Long way to go for inclusive politics in Korea

Yagya Raj Subedi, a naturalized Korean from Nepal who ran for a Gyeonggi Province Assembly seat, speaks in a YouTube video uploaded on May 7. Screenshot from Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi Province branch YouTube channel

Naturalized Korean candidates face disadvantages amid prejudice, xenophobia

By Lee Hae-rin

Aspiring politicians go through a complicated thought process before deciding to run for election. This is because, as someone succinctly put it, elections are an all-or-nothing game for candidates ― they get everything if they win. But the opposite also holds true; they lose everything when defeated. Elections require candidates to have sufficient financial support to cover their campaigns, enough physical strength to follow a cruelly busy schedule and the resolve to overcome challenges against all odds.

For foreign-born candidates, there is one more hurdle they have to overcome in the run to the finish: ethnic nationalism. These candidates may face prejudice and xenophobia from some voters.

Kim Man-ui, 47, a naturalized Korean who is originally from China, decided to run in the Ansan mayoral election held on June 1 after gaining experience with a Korean political party.

During the March 9 presidential election campaign period, he worked for the external relations team of the minor center-right People's Party. He initially thought his ethnic background would be an asset in the election because Ansan is ethnically diverse and people from China take up the lion's share of foreign-born residents. Running his own business in Paju, a border city in Gyeonggi Province, he became a Korean citizen six years ago.

Unlike most Korean-born candidates who visit every corner of their electoral districts to meet voters in person and rally their support to win elections, Kim has focused on campaigning digitally. He presented his visions on his YouTube channel. In the videos he has uploaded, Kim promises to attract global capital, build a mega-tourist attraction like Disneyland and reinvigorate the city by transforming its industrial complex into an entrepreneurship town for young people.

Yagya Raj Subedi, 50, is another naturalized Korean candidate from Nepal who declared his bid to run for a seat in the Gyeonggi Province Assembly, via the proportional representation system on the ticket of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

He came to Korea in 1996 initially as a guest worker. He later became a priest after studying theology in Korea, in order to give back to the community, which had helped him a lot. In 2009, he became the first naturalized Korean citizen from Nepal. He was active in the migrant workers' rights movement before joining the DPK's multicultural committee last March.

He chose to run in the election to help fellow migrant workers and naturalized citizens make their voices heard in Korea's policymaking. "About 5.3 percent of the population of Gyeonggi Province are foreigners but there are no politicians who can represent them," he said. Based on his extensive experience as a migrant labor activist, he made several policy and budget proposals that could effectively improve migrants' working conditions and labor efficiency.

Candidates in general find it tough to follow super-busy schedules and convince voters to pay attention to their campaigns.

But for foreign-born candidates, there is another hurdle that makes running even tougher: they often find themselves fighting against Koreans' prejudices. This differs from candidate to candidate. Kim faces anti-China sentiment, which has grown significantly in recent years following China's economic retaliation against Korean companies, following the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, over 700,000 Korean Chinese like Kim reside in Korea as of 2019, and some 27,000 live in Ansan. Among the total number of 120,000 foreign-born eligible voters, eight out of 10 are Chinese nationals.

Kim has found that his background still sparks anti-China feelings among some Koreans, even though he is a naturalized Korean citizen.

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Kim Man-ui, a naturalized Korean from China who ran for mayor of Ansan in the June 1 local elections, is seen in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on April 15. Screenshot from Kim Man-ui's YouTube

For Subedi, it was hatred that frustrated him and made it tougher to run for election. He said he has been grappling with a myriad of hateful text messages and malicious online comments since he declared his candidacy.

"In these messages, people told me to go back to my country and made comments about my skin color, calling me a 'guest who pretends to be the owner of this place,'" Subedi told The Korea Times, Wednesday. Some people went as far as to say that his political activity would provoke terrorist attacks such as the ones in countries like France and the U.S., but Korean people are "too nice" and so let him take part in politics here, according to him.

"I believe these people feel threatened by the presence of migrants. They mistakenly believe we're taking over the country," he said, explaining that policies that segregate the ethnically diverse population as well as some politicians making discriminatory remarks are responsible for fostering social intolerance.

Korean politicians have played a part in the resurgence of anti-China sentiment during the elections.

Kim Eun-hye, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) candidate for the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election, is one of the politicians who has been stoking the flames of Korean ethnic nationalism and xenophobia.

"None of our (Korean) citizens can cast a ballot in China," Rep. Kim said, "But here in South Korea, the Chinese can. Is it fair for nearly 100,000 Chinese nationals in this country to have the right to vote here?"

Subedi was critical of PPP candidate Kim's anti-China remarks, noting that such rhetoric from an influential politician like Kim could have a profound impact on the Korean public's perception of migrants. "It gives close-minded people a sign that it's OK to express hatred towards migrants," he said.

For foreign-born candidates, running in the election in and of itself is challenging because campaigning usually requires candidates to spend a great amount of money, despite their chances of winning being quite low.

Subedi dropped out of the race recently as he saw no hope of winning. To become a local parliamentarian for the DPK via the proportional representation system, he would have to become one of the top eight candidates. He saw this outcome as being very unlikely, so he decided not to continue.

"If you look into any country, politics is done solely by its citizens. It means that when people see a politician, they perceive them as 'one of us.' I believe if we have more politicians with migrant backgrounds, it will eventually change people's perceptions that we are also citizens," Subedi said.

Kim also said he understands people's reactions and still believes in political participation and representation.

"I am not an 'alien,' but a citizen of this country. I love Korea more than anybody else and wish to contribute to the country's development with my affection," Kim said in a written interview with The Korea Times.

"If I work hard enough and contribute to the prosperity of Ansan, I believe that all Ansan citizens and foreign nationals residing here will support me eventually," Kim said.

The latest polls show that the race among the DPK and PPP candidates running alongside Kim for Ansan mayor is too close to call.

Although Sudebi dropped out of the race this time, he said his journey into politics has just begun.

He said that's why he moved recently from Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, to the near-Seoul area in Gyeonggi Province, so as to enter the political world and he will continue striving to make migrants' voices heard.