Korean fragility

By Deauwand Myers

I have experienced more racism and anti-blackness in Asia than I ever have in America. Considering our current historical moment, that sounds counterintuitive, but it's very true.

In Korea, the bigotry is both rank and covert. Ignorance is a kind of bliss, so when I arrived in Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul, if someone called me a racial slur, I would have no idea what they were saying. But as I learned more Korean, or a Korean native was with me, it became clear that not all my trips on public transport were innocent.

Once, I was with a male Korean friend, in the middle of bustling Gangnam (a ritzy, popular district in southern Seoul) at Baskin Robbins, of all places, ordering chocolate and coffee ice cream. Those are the only two flavors you should ever order. As my friend and I ate and talked, he overheard a young Korean woman, not even pretending to whisper, say she would never marry outside of her race, especially not people like me. Now I was dressed smartly, so I am trying to figure out if her problem was with me or Marc Jacobs.

If you go on social media, gallons of virtual ink are spilt on discussing and debating people of color's (particularly black folks) negative experiences in Korea surrounding race. The usual suspects include old people, especially old men, employers, parents of students they teach, students, human resources and, oddly, the dating pool.

Before graduate school, I moved to Japan. I was surprised there were so many white folks around. Being surrounded by them in my neighborhood, high school and then college, I thought traversing the vastness of the Pacific would give me some reprieve. Japan's xenophobia is less overt than Korea's, yet the psychological effects of it are the same.

Sam Okyere's recent tussle with anti-black racism exemplifies this. I can't imagine being a television celebrity in Korea and a person of color and being able to tolerate the countless microaggressions invariably attendant to that station. "Let me touch your hair." "Does your blackness wash off?" "How big is it?" (Some of these I've experienced myself. And let's not even get into the hate mail. Some reader even dedicated an entire ahistorical, racist blog, all to interrogate one of my articles).

When Okyere rightfully pointed out that a viral picture of a high school's yearbook was virulently racist, as they were donned in blackface, he received a backlash from netizens. As of the writing of this column, he has even deleted his Instagram account.

What I find most fascinating in this mini-saga is some Koreans' reaction to Okyere. They do rhetorical gymnastics to explain away how blackface and the high school students doing it were innocent, and the act itself harmless.

Yet, any slight, perceived or real, against Koreans is met with public outcry. The U.S. ambassador to Korea, Harry Harris, a retired general and Japanese American, was harassed by the public and the media for months because he wore a mustache. Somehow, his mustache reminded some people of Imperial Japan's leadership over an occupied Korea.

Any revisionist statements made by obscure Japanese politicians about Korea or WWII is breathlessly picked up by the Korean media for public consumption.

At some point, Korean society has to mature. Being a global citizen requires some education. And respect has to be reciprocal. I have never said a racist statement about any group of people, certainly not Koreans. I study Korean history and understand the horrors Korea has endured at the hands of the Chinese, Japanese and the like. I get why Koreans aren't pleased with the revisionist rhetoric from Japan's ruling conservative party, the Liberal Democratic Party.

With this knowledge, I modulate my behavior accordingly. Koreans are obliged to do the same. Google is free. Research the origins of blackface and how it was used to denigrate black people, deploying racist tropes as a form of entertainment in minstrel shows and comedy reviews. It is not a form of endearment. It is not funny. It is a cruel and ignorant display, and high school students should know better.

Further, it seems like every year a K-pop star or actor or comedian gets in some controversy by using blackface. Each time, we have this same discussion. This is not difficult. You should not be painting yourself or making eye gestures to mimic any other race. Just don't do it. I can only imagine the uproar if Okyere dressed up and wore yellow makeup to look like a Korean. The internet would break. Koreans would be in the streets.

You can't have it both ways: Everything about Korea is sacrosanct, but Koreans can be racially or culturally insensitive and offensive. This kind of behavior, from any one, is untenable and unsustainable. Grow up.

Deauwand Myers (deauwand@hotmail.com) holds a master's degree in English literature and literary theory, and is an English professor outside Seoul. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.