Justice ministry hit for racist content in int'l marriage guidance program

This section from a guidebook used in the international marriage guidance program of the Ministry of Justice states that Vietnamese people 'do not easily admit to their wrongdoings and tend to make excuses for their mistakes rather than apologizing.' / Courtesy of Rep. Kim Jin ae

By Lee Hyo-jin

The Ministry of Justice is facing criticism for racist content included in the educational materials for its international marriage guidance program, according to a lawmaker and foreign residents, Wednesday.

Published in 2019, the guidebook titled "Understanding the social customs and marriage culture of foreign countries" purports to explain particular characteristics of people of nationalities that commonly come to Korea through and for marriage to Korean nationals.

The material is used in a mandatory four-hour educational course provided by the Immigration Office for Korean nationals who are planning to marry people from a designated list of countries. The guidebook, which aims to provide a "balanced" perspective on the spouse's culture for the success of the marriage, was found to include multiple cases of racist and discriminatory written content.

Lawmaker Kim Jin-ae of the minor Open Minjoo Party condemned the justice ministry for its lack of cultural sensitivity during the National Assembly's audit of the ministry on Tuesday.

"Considering the content's poor level of human rights sensitivity, it is unbelievable that it was published in 2019. It is simply discriminatory to educate people on their spouse's culture through just one or two sentences," Kim said.

The guidebook describes Vietnamese as not easily admitting to wrongdoings and tending to make excuses for their mistakes rather than apologizing.

"Insulting Filipinos with high self-esteem may lead to unexpected violence. It is advisable to refrain from commenting about their skin color or curly hair since they have feelings of inferiority about their looks," the book reads.

"Chinese tend to perceive other neighboring ethnic groups as barbarians based on their Sinocentric mindset. Thais may lack deep thinking. They focus on getting things done quickly, without caring about quality. Cambodians are usually shy and quiet, but they change their attitude radically when they are insulted, leading to violence or shootings in some cases."

An Uzbek national in her 20s who is married to a Korean said "It's horrible to imagine a group of soon-to-be husbands sitting in a classroom and listening to this nonsense."

"I feel insulted that an official guidebook from the government has awfully described my country," said a Cambodian woman in her 30s living in Uijeongbu, northern Gyeonggi Province.

Koreans who are marrying a foreign national from one of the seven countries officially designated by the government ― China, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Thailand ― must take the course as a prerequisite to applying for a marriage visa for their spouse.

Exemptions can be made for those who have been in a relationship with their intended spouse for longer than six months, or if the foreign national has stayed in Korea for more than 91 days.

Following the criticism, the ministry announced that it will no longer use the guidebook.

"We are deeply sorry to have included negative expressions which may lead to stereotypes of certain nationalities, and will entirely revise the book based on opinions from human rights experts," it said in a press release.

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