend to auto-assume the same thing, but replace individualism with collectivism. Why? Because that’s what they were born into. That’s what they were raised knowing and experiencing their whole lives, unless they’ve lived outside the country for a period.
So, you’re an average Korean, a country with a pretty low violent crime rate. Haven’t set foot outside of Korea your whole life. You watch the news. You hear a lot of raw stuff going down in the west. By your own experience with the world around you, you’d start to piece things together in some sort of rationale like, “All/most Americans are violent/murderers/gun owners/rapists/gay/whatever alarming thing is being shown on MBC.” Now, this isn’t a Korea-exclusive thing, but I know people in Japan that have been asked, upon discovering they were American, questions like “How many guns do you have?” or “How many people have you raped?” Note the interrogators never asked if they owned a gun, or if they’d ever raped someone, but they just deduced that because they were Americans, they were NRA card-carriers and rapists.
Even another funny aside, from personal experience. Last year, I was in class, and one of my students, an avid reader, came up to me and was telling me a story from America he had read in the paper. It was around the time of the Florida bath salt-eating zombie apocalypse, and that happened to be the story he was talking about. I don’t remember the beginning of the conversation, but the rest of it was this:
Him: How do people taste?
Me: W-what?
Him: How do people taste?
Me: W-w-w-well, you’re Korean, how does dog taste?
Him: I asked you first.
But again, I was never asked if I had dabbled in cannibalism, but just point blank asked how human flesh tastes.
So of course, when that little taste of idiocy hits the peninsula, Koreans begin to deduce things. If an American rapes a Korean, Americans are rapists. If an American runs over a woman with a tank, then Americans, especially military are heartless bastards that will step on anyone they want. The media might not even have to sensationalize the sum of westerners, because the Korean psyche can do that just as well.
Even one bad American employee at a school or a company will end up souring the entire company or school from ever hiring an American ever again. “Well, that guy was a douchebag, so I guess all Americans are douchebags and terrible workers. Time to change our recruitment to Canadians only.”
That doesn’t make it right, of course. But it is something to understand or bear in mind when dealing with Koreans.
That’s a really good point too. It’s a bit of us vs them mentality, which is extremely prevalent, especially since Korea is ultra Confucian
Hello!! I’m from Brazil, and I understand ethnic mixtures
We see with great respect countries like Japan, Korea and China.
Japan to be a very organized people. China for their participation in our market. And Korea for the same reasons I cited, and the pop culture.
Brazilians are not well regarded in most countries for being TOOOOOO “agitated”. Would like to know … the prejudice against Brazilians in Korea is big???
They love Brazil!
Source: I am Brazilian
Let me say something really important.I am brazilian just like you and I can write in portuguese but I’ll write in english so everyone can understand.I am half japanese and I was born in middle of asians.I don’t like Brazil that much so I was interested in Asia and I went to study asia,my first target was Japan because my father and grandfather are japaneses.I used to be proud of being japanese as a uncle of mine.My uncle went to Japan to work and live now he doesn’t EVEN eat japanese food because of the hate on japaneses.He suffered ALOT there,they worked in terrible condition and for long hours ( something around 12 hours per day ) and the boss yelled at him all the time when He was not doing anything wrong and he also get beaten by the boss.There is another uncle who went there and he related the same.He got yelled at and beaten by the boss.Now when someone call my uncle as ” Jap ” he gets pissed alot and say ” Jap My ass I am Brazilian ” . I’ve been inside japaneses and koreans and chineses here in Brazil and I’ll say something..NEVER,NEVER GO TO JAPAN.Japanseses are the worst Asians EVER.They are heathless and mainly RACIST.They think they are the best race of the world and they treat other races as piece of shit.
See in this video -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG-3x86FxP0 .A korean attacking a Japanese nazi. My japanese is not good but I understand some parts the J-Nazi are saying ” Kokoro ni daikirai ” ” Kokoro ni daikirai ” which means ” I hate from the bottom of my heart ” and I BET the subtitles are wrongly translated to show that the korean are the bad guy. That’s what Japaneses DO. There is another vid that I’ve saw circling in the koreans in Brazil community which japaneses was protesting against koreans living in Japan.Japaneses want they to go home. Do you think that’s everything ?? No Japaneses enslave their OWN childrens.My friends work to their family and my dad works to my grandfather and its common to see the ”enslavement ”.A friend of mine wanted to kill herself because of all she does is WORKING for her family and if you think they recognize or say thanks . NO ,they say that the sons are useless and say shit about them. That’s what you see in Japan and Japanese families. It’s something that happened with few friends of mine IT ‘S EVERYONEEEEEE .
I know what I am saying . See this vid its an asian party in Brazil -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jN_c8NgE74 I ‘ve been in the middle of them so I am not saying my opnion I am saying what I’ve seen. I’ve saw many times my japanese friends saying how much they hate koreans and chineses ( mainly koreans btw )
So if you like asia and like Japan better you change your mind.SO if you like asia and like koreans Please keep it.Koreans are not racist and they are really friendly and kind. I love korea and koreans.I’ve went to ” Bom retiro ” the korea town of Sao Paulo and I love everyone there.It’s very hard to see a mean korean ^=^. If you are korean and are reading this and you hate Japan you can hate them even more.If you have a korean friend or some1 you know in japan please say them to quit it.Koreans don’t need Japan at all. What I am saying about Japan is not everything it’s far worse than you can imagine.
