Lai Đại Hàn

The term Lai Dai Han (or sometimes Lai Daihan/Lai Tai Han) (lai Đại Hàn in Vietnamese : pronounced [laːi ɗâˀi hâːn]; Korean: 라이따이한) is a Vietnamese term for a mixed ancestry person born to a South Korean father and a Vietnamese mother (including the victims of Korean soldiers) during the Vietnam War. The term, and awareness of this legacy, was publicised in Korea in the 1990s and 2000s as Korea increasingly had investment and business contacts with Vietnam.

Etymology

The noun or adjective lai (chữ nôm: 𤳆) can mean any hybrid, including an animal or tree, but in this context is a scornful word,[1] meaning "mixed blood." "Đại Hàn" (hán tự: 大韓) was the then standard Vietnamese term for South Korea (equivalent to Korean Daehan, hangul: 대한 hanja: 大韓), though today "Hàn Quốc" (Korean Hanguk) is more common. Since "lai" is offensive the term "lai Đại Hàn" itself does not appear in official Vietnamese sources, except in relation for example to the name of the South Korean film "Lai Đại Hàn."[2]

Causes and the number of Lai Dai Han

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.[3] The exact number of Lai Daihan is unknown. According to Busan Ilbo, there are at least 5,000 and as many as 30,000.[1] According to Maeil Business, however, there are 1,000 at most.[4] According to Park Oh-soon, the number of Korean-Vietnamese fathered by Korean workers stationed in Vietnam during the War is estimated at 10,000+.[5] There is also criticism that the number of Vietnamese-Korean mixed children is swollen because aid organizations supported them before proper accurate research was done.[6] Causes include civilians and soldiers who married Vietnamese women but then irresponsibly returned to Korea throwing away his wife and children and alleged rape of Vietnamese women by Korean soldiers.[7][8]

The causes of the Lai Daihan problem include rape[9] and the desertion of the children.[1] Atrocities by Military of South Korea are still remembered in Vietnam. The Hankyoreh referred to the incidents as a massacre (대량학살).[10] Military of South Korea had massacred more than 300,000 Vietnamese people, in Vietnam during the War （ → List of massacres in Vietnam ）.[11]

Rape allegation is supported by a broadcast released by The National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (Viet Cong) which reports the assaults to women in Vietnam and massacre by Korean military.[12] Testimonies by survivors of such assault and massacre by South Korean troops list rape of Vietnamese women.[13]

On the other hand, because Korean soldiers returned home without taking care of both their wife and child in Vietnam, Military headquarters also forced those soldiers to be re-deployed to Vietnam to get married. Till this date there has been no official apology from the Korean Government.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "조흥국교수의 동남아 들여다보기 <17> 라이따이한 문제". Busan Ilbo. 2004-09-18. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  2. ↑ Trọng Dật Dương 300 câu hỏi, 300 năm Sài Gòn TP. Hò̂ Chí Minh 1998 "Nhũng bộ Phim như "Người tình" (Pháp), “Lai Đại Hàn" (Hàn Quốc), "Miền Nam Xa Xưa" (Pháp), “Ba mùa" (Mỹ)... từng được thực hiện ở đây. 211. llạll chiêu hong llill nllãt Trước 1975, cả thành phố có 51 rạp chiếu bóng. Trong số này, có rạp ..."
  3. ↑ "ライダイハン 라이따이한 Raittaihan　韓国軍の戦争犯罪　大虐殺と強姦".
  4. ↑ "베트남에 대한 5가지 오해 ". Maeil Business. 2004-10-05. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  5. ↑ "ライタイハンとは何か".
  6. ↑ コ・ギョンテ "(Korean)" - ライダイハンを売るな (Korean)、『ハンギョレ21』第258号（電子版）、1999年5月20日。
  7. ↑ jp:名越二荒之助 『日韓2000年の真実』〜ベトナムの方がのべる韓国の残虐行為〜、2002年
  8. ↑ 野村進によれば、これら混血児たちの父親の90パーセントは韓国のビジネスマンであり、ベトナム人女性との間に子供をもうけた後に「母子を置き去りにして帰国してしまった」例が多いという。『コリアン世界の旅』 講談社、1996年、173頁。
  9. ↑ A. Kameyama, Betonamu Sensou, Saigon Souru, Toukyou [Vietnam War, Saigon, Seoul, Tokyo], Iwanami Shoten Publishing, 1972, p. 122
  10. ↑ "아, 몸서리쳐지는 한국군! ". The Hankyoreh. 2002-07-26. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  11. ↑ Kim, Wan-seop (2002). 親日派のための弁明. 草思社. p. 44. ISBN 4-7942-1152-X.
  12. ↑ jp:名越二荒之助 『日韓2000年の真実』〜ベトナムの方がのべる韓国の残虐行為〜、2002年
  13. ↑ 『ハンギョレ21』256号、1999年5月6日。