By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Although deleted from the color palette in Korea a long time ago, the term "flesh" for a yellowish apricot shade is still widely used among journalists. But the practice triggers racism subliminally, a group of high school students claimed Tuesday.
The group "Teenagers who love world peace," which consists of students in Seoul and the southern Gyeonggi Province, compiled newspaper reports of three major broadcasters and 10 dailies between Aug. 1, 2002, and Aug. 20, 2009, and spotted 607 cases of using the phrases "flesh tone" and "skin color."
"They were used in various fields ― from movie critiques to showbiz to sports reporting," the group stated.
Lingerie makers were attached to the term too. They labeled their pinky beige shaded products as "nude" or "skin tone," which could give people the wrong impression that all people have the same skin color, they said.
"There are more than 1 million foreigners living here with different skin colors. Using the word flesh for a specific shade can be an expression of racism," the members said.
"It is quite disappointing that journalists who are supposed to be leading a trend, are still stuck with old-fashioned terms."
The National Human Rights Commission in 2002 advised the government and business circles to refrain from using the vocabulary since skin tones differ according to individual, race and other factors. It said the words could encourage racism. "Apricot" was recommended to replace the shade.
The teenagers requested major portal sites to screen the term and to inform the human rights commission.