So stop liking japan or hate japan even more.
Thanks for reading.
I’m brazilian as well and went to Japan as well. What can I say about you? Just laugh. If you hate Japan because of that, sorry you had bad luck just that and trying to spread the anti-Japan feeling here is just stupid of your part. All that I can see is that you’re following the anti-Japan sentiment that Korea loves to spread around the world and just going mainstream like every low dekassegui that did bad things in Japan and now hates the country because it rightly punished them. I still live in Japan and I can assure you: don’t think that here is like Brazil.
There are those ultranationalist japanese that often got recorded on those videos, but I have 100% of certain that they make a very low part of the society (less than 0,1%). Japan is as well one of the most homogenous society of the world, like S. Korea, so it’s obvious that they are reserved against people of distinct ethnicity and culture, but once they understand you, they act like incredibly friendly. Just stop trying to badmouth Japan just because you couldn’t fit their society. All one the things that you said about Japan they are all lies, fruits of your inner mind. Never saw or heard anything like that in all my 10 years living in Japan.
When I arrived here I had a hard time trying to fit the society and the new culture, but now it’s all past waters and all the prejudice that I heard about in Brazil is just myths for me. Of course, if you think that here is Brazil and try to mess up everywhere and don’t diligently work, than it’s very right to yell against you. If you’re in Rome try to act like the romans.
Now, I’ll change to portuguese so that I can truly say what I feel against types like you without having to disturb non-brazillian people or lack english words to fully express myself.
Por causa de malditos dekasseguis fracassados como vocรช hoje o Japรฃo enxerga brasileiros com desdรฉm. Malditos sejam esses fracassados que vem para cรก para cometer crimes e nem respeitarem a cultura local e depois ficam de cรบ doce e se fazendo de vรญtima, dizendo que o culpado รฉ o Japรฃo. Ah, vรฃo se fuder vรฃo! Se nรฃo tรก gostando daqui vazem mesmo e voltem pra desgraรงa do Brasil que lรก realmente รฉ seu lugar. Se lรก รฉ tรฃo bom assim pra que vieram pra cรก hein?! Nรฃo basta ter a cara de japa pra ficar se achando japonรชs nรฃo viu, aprenda a falar o idioma e a respeitar a cultura daqui. Se nรฃo estรก disposta a fazer nem isso, entรฃo ao menos tente nรฃo incomodar aqueles que estรฃo dispostos a tal. Todas essas besteiras que vocรช escreveu aqui, todas, sรฃo puramente formas que inferiores como vocรช encontraram pra descontar essa estรบpida raiva e falar mal do Japรฃo. Por culpa de seres como vocรช que toda a comunidade nipo-brasileira sofre aqui pelo preconceito. Nรฃo culpo os japoneses, eu mesmo fico muito desconfiado quando me aproximo de brasileiros. Tipos como vocรช sรฃo uma vergonha para a comunidade nipo-brasileira, mestiรงo de merda!!
I find it funny how koreans are so anti-chinese when chinese people like koreans, while Taiwanese people dislike koreans, koreans tend to not give a shit.
I guess the main reason why there’s anti-chineseism is cause of the fact that most chinese people act rudely in Korea, saw it with my own eyes.
Some Taiwanese people feel the same too.
Honestly I just find this whole racism against people that have the same ancestors (joseonjok/Chinese) as you very fucked up.
Taiwanese here.
Actually, the anti-Chinese tourist sentiment is kind of picking up worldwide with more mainlanders having the disposable income to travel internationally, but lacking the social mores to do so respectfully, not just in Korea. There’s also the fact that the PRC aided North Korea in the Korean war, and was one of the chief reasons that the war is still in a stalemate right now. Up until China intervened, South Korea and the US jointly held the vast majority of North Korean soil under their control. Some of this may be tertiary, but there is still some resentment of the Chinese that is overlooked for some of the same reasons Japanese resentment can be overlooked: Economic.
And of course, based off language alone, it’s harder to differentiate Taiwanese from Mainlanders, so that may also exacerbate the problem.
Because certain races don’t necessarily belong to a specific country anymore unlike Koreans in Korea only, I felt compelled to let you know Chinese lives in Malaysia, Singapore and also Indonesia, in fact Chinese makes up quite a percentage in these countries. To be honest, Chinese in Singapore dislikes the Chinese in China as much as the surrounding countries dislike them.
They come off as rude and uncivilized which I hope will change in the future.
Singaporean Chinese here.
Well generally racism is present anywhere in the world. As for me, my experience with Korean people has been a mix of both positive and negative. However, I have Korean friends whom I have close contact with and who are very friendly people. I’m Filipino by the way.
So true, I think that we might (in Canada anyway) tend to be more hypocritical on the matter. The image that people and government give themselves are different than the truth behind closed doors.
