By Moon Ji-won
``It’s not that they are mean to me,’’ said Krystal, my African American friend. ``It’s more like they are scared of me or something. They tend to stay away from me, and we are uncomfortable with each other.’’
I did not know what to say, for it was true. Of course, there were some Koreans whom she called cool, open and friendly to all. However, many Koreans formed their own exclusive group, and most of the time, their friendship outside the group was confined to white students. They were not openly racist, and yet they did leave an impression to people like Krystal that they have such a tendency.
One can easily assume how worse it would be in Korea itself, when even some of the students studying abroad are not quite open-minded. I realize most of the time I talk about my American friends, somehow my friends in Korea automatically assume that they are Caucasians and usually attractive.
It is not based on the probability, that there are more white students than black students in my school, but the fantasy toward the Caucasians who possess the western standard of beauty which has settled almost as a universal value.
This is why I hesitate before inviting my black friend to Korea, while I easily invited my white host family already. Though I would like to believe that majority of the Koreans, now exposed to many foreign people and culture, will welcome people of any color, I fear that many can still inflict pain unintentionally, just like what fellow Koreans in my school did to Krystal.
Korea is not a country where one normally describes another with an ethnic label. The idea of “single race” is prevalent and emphasized, creating not only the national identity and bond but also a wall difficult for “others” to overcome.
It is time for Koreans to change. The number of people of other or mixed race has become significant in recent years. The children are often picked on because of their appearance or accents, and rarely do they succeed to bolster their eccentricity as a uniqueness that makes them popular.
Many parents have chosen to leave Korea and head to another country where the child would face less discrimination, and though the atmosphere has changed a little since Hines Ward was awarded the Super Bowl MVP, normal people are not always accepted.
It is also hard for the workers from a foreign country, usually the dark-skinned and poor people whose stay is illegal. Even if their stay may be illegal, their work itself is nothing like smuggling but honest labor.
They may deserve deportation according to the law but nothing worse, when their intention was not to exploit Korea but to earn money to support their family, enduring the detachment with familiar culture. Nonetheless Koreans are apathetic, and even worse, brutal and inhumane, violating basic human rights.
I remember one time when I went to help my American friend baby-sit; the grandfather of the bratty child always gave me a weird look that made me feel demeaned. Nothing was said, but I could feel the arrogance in his words as well. Secluded in my school society, consisted of friendly people who never ask ``Korea is just next to Thailand, right?’’ it came as a surprise.
Like the song from the musical Avenue Q, ``everybody’s a little bit racist.’’ There certainly is a difference between ethnic groups and one can have more attachment to a certain group. However, it is not a vertical hierarchy but a horizontal companionship.
No single race is better than the other, and people need to accept each other. While Korea is trying to advertise itself as an important country in the international world, it is slow in opening its secluded society.
The awareness of racial tension and discrimination is low. One does not have to be a member of the KKK or other discriminating organizations to be racist.
It is about attitude. I wonder when Korea will become an open country where I can gladly invite anybody who is enthralled by its charm, without any worries other than how to entertain them.
cgjmoo1@cranbrook.edu
Moon Ji-won is a junior at Cranbrook Kingswood High School in Michigan, USA.