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Abstract
South Korea has long been regarded as a country with a single ethnicity. Honhyeol, which literally means ‘mixed blood’ in Korean, exemplifies this orientation. In recent years, the number of ‘mixed race’ children in the country has been on the rise due to the increase in international marriages, particularly between Korean men and foreign women. Drawing on the personal narratives of 56 youths (aged between 9 and 17) obtained from three essay contests, this article examines how, why, and in which contexts the racial hierarchies of ‘mixed race’ children in Korea are constructed. Narratives of ‘mixed race’ children and their peers show that a ‘hierarchical racial order’ – characterized by a color-coding system that simultaneously operates along the lines of national origin – is channeled into ‘mixed race’ people’s everyday lives, thus shaping their identity constructions.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Keiko Yamanaka and Jacklyn Sakura Knitter for their helpful comments on the initial draft of this paper. She also appreciates the valuable comments by the anonymous reviewers’ and the editor.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. This is a television program which was broadcasted on tvN in 2011. The setting was in a kindergarten and featured ‘mixed race’ children.
2. The television program was broadcasted on tvN between 2013 and 2014. This is a story of five children from a multicultural family background who settle down in South Korea and two single actors (tvN, N.d.).
3. The names in this field note are changed to protect their identities.
4. In this article, I use ‘mixed race children’ and ‘mixed race youth’ interchangeably. By life course, they are ‘youth’, but they are often viewed as ‘children’ with a mixed race background.
5. Shin, Ethnic Korean Nationalism.
6. Ahn, “Global Migration and the Racial Project.”
7. There are several terms that indicate these children. Children are increasingly framed within multicultural contexts and they are called/labeled ‘multicultural children’ or ‘multicultural families’ children’. In general, the Korean government and ministries predominantly use ‘multicultural’ (family) children instead of ‘mixed race’ children or youth. The term ‘multicultural’ (family or household) children is used by the Ministries of Education, Justice, Health and Welfare, and Women and Family. ‘Immigrant-background children’ and ‘mixed race’ are used by the Ministry of Justice. The term ‘children of (marriage) immigrants’ is used by the Ministries of Health and Welfare, and Gender Equality and Family. ‘Multicultural student’ is used by the Ministries of Education, Health and Welfare, and Gender Equality and Family. Ministry of Education; Ministry of Gender Equality and Family; Ministry of Health and Welfare; Ministry of Justice.
8. The 12th Committee of Multicultural Family Policy review of ‘Measures on Supporting Multicultural Family Children’ is such an example. It has emphasized launching a dual language environment and program. Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, “Multicultural Family Policy.”
9. Kim, “Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans”; and Kim, Adopted Territory.
10. Chungcheongbuk-do Office of Education, Multicultural Children’s Life Experience; Chungchengnam-do Office of Education and Chungchengnam-do Lifelong Education Center, Two Kinds of Dreams; and Chungchengnam-do Office of Education and Chungchengnam-do Lifelong Education Center, Children’s Dreaming Heartfelt World.
11. Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, Framework Act on Juveniles. The term ‘juvenile’ means a young male or female older than 9 years of age and younger than 24 years of age. Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
12. Feldman et al., “Making Sense of Stories,” 148.
13. Erikson, Youth and Crisis; and Marcia, “Development and Validation of Ego Identity Status.”
14. Han, “Archaeology of the Ethnically Homogeneous,” 9.
15. This is higher than Japan’s international marriage rate of 3.2% of total marriages in 2014, but lower than Singapore’s 10.5% in 2010. Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, “2014 Vital Statistics”; and Department of Statistics Singapore, “Population Trends 2015.”
16. Rocha, “Betwixt, Between and Beyond.”
17. Ahn, “Transforming Korea into a Multicultural Society.”
18. Ibid.; Kang, “Multicultural Education and the Rights”; and Watson, “Multiculturalism in South Korea.”
19. Cawley, “Back to the Future.”
20. See note 17.
21. Nam, “‘Mixed Blood’ Children Born.”
22. Kim, Adopted Territory.
23. Kang, “Korean Society’s Perception”; and Kang, “Korean Society’s Recognition.”
24. See note 6 above.
25. Lo and Kim, “Manufacturing Citizenship.”
26. Lee, “Multicultural Family Children.”
27. Ahn, “Global Migration and the Racial Project”; Cho and Park, “Newspaper Articles from 1950 to 2011”; and Kim, “Racism in the Global Era.”
28. Kim, “Living Together as a Family.”
29. Park and Woo, “Multicultural Youths Become Koreans.”
30. Kim, Imperial Citizens.
31. Lew and Lee, “Measures of Social Recognition in Korea”; and Cho and Park, “Newspaper Articles from 1950 to 2011,” 381.