How many times did I hear : “I’m not racist, but[…]”
In a way some Canadians are more hypocritical about racism, but I would rather word it was “too aware” in comparison to other countries. I don’t mean to say that Canadians are racist or anything, but I mean it as the Canadian population being very VERY multi-ethnic. Some cities may contain more than one ethnicity, like Toronto. Others may have one specific ethnicity as the majority of the city’s population, like how Mississauga has a lot of Filipinos living there or how Brampton consists of mainly Indians, Sri Lankans and other “Brown” descent. I think it’s this exposure to different cultures in one place that makes Canadians more aware of the differences between cultures, and hence, they tend to compare between them more than other people.
But despite this, I noticed that, rather than being “racist”, most Canadians tend to be more nicer to people, especially those who are not citizens of the country. I think that because of this exposure to different cultures, and how the media shows the occasional story of immigrants getting their Canadian citizenship on (insert date here), it allows most Canadians to be more understanding and welcoming to foreigners entering the country. I’ve always been told by international students on campus that Canadians are “too nice” (lol) and “really helpful to strangers”.
There are always going to be those people who want to be single-minded and think that the world is theirs because they’re White/Black/Brown/Yellow/Pale/Whatever. Those people we’ll just have to learn to ignore (and not punch them in the face). It’s true that people and governments would portray themselves differently than when they’re in their own private space, but I wouldn’t say Canadians, as a whole (from what I understand of the comment), as being hypocritical. I sure as hell am not. ๐
I’m from Romania, but i live now for some years in Greece.
I think countries like USA, Australia and Canada see racism totally diferently than most of countries. For example in Romania, I grew up in a small town, but studdied in Bucharest (the capital). I’m more used to foreigners, than my parents or even my grandparents (that live in a smal village of 1000 people). For them, if they would see an african/american or an asian would be something super interesting and curious. It wouldn’t be racism, it would just have to do with the fact that they don’t know other culture/nationalities. It’s the same with Greece. Maybe a bit different, since they have a lot of immigrants from Phillipines, Nigeria and Senegal. All the “racism” in most of East European countries, comes from ignorance and unknown. They don’t teach us in schools or it appears in the news….
I was in a small village outside of Tirgu Mures and had a couple people tell me they had never seen an Asian person in real life. (I’m Korean American.)
O.K. About Korean-Chinese Joseonjok here are some numbers from Wiki….
The population of Koreans in China include millions of descendants of Korean immigrants with citizenship of the People’s Republic of China, as well as smaller groups of South and North Korean expatriates, with a total of roughly 2.3 million people as of 2009,[1] making it the largest ethnic Korean population living outside the Korean Peninsula.
Chaoxianzu (Chinese: ๆ้ฒๆ) or Joseonjok (Hangul: ์กฐ์ ์กฑ) form one of the 56 ethnicities officially recognized by the Chinese government. Their total population was estimated at 1,923,842 as of 2005,[2] and 1,830,929 according to the 2010 Chinese census. High levels of emigration to South Korea, which has conversely reported a large increase in Joseonjok, are the likely cause of the drop. Most of them live in Northeast China, especially in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, which had 854,000 ethnic Koreans living there as of 2000.
I had decided going to South Korea through the Science Without Borders program. After I read the article I might think it over. Thanks Keith for pointing it out. As I am Brazilian myself I have tanned skin (so you guys probably see me as black, though I am not black) and I also fall into the American ‘issue’.
The program lasts one year meaning that I’ll be living, studying and working in the country for this period of time and after I read ‘147’s’ comment (third one) I am afraid of what I might go through over there. I don’t think I will bear this for a year…
There’s no reason to worry, you will be fine. It happens sometimes. And I wanted to explain why it happens in this post. But you will meet many wonderful people.
That’s the exact response I didn’t want! Please don’t take it the wrong way.
I’m sorry! It’s not my intention to spoil the article in any way. However, this is what many people probably will think after reading the article and/or comments. :/
That also wasn’t my intention, to scare people off. There’s a few things I would like to clarify:
1. Outright racism is a very rare occurrence in Korea, Seoul in particular. Simply put, to lash out at someone would go against Confucian mores. Those same constructs that will frustrate you in your adjustment to life in Seoul will also protect you. So even people that are really racist without a cause most likely won’t say a thing to you.
2. The biggest culprits of outward racism are, by and far, drunk men, mostly Ajusshis. And of course, the best course of action when faced with an outspoken, drunk, racist, old guy would just be to ignore it or move away from the situation.
3. Even if your appearance is more African, simply put, most people aren’t going to really bother you. It’s mostly just fear of the unknown element in their world, and the key word is fear. The people that are prejudiced are usually too afraid to say anything at all, and the people that will want to talk are usually generally interested in meeting a foreigner.
Real talk, I’ve been in Seoul, and I’ve had a couple negative experiences, yes. But, the positives outweigh the negatives. I’ve met some chill, nice, awesome people from all walks of life and age groups. I’ve talked with some little kids about baseball outside a subway, talked to several Korean elderly men on the subway who speak amazing English that were really friendly, joked around with a drunk businessman whom I didn’t know on the last train home from Lotte World, made really good friends with North Korean refugees, and etc. Just like we’ve been talking about the bad western eggs stinking up western rep on the peninsula, there’s some sour Korean apples that curl your tongue regarding Koreans…if you let them. Blow off the negative, enjoy the positive, and have fun.
