A Lai Đại Hàn (라이따이한 in Korean) is a person born to a South Korean father and a Vietnamese mother during the Vietnam War. The fathers include both members of the South Korean military and Korean workers who were stationed in Vietnam during the War. The children were usually abandoned by their fathers.[1]
"Lai," which is a scornful word[2], means "mixed blood" and "Đại Hàn" is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Korea (hangul: 대한 hanja: 大韓).
The exact number of Lai Daihan is unknown. According to Busan Ilbo, there are at least 5,000 and 30,000 at most.[2] According to Maeil Business, there are 1000 at most.[3] According to Park Oh-soon, the number of Korean-Vietnamese fathered not by Korean soldiers but by Korean workers stationed in Vietnam during the War is probably 10,000.[4]
The causes of the Lai Daihan problem include "comfort women"[5], rape,[6] and the desertion of the children.[2] Atrocities by Military of South Korea are still remembered in Vietnam, and The Hankyoreh referred to the incidents as a massacre (대량학살).[7] Military of South Korea had massacred more than 300,000 Vietnamese people, in Vietnam during the War （ → List of massacres in Vietnam ）.[8]