Koreans asked to be more open to foreigners

Seoul (UCAN) -- The increasing number of foreigners and of marriages between them and Koreans is challenging Koreans to be more open to foreign people and cultures, speakers said at a recent seminar organized by Catholic journalists.

According to cultural anthropology professor Han Geon-soo, who spoke at the June 23 forum on The Situation of International Marriage and its Improvement, 11.4 percent of the 310,000 marriages registered in the country in 2004 were between Koreans and people of other nationalities. He cited government figures that put the total number of foreigners living in the country at 536,627, including the estimated 400,000 foreign migrant workers in the country as of May 2005. Foreigners thus form more than 1 percent of people living in South Korea, which has a population of 48,400,000. This situation reveals the need for Koreans "to accept cultural and ethnic diversity, and we have to educate Koreans about diversity and tolerance," Han said at the annual seminar organized by the Catholic Journalists' Club of Korea (CJCK). It was held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul. Han explained that Koreans have regarded their ethnic and national identity as one and the same, since Korea comprised only ethnic Koreans for centuries. But now there are Chinese-Koreans, Filipino-Koreans and Vietnamese-Koreans, and Korean society should view itself from a more global perspective, he told the 200 participants at the forum, the sixth since its inception in 2001. Cho Oak-la, a panel member, described foreigners as a "significant minority" that, though small, is making Koreans realize how narrowly they have defined national identity thus far. The sociology professor said Korean society and even NGOs often have objectified foreigners who marry Koreans and migrant workers, many of whom are illegal, as targets of assistance in areas such as human rights. Rather, she suggested, Koreans should be aware of these people's "significant presence and role in society," and how they challenge "Korean society to be more open." Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul, who gave prefatory remarks but did not stay for the seminar, spoke of media people as playing a teaching or prophetic role in society. "Like prophets," he said, "journalists are easily misunderstood when they write a news report based on fact," but which readers may interpret according to their own viewpoint. The cardinal affirmed that Catholic journalists who write articles "according to the Gospel and Christ's spirit" are "carrying out their duty as Christians." Father Joseph Kang Seung-soo, a presenter, said billboard posters now advertise "international marriages" between Korean men and other Asian women, especially from the Philippines and Vietnam. The priest revealed that he had phoned an agency that deals in such marriages, pretending to be a potential client. He was told that for a fee of 12 million won (about US$12,700), the agent could arrange within a week for him to marry a Philippine or Vietnamese woman. "This is well-packaged human trafficking," the priest asserted. In the four years since he started his ministry with migrants in Daejeon diocese, he said, he has come across 100 such marriages. From his observation, only one of these couples was happily married and truly loved one other. "For the women, money is the major motive, as they want to support their own family members in their country," Father Kang explained. The Korean men who seek foreign brides, he continued, "cannot find Korean women who want to marry them, mainly because they are poor or because they are farmers." The "deals" Korean men and foreign women make "result in unhappy and broken families," the priest stated. The dream of a new and better life in Korea is a strong attraction for these foreign women, he acknowledged, saying many of them long for love and the comfortable lifestyle they see portrayed in Korean TV dramas or films. Han too identified migration of women in Asia as closely connected to work and marriage. He said people ministering to couples of different nationalities should address these aspects. Father Kang recommended changes in migration and social-welfare policies, including better protection for foreign spouses against domestic abuse. He also said efforts should be made to ensure that prospective marriage partners each have adequate information about the other before making a decision. Father Ignatius Kim Min-soo, secretary of the Committee for Social Communication of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, told UCA News at the forum that the subject matter "dealt with here is timely and important." "The issue of migrant workers and foreigners living in the country is getting more and more attention from our community. They should be treated equally, as ordinary Koreans, while Koreans need to break out of ethnocentricity and nationalism," he said. According to Paul Jeong Hyeon-jo, secretary general of the CJCK, the Catholic journalists' club comprises Catholic associations from 25 press and broadcast media corporations in Korea. He told UCA News June 24 that it chose to focus on diverse peoples and cultures in Korea to raise public awareness.