May I also add : to refrain from a most likely positive experience based on what could be fear of the unknown is rather sad… I personally view this in the sam category as what was mentioned in the article itself, misunderstand based on ignorance and fear ….. better to experience yourself with an open mind instead of closing doors to what could have been… this is solely my personal opinion
I’d just like to point out that I am African American AND in the military living in Korea. Not once have I felt unwelcome or treated differently here. Everyone that I’ve come across has been respectful, helpful, and friendly. I’m sure there are some that aren’t, but those kind of people exist everywhere in the world. Korean children that aren’t used to seeing darker people are often intrigued, however, it is one of the cutest looks you will ever get! They aren’t mean about it, just curious and want to interact with you. Just being open minded and respectful of the culture here is a big plus. Even if your Korean isn’t all that great, most will appreciate you for just trying to learn.
You will be fine. Like Keith said, it might happen sometimes. I’ve been here for 4 years and the biggest racism I’ve personally experienced is a woman being scared to sit next to me on the bus. Don’t imagine Koreans waiting to spit at you on the street or anything like that lol.
May I ask about your point of view about how do Korean people feel like with other Westerners like European people or Australian one?
Because after living in Korea for one year I’ve realized that not being American is kind of a good thing if you are white and you live in a district where American soldiers have pissed off several people several times…
Thanks for your analysis, I think it is quite realistic.
Hi Keith ,
thank you for sharing this topic with us^^
i want to know if there is racism against muslim comunity and muslim countries because all the korean knows about islam is what they see in Arabie Saoudite or UAE.
I’m sure Keith can also field this, but since I’m hanging around:
Outward racism? No. Prejudice? Probably, but since I’m not muslim/arab descent, I can’t tell you for sure. Of course, a lot of people outside of the middle east assume that middle easterners/muslims are terrorists, and Korea, knowing the same amount of information from the rest of the world knows about 9/11/Arab Spring/etc., there is somewhat of a presence of that train of thought too. But, I’ve encountered several muslims in Korea that were just simply never openly bothered.
Of course, UAE and a lot of muslim countries are becoming large business hubs now, so of course, with Korea becoming a growing economic power, they have a lot of contact with the middle east now. So YMMV, but I don’t think you’ll encounter many problems in Korea.
Actually, I’m friends with one Korean woman who double-majored in English/Arabic and spent semesters abroad in Egypt/Jordan and has visited Morocco/Abu Dhabi/Syria (before people started keeping it real over there), and she was constantly tutoring Koreans in Arabic. So there is an interest in the Arab/Muslim world in Korea. Also, there is a mosque in Itaewon, so there’s also a decent sized muslim community.
The collective society is a great point! As for the Brazillian guy… I wouldn’t be intimidated. I’m Puerto Rican and I had a great time in Seoul this summer. It’s not any different than when you are in NYC and occasionally you run into some asshole. (It happens everywhere.) I even met a Brazillian girl whos parents were both Korean… She was raised in Brasil, her thinking was Brasilian but here parents immigrated from S. Korea.
The thing I find most frustrating is that in the U.S. you can be from anywhere and I think most will accept you as being American, even if you have an accent. However, with Korea (for the reasons mentioned) you can learn Korean, have lived in S. Korea for 20 years, and you will always be considered an outsider no matter what because of the way you look. Which I find pretty frustrating.
I have shared living environments and have been surrounded by Korean nationals for years during my schooling in the US and have made friends and even dated. I was really surprised when my Korean gf at the time had a visiting professor and her professor was shocked when they saw a white guy as a waitor. My girlfriend later explained to me the professor’s reaction and said that in Korea there is a lot of racism towards blacks especially.
I wouldn’t let all the ignorant people out there keep anyone from visiting Korea… its an awesome and overall friendly country! And to be honest, and this is just my opinion… If a Korean didn’t like you for whatever reason, it’s not like they’re going to physically attack you unless you’re hanging out in some party district late at night in pure drunkeness, then maybe It could happen, just like it could anywhere else around the world.
People in Japan and Korea are very polite for the most part… Again back to that collective culture. At most they might think “stupid foreigner” and you would never know.
Jonathan, you’re the only one on here so far who has touched on the most common, yet most subtle form of racial discrimination in SK: “…you can learn Korean, have lived in S. Korea for 20 years, and you will always be considered an outsider no matter what because of the way you look.” Exactly! I’m speaking as a white person who only speaks Korean in public. By far, the dominant language here is Korean. But so many times every day in public native Korean speakers assume (though most of them have never interacted with non-native Korean speakers; often racially non-East Asians) that the appropriate language to speak to non-East Asians in is English. Most people donโt realize this, but it is manifestly discriminatory to refer to one race in one language, and another in another language. It doesnโt matter that almost no non-native Korean speakers learn Korean. Native Korean speakers (and ideally those who are not) should still start from the national standard of Korean when referring to a stranger, regardless of race. And yet, they often answer my Korean with English! At every institutional level in the society is this discriminatory practice taught and reinforced- in politics, schools, the media, and in the home, โYou must learn English to speak with foreigners.โ Even if your nationality is South Korean, your non-East Asian racial characteristics signify foreignness to most members of society in South Korea. Also, in order to teach English as a native English speaker in SK, it is not a stated policy, but one must not only speak English in class, but outside of class to all members of an establishment, as well. This is true of elementary, middle, high schools, and universities, as well as private institutions of all sorts. How is this racist? You have limited linguistically realized power if youโre always dependent on translators in public. Good luck finding a job if youโre an English teacher planning to exercise your right to speak Korean in South Korea!
