'We (Koreans) are racists'

The Korea Times held a roundtable on racism in Korea last week. A racially balanced group of panelists was invited to talk about what they have experienced and feel about the subject. We had a frank and civilized discussion about the subject. From left are Times' columnist Casey Lartigue; John Dunbar, a Times' copyeditor and contributing writer; Shubha Gokhale, an international trade professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies; and Shakh Al Mamun the chief vice president of the Seoul Gyeonggi Incheon Migrant Trade Union. The Times?chief editorial writer hosted the discussion, which was also participated in by intern Lee Han-soo. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Oh Young-jin

True, this may sound as if it is overly inclusive and condemns all Koreans as guilty without committing a crime.

But take it as a preemptive declaration that is needed for the inevitable journey Korea is taking toward becoming a diverse society. After all, this nation is on the fast track toward an aging society, recording one of the world’s lowest birthrates.

Therefore, it is pivotal to find ways in which foreigners can feel welcome and are invited to put their best skills to practice, identifying their individual pursuit of happiness with the advancement of their host country. Currently, this is not the case.

Last week, The Korea Times hosted a roundtable with a diverse group of foreign residents.

They have all felt discriminated against in one way or another, some being acts of outright racism, and others attributable to racist bias. Racism exists in all colors and shapes everywhere that people of different cultures or races gather together. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it can be tolerated if only for the reason that it serves as a detriment for the common goal of prosperity.

The real problem is that Koreans aren’t often conscious of it when engaging in acts of racism or would do it anyway even knowingly.

A prospective Korean employer would ask one how “pale” a foreign job applicant might be beforehand. Then, the employer would go further to investigate the applicant’s genealogy, asking them whether they had any family members who were of a different color; or wanting to know what “percentage” of their bloodline was mixed. Amazingly, this interrogation can be repeated in such casual settings as while riding in a taxi.

This line of inquiry could be unthinkable in the United States, an immigrants’ society where racism remains one of the most explosive issues. Here, Koreans believe they are still so homogenous that exchanges between people of different races on an equal footing are not established. Of course, ignorance can’t be an excuse, but education at all levels in this regard is urgently needed.

Then, foreigners from countries where racism is taken seriously tend to develop a sense of a demarcation line separating them from the host society. Best capturing this sense of alienation is the “know your place” kind of mentality, meaning that they limit their engagement with Koreans to only where it is needed or called for. In a way, this isolationism is possible because the expat community they belong to is big enough for them to sate their basic needs within it.

The most serious form of racism is, however, not so much the racial slurs or animosity between foreigners and locals, but rather about the large number of migrant workers who find themselves on the receiving end of whatever insults or disadvantages their Korean employers throw at them with few places to turn to. Oftentimes, these employers threaten to kick the foreign workers out of the country, forcing them to choose between running away to be illegal workers, or staying with unfair bosses.

Perhaps, Korea can start its race education by finding ways of treating these invited workers fairly and equitably.

This roundtable was organized after a brouhaha triggered by the editorial “Ugly foreigners.” This edition is solely devoted to looking at the situation from foreigners’ perspectives. We also plan to see how Koreans see foreigners. Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times’ chief editorial writer. Contact him at foolsdie@gmail.com.