Korean ethnic nationalism, or racial nationalism,[1] is a political ideology and a form of ethnic identity that is prevalent in modern Korea. It is based on the belief that Koreans form a nation, a race, or an ethnic group that shares a unified bloodline and a distinct culture.[2] It is centered around the notion of the minjok (민족; 民族), a term that had been coined in Japan in the early Meiji period on the basis of Social Darwinian conceptions. Minjok has been translated as "nation," "people," "ethnic group," and "race-nation."
This conception started to emerge among Korean intellectuals after the Japanese-imposed Protectorate of 1905,[3] when the Japanese were trying to persuade Koreans that both nations were of the same racial stock.[4][5] The notion of the Korean minjok was first made popular by essayist and historian Shin Chaeho in his New Reading of History (1908), a history of Korea from the mythical times of Dangun to the fall of Balhae in 926 CE. Shin portrayed the minjok as a warlike race that had fought bravely to preserve Korean identity, had later declined, and now needed to be reinvigorated.[6] During the period of Japanese rule (1910-1945), this belief in the uniqueness of the Korean minjok gave an impetus for resisting Japanese assimilation policies and historical scholarship.[7]
In contrast to Japan and Germany, where such race-based conceptions of the nation were discredited after the Second World War because they were associated with ultranationalism or Nazism,[8] postwar North and South Korea continued to proclaim the ethnic homogeneity and pure bloodline of the "Great Han" race.[9][4] In the 1960s, President Park Chung-hee strengthened this "ideology of racial purity" to legitimate his authoritarian rule,[10] while in North Korea official propaganda has portrayed Koreans as "the cleanest race."[4][5] Contemporary Korean historians continue to write about the nation's "unique racial and cultural heritage."[11] This shared conception of a racially defined Korea continues to shape Korean politics and foreign relations,[9] gives Koreans an impetus to national pride,[12] and feeds hopes for the reunification of the two Koreas.[13]
Despite statistics showing that Korea is becoming an increasingly multi-ethnic society,[14] most of the Korean population continues to identify itself as "one people" (danil minjok; 단일민족; 單一民族) joined by a common bloodline.[15] A renewed emphasis on the purity of Korean "blood"[16] has caused tensions, leading to renewed debates on multi-ethnicity and xenophobia both in Korea and abroad.[14]
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Contrary to popular belief in Korea, the Korean ideology of purest race began only in the early 20th century when the Japanese annexed Korea[4] and launched a campaign to persuade them that they were of the same pure racial stock as the Japanese themselves.[5]
In the colonial period, the Japanese assimilation policy claimed that Koreans and Japanese were of common origin but the former always subordinate. The pure blood theory was used to justify colonialist policies to replace Korean cultural traditions with Japanese ones in order to supposedly get rid of all distinctions and achieve equality between Koreans and inlanders.[9] The policy included changing Korean names into Japanese, exclusive use of Japanese language, school instruction in the Japanese ethical system, and Shinto worship.[9]
In resistance to the Japanese assimilation policy, Koreans came forward to assert their unique national heritage. Shin Chaeho (신채호; 申采浩; 1880–1936), the founder of the nationalistic historiography of modern Korea and a Korean independence movement activist, published his influential book of reconstructed history Joseon Sanggosa (조선상고사; 朝鮮上古史; The Early History of Joseon) in 1924-25, proclaiming that Koreans are descendants of Dangun (단군; 檀君), the legendary ancestor of Korean people, who merged with Buyo of Manchuria to form the Goguryeo (고구려; 高句麗) people.[17]
Borrowing from the Japanese theory of nation and race,[17] Shin Chaeho located the martial roots of the Korean in Goguryeo,[17] which he depicted as militarist, expansionist which turned out to inspire pride and confidence in the resistance against the Japanese.[17] In order to establish Korean uniqueness, he also replaced the story of Gija (기자, 箕子) whose founder was the paternal uncle or brother of the Chinese Shang emperor Zhou with the Dangun legend [18] and asserted that it is the important ways to establish Korea’s uniqueness.[17]
After the independence in the late 1940s, despite the split between North and South Korea, neither side disputed the ethnic homogeneity of the Korean nation based on a firm conviction that they are purest descendant of a legendary genitor and half-god figure called Dangun who founded Gojoseon in 2333 BCE based on the description of the Dongguk Tonggam (1485).[9][19]
In Korea, pure blood theory is a common belief justified as "defensive nationalism."[20] The debates on this topic can be found sporadic in the South, whereas the public opinion in the North is hard to access. In a nationalistic view, to impugn the theory would have been tantamount to betraying Koreanness in the face of the challenge of an alien ethnic nation.[9]
Some Korean scholars observed that the pure blood theory served as a useful tool for the South Korean government to make its people obedient and easy to govern when the country was embroiled in ideological turmoil.[20] It was especially true in the dictatorial leaderships by former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee when nationalism was incorporated into anti-Communism.[20]
The ideology also maintains a conviction amongst Koreans that both South and North Koreans are all brothers and sisters of the same blood-family and reunification is the ultimate goal.
The notion of the pure blood theory comes at the cost of discrimination on people of both "foreign-blood" and "mixed blood."[14]
According to 2009 statistics published by Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, there are 144,385 couples of international marriage in South Korea as of May, 2008. 88.4% of immigrants were female, and 61.9% were from China.[21] Recently it has been argued that South Korean society had already become a multicultural society. As of 2011, 10 ministries and agencies of South Korean government are supporting international couples and foreign workers in South Korea toward the cultural plurality.[22]
In 2006, Hines Ward who was born to a Korean mother and an African American father became the first Korean American to win the Super Bowl MVP award. This achievement threw him into the media spotlight in South Korea.[23] When he travelled to Korea for the first time, he raised unprecedented attention to the acceptance of "mixed blood" children. He also donated USD 1 million to establish the "Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation", which the media called "a foundation to help mixed-race children like himself in South Korea, where they have suffered discrimination."[24]
However, while Koreans are fascinated by the bi-racial sport hero, the majority of ordinary mixed-race people and migrant workers face various forms of discrimination and prejudice.[14] In 2007, the Korean pure blood theory became an international issue when the U.N. Committee on the International Convention Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination urged better education on the pure blood theory is needed especially for judicial workers such as police officers, lawyers, prosecutors and judges.[25][26] The suggestion got mixed reception in South Korea in which some raised a xenophobic concern that foreigners will invade the Korean culture and challenged the sovereignty of Korea.[27] Others also claimed that the embrace of multi-ethnicism is at the cost of reunification.[27]
The Korea nationality law is based on jus sanguinis[9][27] instead of the territorial principle which takes into account the place of birth. In this context, most Koreans have stronger attachment to "ethnic Koreans living in foreign countries" than to "ethnic non-Koreans living in Korea."[9][27]
In 2005, the opposition Grand National Party suggested a revision of the current nationality law to allow Korean nationality to people who are born in South Korea regardless of the nationalities of their parents but it was discarded due to unfavorable public opinion.[14]
Racism is an ongoing problem and there has been a great deal of awareness in South Korea. Hines Ward was granted "honorary" Korean citizenship.[28] Tasha Reid (also known as Natasha Shanta Reid, Korean name is Yoon Mi-rae (윤미래)) is a famous mixed race singer in Korea.[29] Middle school access has been expanded to children of illegal immigrants.[30]
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