Hey, thanks for this good article.
I studied Japanese and Chinese language and culture/history at university and spent one year as an exchange student in Korea. I guess I learnt a lot about east-asian history from all perspectives. And to be honest, I’m fed up with all this anti-Japanese sentiment. I mean, I can understand where this comes from. I’m German and I know how difficult it is to deal with your own history and fight against forgetting what happened. I know that Japan did and still does many things absolutely wrong. But I think the problem are not the normal people but the authorities who still keep this racist thing going. I met Japanese people who said they hate Koreans and when I asked them why, they just answered: “because our teacher/parents said so”.
When I was in Korea I met many people who said bad things about Japan and asked me who Dokdo belongs to. Same with Chinese people I met (actually they are worse). But I never had the feeling that any of those people (especially young people) ever really thought about this whole thing or did anything else than just reciting the propaganda they heard in school or from their parents. I think most of them don’t even know what they are talking about. They feel superior but are actually doing the same thing as the Japanese. Not dealing with their history and just keeping old traditions going.
About my own experiences with racism in Korea: it was ok. Not good not bad. I would definitely sign what you wrote. I met many warm-hearted people who welcomed me with open arms, went to dinner with people I just met on the street, had chats with cute ํ ๋จธ๋’s on the subway. People were interested in me and it felt good. But there were also negative sides. It was kind of difficult for me finding real friends. All seemed very superficial and I often had the feeling I couldn’t get really close to them. As if there was an invisible barrier between us. Difficult to explain. I never had that feeling with my Japanese friends actually and with Chinese a little bit less. Strange.
But the worst was loosing my identity and becoming the ์ธ๊ตญ์ธ or ์ธ๊ตญ์น๊ตฌ. I have a name for god’s sake! Even my teacher said that and at all occasions where there were more than one Korean friend, me and my foreign friends automatically became anonymous. My highlight was the guy from the photoclub who, instead of asking my name directly, went to ask another guy from the club ๊ทธ ์ธ๊ตญ์ธ ์ด๋ฆ์ด ๋ญ๊ผฌ? Yeah. That feels good. For me as a German that is an absolute no-go. Maybe we are a little bit over-sensitive when it comes to racism. And I think none of those people I met in Korea mean to be rude, they just didn’t know better.
Anyway, I can’t wait to go back to Korea next spring! <3
๊ทธ๋ ์ฃ ! ์ผ๋จ ๋ณธ์ธ ์ธ์ข ์ด ๋์์๊ฐ ์๋๋ฉด ์ ๋ ‘ํ๊ตญ์ธ’์ด ๋์ง ์์์. ์น๊ตฌ๋ค์, “์! ํ๊ตญ์ธ์ด ๋์ จ๊ตฐ์!”๋ผ๊ณ ๋ํ๋ฏํ๊ฒ ์ง๋ง, ๋น ์ธ์ ์ ๋๋ค. ๋ค๋ฅธ ํํธ์ผ๋ก๋ ๋ฏ์ ์ฌ๋ํํ ๋ “์ธ๊ตญ์ธ”์ด ๋ ์ ๋ฐ์ ์์ต๋๋ค: “์! ํ๊ตญ์ด๋ฅผ ์ ํ์๋ค์!” “์ด๋์์ ์ค์ จ์ด์?” “ํ๊ตญ์ ์๋์ง ์ผ๋ง๋ ๋์ฃ ?” ํญ์ ๊ทธ ‘๋น์ ์ ์ธ๊ตญ์ธ์ด’๋ผ๋ ์ถ์ ์ด ํ์์์ ์ผ๋ก ์์ ๋์ด์์ด์. ํ๊ตญ์ด ์ฌ์ ์ ‘ํ๊ตญ์ธ’์ ์ ์๋ “์ฐ๋ฆฌ ๋๋ผ์ ๊ตญ์ ์ ๊ฐ์ก๊ฑฐ๋ ํ๋ฏผ์กฑ์ ์ ์ ๊ณผ ํํต์ ๊ฐ์ง ์ฌ๋์ด๋ค.” ‘๋ฏผ์กฑ’์ ์ ์๋ ๋ณด์๋ฉด ํ๊ตญ์ธ์ด ๋๋ ค๋ฉด ์ธ์ข ์ ์๊ด ์๋์ง ๊ฐ๋ซ๊ฒ ๋๋ฐ, ๋๋ ์ฌ์ ๊ณผ ํ๊ตญ ์ฌํ์ ๊ฑฐ์ ๋ชจ๋ ์ฌ๋๋ค์ ์ถ์ ํ๊ณ ๋จ์ ๋์ฐํ๋ ์ฑํฅ์ด ๋๋ฌด ์ผ์นํ์ง ์๋์ง ์๊ณ ์ถ๊ตฐ์! ์์ด๊ณ !