32. Seol, “Sociology of the ‘Mixed-Blood’,” 128.
33. Lee, “Mixed Race Peoples in the Korean.”
34. Ibid., 64.
35. See note 22 above.
36. Chungchengbuk-do, Chungbuk Statistical Yearbook.
37. Chungchengnam-do, Chungnam Statistical Yearbook.
38. Statistics Korea, Multicultural Population Statistics.
39. Chungchengnam-do Office of Education and Chungchengnam-do Lifelong Education Center, Children’s Dreaming Heartfelt World.
40. Kang, “A Study on the ‘Self-narrative’.”
41. As the focus of this paper is mixed race children with one foreign parent, other contributors of the essays (i.e. parents who are non-Koreans, teachers who have students of this background in their classes) are excluded from the analysis for the following reasons. For one, these two groups are not mixed race and do not qualify for inclusion in the analysis. Non-Korean parents who neither hold Korean citizenship/nationality at the time of essays were submitted nor are mixed race individuals were excluded. Secondly, almost all Korean teachers at primary and secondary schools are ethnically Korean and essentially Korean citizens, with the exception of native English speakers who teach English in these schools.
42. See Erikson, Youth and Crisis.
43. Chungchengnam-do Office of Education and Chungchengnam-do Lifelong Education Center, Two Kinds of Dreams.
44. Chungnam 2009 and Chungnam 2010 shared the exact same pool of examiners. Chungchengnam-do Office of Education and Chungchengnam-do Lifelong Education Center, Two Kinds of Dreams; and Chungchengnam-do Office of Education and Chungchengnam-do Lifelong Education Center, Children’s Dreaming Heartfelt World.
45. See note 40 above.
46. Rocha, “‘Stretching Out the Categories’,” 283.
47. Kang, “Korean Society’s Recognition.”
48. De Fina, “Narratives and Identities.”
49. Throughout this section, I will use Chungbuk, 2010; Chungnam, 2009; and Chungnam, 2010 for indicating sources of the narratives.
50. See note 30 above.
51. Cho and Park, “Newspaper Articles from 1950 to 2011,” 381; and Lew and Lee, “Measures of Social Recognition in Korea.”
52. Kang, Mixed-Bloods and the Cognition of Koreas; and Oh, “Stigma of Mixed-Race.”
53. Chong, “Intercultural Communication Conflict”; and Cho and Park, “Newspaper Articles from 1950 to 2011,” 381. Likewise, based on the country of origin, Ju and Noh’s research (2013) defines the four groups by analyzing foreign characters of Korean drama: (i) The admirable group includes the United States and Europe; (ii) The sympathy group includes Vietnam and the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan; (iii) The proximity group: Japan and China; (iv) Others: Unspecified origin and nationality. See also Ju and Noh, “Korean TV Dramas.”
54. Ibid.; Park, “Korean Society’s Racism”; and Park and Woo, “Multicultural Youths Become Koreans.”
55. From I can smile now by Daesung Chang. Grade 6, Yeongi Dowon Elementary School. Chungnam 2010.
56. See Park, “Korean Society’s Racism.”
57. Yonsei Primary School, Grade 5, Kim, “Hidden Trouseure, My Friend,” 36.
58. Park, Aren’t You Warm.
59. The Borderless Village.
60. See note 58 above.
61. Donga Ilbo.
62. See note 30 above.
63. Ibid.
64. Ibid.
65. Kang, Mixed-Bloods and the Cognition of Koreas.
66. Kang, “Korean Society’s Perception,” 49.
67. This is translated from Chinese characters: literally, ‘hon (混)’ refers to mixed and ‘hyeol (血)’ refers to blood. Standard National Language Dictionary (Pyojun Gukoe Dae Sajeon).
68. This is in fact a saying in English too.
69. National Human Rights Commission, The Republic of Korea.
70. Oh, “Stigma of Mixed-Race,” 220.
71. Seol, “Sociology of the ‘Mixed-Blood’”; and Pearl S. Buck International.
72. Ibid., 130.
73. See note 48 above.
74. Riessman, “Entering the Hall of Mirrors.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Claire Seungeun Lee
Dr Claire Seungeun Lee is based at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Prior to coming to Boston, she has worked in the educational, media, and legal sectors in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei and Seoul, and, most recently, for the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, one of the leading think tanks in South Korea. Her broader research interests include cultural and economic sociology, international migration, global media, mixed race, and contemporary Chinese and Korean societies.
Author’s postal address: 100 Morrissey Blvd., Department of Asian Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125-3393, USA.