Brazilians proud of Brazil? Lol
Brazilians proud of Brazil? Lol
Where did you hear that?
My mistake! ๐
Thanks for making this post I always wanted to visit Korea (I really just want to travel all around Asia! ๐ ) but when i told my parents they totally lost it. My dad had planned to take me on a trip to Japan as a graduation present (I’ll be graduating high school in a few months) but when i asked if we could change it from Japan to a trip to Korea all my dad said was “I will take you anywhere but there.” And that made me angry i thought he was being unbelievably rude. It just turned out my parents didn’t know how a society like Korea that had been so closed off to the rest of the world would treat a black girl like myself and a MUSLIM black girl at that. Which brings me to my question. I’m glad you discussed the Racism of black people in Korea but said people in Korea or relatively nice but what about Muslims? When i’m older and out on my own i will always have the decision of either taking off my scarf and blending in with the crowd or keeping it on…i don’t really know. But if i did keep my scarf on and went to Korea making it a clear sign i am Muslim would i be treated badly? I’ve had my fare share of bad treatment and ignorant comments here in a America but not to much. Would i get ten times more harassment because of how long Korea has been closed off or are Muslims pretty accepted there?
Very interesting article. But I’m curious to know the racism in korea towards Europe, an especially, towards East Europe.
For every other race not mentioned, it’s not easy to say. The ones mentioned above are common. But Eastern Europeans as well as Arabs aren’t common enough for Koreans to have a general racism towards. It’s just like black people, except it doesn’t contrast as much in terms of skin color and is therefore probably not as shocking
Great post!!!!
I’m married with a korean woman and her parents was shocked when she said “I have a brasilian boyfriend”. After this I start to work with her family and they know me better. Now we’re married and very happy!!!! (And I love ๊น์น, ๋ฏธ์ต and others) ๐
I enjoyed this article, but would like a deeper discussion of the American military presence in Korea. I’ve heard rumblings for several decades about the dynamic between American soldiers and Korean women and would like this issue openly discussed. Also, if the Japanese were to apologize for their past bad behavior that included comfort women, do you think young Koreans would change their attitudes toward the Japanese? My firsthand recent experience with young Koreans in Seoul was open hostility toward Japan.
Wherever there are military bases in a foreign country there are generally red light districts. For the US this rings exceptionally true and definitely for the US bases and Asia.
Japan had high levels of prostitution near the US bases and this was allowed as it brought in revenue for poor families, facilitated US mens sexual needs (and remember the Japanese had “comfort” women so they knew this need – which is wrong by the way) and it reflected Japanese society somewhat. This practice died in Japan after modernization. While In Korea the same thing occurred and has sort of died down now. But a good example is Prostitution in Daegu and Itaeweon.
So you can see this pissing of locals even if they themselves have high rates of sex industry and prostitution. Add the fact for poor women marrying a US serviceman is a way out.
I’d like to add another factor which is that many US service men are raised in a hyper masculine environment and they do a tough job often in a place they hat. Naturally they act out, get drunk and need women to treat like sex objects. This naturally raises the ire of the locals.
I think Korean women and White Men is a huge pairing with white women and Korean men not even similar in number (but likely growing) I think this adds a dynamic and itslef is a remnant ofcolinial mindset and is seen throughout East ad South East Asia. With South Asia the pairings seem equal I fromf first hand have slightly more males married to foreigners (all white) compared to female relatives and foreigners. I think the reasons are complex but such an unequal pairing causes problems. Sadly I found some students at SNU and HUFS I met to have white worship even though they were smart… I wasn’t jealous because I am asexual but disappointed. There are heaps of nice foreigners including white guys and they chose the TESOL/US military trash. sigh
Very interesting post! The saddest thing is that in every country we’re gonna find racism ๐ in Mexico there’s racism towards our people too ๐ we called it “malinchismo” (it cames from a Mayan woman called La Malinche who married Hernรกn Cortรฉs).
I hope to see the day when racism dissapears!
I’m Filipino-Canadian. Born and raised in the Philippines. We also have both the Americans and Japanese in our history (and present). Unlike the love/hate relationship between the American soldiers and Koreans, it is all love/love for the Americans that you’ll see in the Philippines. I could be wrong about this since I have not been living in Asia for over a decade but I cannot see that changing anytime soon.
As for the Japanese, Filipinos also experienced maltreatment under their regime during WWII. I cannot say that I ever noticed any hatred against them in my generation or my parents’ generation. History is already far removed from the present. I understand the significance of history in shaping the present but the past should not hinder the present in moving forward to the future. They know that the earlier generation made a mistake in the past. Their government may still not have apologized but the people who commited those acts may no longer even have the capability to apologize. It is either they are long gone or their memories are already long gone. The sins of the father are not the son’s.
Just my 2 cents but let me tell you if late grandfather who fought in WWII against the Japanese is still alive, he would probably have my hide.
Hey Keith,
I am so glad you did a post on this touchy subject. I get many questions on my Youtube channel about racism in Korea… and I find it hard to make a video about – simply because people get offended and angry so easily. I think you’ve done an eloquent and simple explanation of the sources of racism in Korea, and the fact that it really does stem from xenophobia a lot of the time.
I want to try to talk about positive racism sometime – that is how some Korean people have an inflated view about caucasian people… but again it’s a touchy subject and I don’t know how to approach it! Thanks for your post. I’ve shared it on my Facebook page
I have been living in Korea for 4 years now. I am an African American, and I play for the Daegu Symphony Orchestra. I have lived in quite a few places, from Europe, to China, Thailand, etc. for the past 8 years. I have never experienced racism to such an extent as I have in Korea. actually, I never took notice of it at all until I moved here. Of course after living here for 4 years, I know the many excuses or reasons for why it came to be this way. However, rudeness is just that, and it affects the person nonetheless. I would say my experience has been 50/50… largely because I am a very positive person and it is for my great job that i choose to make it work. It could easily be a 75% negative experience if I were an English teacher. While understanding is nice and all… I’d rather a change of attitude take place. Korea is one of if not THE most technologically advanced societies in the world with so much information at their fingertips. I hardly think ignorance should be an excuse anymore.
Korea, like other xenophobic countries, wants your money, skills, food and knowledge, but they don’t want you to ever be a part of their society.
A visit? Y’all come back now, ya hear!
Long term residency? Your kind don’t belong around here, so git!
well, the good thing, mate is that I think it is changing. It is very recently that korea opened up to international immigrants, and when you compare how quickly they are adapting to the situation with other countries historically, i think you’ll find they are pretty tolerant. i’m sure i don’t have to tell you about how long america to took/is taking to become equal, for example.
i’ll tell you a little story, here. i’m from a small town in the Uk. until i was about 18, i’d only see about 5 black people ever. so, if I’d see a black dude, i’d be staring like fuck. obviously, now, i’m embaressed about that, and can’t believe what a rude little shit i was. my sister, who is about 10 years younger than me, grew up in the same town, but with much more ethniticies having moved to the town, she wouldn’t stare at all.
haha, in my head this was a better story than it looks like typed out. anyway, the point is, once koreans get to meet international folks then they are likely to become more tolerant and open-minded.
unfortunately, i don’t know any country which is automatically open to all cultures, but i have faith in koreans to learn tolerance very quickly. i think the koreans are fundamentally good people, and will overcome their racism quickly.
anyway, that’s my early morning opinion
oh, yeah, i thought i’d qualify my statement. i’ve got total faith in koreans to become racially and culturally tolerant….unless you’re Japanese. that shit has got a long time to go….!
nice one, I like how you did that.
Sorry to hear of you experiences, Chris.
Unfortunately Racism is 1 of those things that won’t go away overnight and it’s a long process of education & positive reinforcement.
You being a pioneer immigrant in a country that is relatively infantile in terms of foreign immigration unfortunately means you will probably experience more racism than later generations.
As a Korean who has lived in Australia for a decade and immigrated in the early days of their Asian Immigration wave, I certainly too have experienced racism. I know how disheartening and frustrating it can be. It’s a lot better now in Australia but these things will take its course and time.
Korea might be the 1 of the most connected places but how really connected are those people to the rest of the world?
I think the Govt could certainly play a big part in help improving attitudes towards foreigners with an educational campaign. Or even on a local level, perhaps your Orchestra colleagues could organise some sort of event where locals and foreigners can come and mingle?
I was with a beautiful black woman in Gangnam and cringed to hear a “what up mah nigger” and just a general disdain for us. What was sadder was hearing how ugly she felt from being in Korea. Thankfully she’s in better pastures now.
I think the disdain to Africans stems from a Colonial mindset, the looting and murders of American-Koreans by gangs of African-Americans during the LA riots and simialr outdated concepts.
That said, I saw a really hot African girl who seemed married to a sort of plain and nerdy Korean it was cute and amusing and he clearly has done well and she is happy. They probably don’t give a shit and love their lives.
Yeah… soccer and naked woman at RIO’S CARNAVAL… that’s something to be proud about right? Who needs honesty, education, good manners or safety? There is no perfect country, and I probably wouldn’t be proud of being born anywere (maybe scandinavia… but I don’t know a lot about there so I can’t really tell) , but to find a proud and concious brazilian… is a bit rare.
Yeah… That’s pretty true. I ,as a brazilian myself, am not really proud of brazil, but I think that its good points are the mixture of etnics so that we tend to not have so much prejudice against others.
I’m a bit scared though. My plans for the future are: going to a korean university as an exchange student and living there for a couple years or something, so, knowing this makes me a bit worried.
I wanted to know what koreans feel/think about brazilians…
So sad to see brazilians looking down on our country like this…I only red BS about Brazil,from brazilians here,so sad…We also have a lot of good stuff there,beautiful landscape,amazing food,a very kind,compassionate people…Every country has problems,in one way or another.Living in other countries,I learned that,they always gonna show in the media the worst of other countries.
Im really sorry that you get to highlight the worst things,but I think that,some things start with ourselves,and one of them is education.Bad Mouthing your own country,or any other country for the matter,tells more about you as individual,than a whole nation.You should travel a little more,and learn in the process to be a little more open mind.There all kinds of people in every country,you will see.And just one more thing;Try to be what you think our country is lacking.If you want things to change,you should start with you…I think I am blessed,because i was never a victim of violence in my own country,and I am from Rio.However in Spain and Italy,i was assaulted,beated by thugs.That never happened to me in Rio.Shits happens,and will not choose a certain country for that.
If you dont feel well anywhere,the problem is not the place,or the people.YOU are the problem.
Not Brazil,not other countries.
You,and only you,amigo
Just another thing,you know that we have a population of 203.403.263?Im pretty sure your opinion dont represent all brazilians.Your opinion dont represent me or many people that i know,thats for sure.We still have a lot of work to do related to safety,education,health…But even so,I love my country,and I know many other people that thinks the same way.
Great post, Keith! It certainly is a very complicated issue– or string of issues, really.
I had an African-American friend in Seoul– an absolutely lovely person who enjoyed living in Korea and could speak Korean, too. She was walking down a Seoul street one mild winter’s day when a glove fell out the pocket of the jacket of the woman in front of her. My friend picked up the glove, politely said “shillye hamnida,” and held out the glove. The woman turned around, took a look at her face, and stifled a scream (but couldn’t hide the look of horror on her face). My friend stood her ground, sadly already used to such reactions. Eventually, the woman saw the glove, took it, mumbled an embarrassed, “kamsa-hamnida,” and rushed off.
She posted this story on Facebook with wry humour, but also a sense of tired resignment. Just another day in Seoul for her.
This was an interesting post! I always knew a type of racism exist in Korea and I know how nationalistic Koreans can be. I also know that Koreans are one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I am a Chinese-American and like my trip to Mexico, I am impressed how nice people can be. My husband is also Korean. Reading this article basically confirmed a lot of my suspicions.
I actually think Koreans are remarkably tolerant given the cicumstances. From being almost totally homogenous about 20 years ago, to the thriving international community they have today, they have been remarkably understanding. Think of the hundreds of years of issues America have had with extreme racism. France and the Uk have major issues with racism, and this often is of a violent nature. Australians are very racist (in my opinion. in general). but i think that foreigners here notice the racism more, because for most of the (white) foreigners here, I imagine it is the first time that they are on the receiving end of it. while in their won countries, there may be institutionalized that goes unnoticed as does not occur within their ‘circles’ or in their neighbourhood.
Thanks for tackling this one Keith. I have many Korean friends, most who have had very little experience, if any, with black people, which I am. It’s always a pleasure for me to give them a first-hand introduction and make it a pleasant experience. Honestly, I can’t represent every black person, but to someone who has never met or had a friendship with a black person, it ends up being that anyway. It’s a responsible thing to treat people well no matter what, but we have to be careful especially when someone’s whole view of our culture/ethnicity/country etc, could be on the line. I love that 99.9% of the Koreans I have met in my life have been quite open and friendly with me. While Korea might have it’s struggles with race, you can find really awesome people if you give it a chance. The same as any other place on the planet. You can find idiots everywhere, and you can find awesome people everywhere too. Keep doing what you are doing dude. Understanding is the start of healing.
Amen.
Well spoken Simeon!
you made me hit my keyboard… well said. ” Understanding is the start of healing”. i will carry this to everywhere to every single different people that i will meet in the future. Thanks
Thank you for this article Keith it was very informative. Next fall I will be traveling to Korea and have been using your blog to help me understand the culture, it’s been very helpful. Racism/discrimination of any kind is prevalent around the world especially in older generations. My fear about traveling wasn’t geared toward possible racism but more so about misunderstandings Koreans may have toward me based on media hype and the few bad apples they may have encountered prior to me. I know that being an African American female would not be the norm despite the influx of immigrants moving to the country. However, after reading this article I feel more comfortable to visit Korea and hope I can make positive impressions on those I encounter.
I think Racism in Universal…
An outsider comes to your country, they tend to not follow the rules, act all air-headed, they stick in their own groups and look down on the locals…. obviously this creates friction…
What happened in WW2 happened here too… my grandma can write and speak Jap too…but I guess she’s learned how to move on…
Ppl just need to respect each others cultural differences and embrace the vibrancy behind them. Not condone each person for being different…!
One Love Peeps!
I really love the way you covered this Keith! I couldn’t agree with you more.
์ฐ์ ์ฌ์ดํธ๋ฅผ ๋ค์ง๋ค๊ฐ ๋ฐ๊ฒฌํ๋ค์~์ด๋ฐ ์ฌ์ดํธ๊ฐ ์๋ค๋!!์ ๋ง ์ข์ ์ฌ์ดํธ์ธ๊ฒ๊ฐ์์^^ ๋๋จํ์๋ค์~!