Hines Ward Special Tribute On Sports Center

I posted just two articles, but try those sites if you want learn more about how interracial people are treated and what is and isn't being done about it. I typed in "Hines Ward" and found a lot of articles about the subject.

Myth of Pure-Blood Nationalism Blocks Multi-Ethnic Society

By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter

When Korean-born American Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Hines Ward visited South Korea in April, people�s attention to mixed-race people in the country increased enormously. Even leading officials and educators stepped up their efforts to embrace multicultural families in local communities, something rarely seen before.

However, while Koreans are fascinated by the biracial football hero, the majority of ordinary mixed-race people and migrant workers face various forms of discrimination and prejudice here.

According to the Korean Migrant Workers Human Rights Center, mixed-race people and migrant workers find it hard to have decent jobs and there is a vicious cycle of poverty among them.

A survey conducted by the Korea Youth Counseling Institute showed that the majority of mixed-race teenagers suffer from ostracism by their colleagues and expressed a willingness to emigrate to other countries in the future.

Experts say that although a multi-ethnic society is an irreversible trend in a global era, the myth of pure-blood nationalism is the major factor that hinders the nation from swiftly adapting to changes.

�Korea is so accustomed to a belief in pure-blood nationalism and a homogenous nation that its people don�t seem to be prepared to accept or understand a multi-ethnic and multicultural society,� said Lee Kwang-gyu, chairman of the Overseas Koreans Foundation.

``South Koreans should be aware of the fact that they are already living in a hybrid or multi-ethnic society. The number of migrant workers has surpassed 400,000 and international marriages last year accounted for more than 13 percent of total marriages in the country. With the low-birth rate and the lack of a domestic labor force for the so-called 3D jobs _ difficult, dirty and dangerous _ which refers to the most-avoided, the inflow of migrant workers will continue,�� he said.

Seol Dong-hoon, a sociology professor at Chonbuk University, said that it is absurd to continue to insist that South Korea is a pure blooded nation.

�Between a person who is of Korean nationality but feels more attached to foreign culture than Korean culture due to their staying in foreign countries for a long time, and the child of a South-East Asian migrant worker who was born in Korea and speaks Korean fluently, who is more Korean? And is it really worthwhile to distinguish one from the other based on their nationality?� he said.

Seol went on to say that the Korean government should begin a long-term project to redefine the meaning of being Korean and the meaning of the nation as well as educating people on cultural relativism.

``The fantasy regarding a homogenous nation should be scrapped in order to allow a multi-ethnic society to flourish. Specific policies should be set up to integrate not only naturalized migrants but also other migrants who reside in Korea,�� he said. ``Pride on one�s culture and nation often becomes a sense of superiority, thus leading to the neglect of people from other countries and their culture. Hence, there should be education on cultural relativism that teaches others� cultures are just as important as ours.��

Han Kon-soo, an anthropology professor at Kangwon University, also pointed out problems regarding the newly-coined term Kosian, which indicates biracial children from a Korean and South East Asian couple. ``People should stop using the word Kosian as it emphasizes the fact that they are mixed-race, hence perpetuating discrimination against them. It perpetuates an intention not to incorporate mixed-race people into the Korean community.��

Experts say that the fantasy of pure-blooded nationalism in Korea began to spread from the late 19th century or early 20th century with an increasing number of foreign invasions. They say that if it were not for numerous invasions from powerful countries, Koreans would have become more open to foreigners and such ``defensive nationalism�� would have been less strong.

``Pure blooded nationalism served as a useful tool for the South Korean government when the country was embroiled in ideological turmoil. It was used as an effective tool to make its people obedient and easy to govern,�� said Kim Sok-soo, a philosophy professor at Kyungpook National University. He said that especially going through the dictatorial leaderships by former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee, nationalism was incorporated into anti-Communism. So in the name of nationalism, much violence was committed.

``In these times where national boundaries are becoming more and more meaningless, it is wrong to hold on to such a narrow-minded concept of nationalism,�� said Kim.

Experts say that South Korea�s nationality law is one of the representative examples that show how its obsession on pure-blooded nationalism blocks the flourishing of a multi-ethnic society.

Currently, Korea�s law on nationality is not based on the territorial principle which takes into account the place of birth, but on the nationality principle which only counts the nationality of one�s parents. If this law does not change, children of migrant workers, although they are born in Korea and culturally attached to Korea, can never be recognized as Koreans.

However, it seems that it will take a long time for the nationality law to recognize territorial principles.

Last December, Joo Seong-young, a lawmaker from the largest 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. However due to a strongly unfavorable public opinion, the revision was rejected.

Korea Times 08-13-2006 http://times.hankooki.com/times.htm

AND

Hines Ward Speaks Out About Lingering Korean Racism

American football star Hines Ward, whose mother is Korean, has told a U.S. newspaper of the disturbing prejudice he encountered against mixed-race children during his recent triumphal visit to Korea. "You can't even get into the military if you're biracial," the footballer, who is half Korean, said in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "That is their rule, 100 percent pure, you have to be pure Korean, it's the only way to be in the military.� The writer, Ed Bouchette, said Ward returned with a new mission to help biracial children in Korea.

"His April visit to South Korea, scheduled long before the Super Bowl, was to be a quiet trip where his mother could introduce him to the land where he was born." But once there, �he discovered disturbing racism. He wants to seize the moment to help kids like himself, biracial, who are shunned, often officially, in that country."

Ward said Korea is �a great country, but it would be an even greater country if we could do things to help biracial kids because you may have the next Hines Ward, the next Tiger Woods waiting there, but he's never given an opportunity to do anything." Ward recalls the plight of a promising young athlete that he met in Korea. "I met a young soccer player. By word of mouth, he was a pretty good soccer player. But his teammates treated him like crap, called him 'nappy-haired boy.' Coaches tell him he'll never have a chance, don't want to play him because he's biracial."

Ward said such severe racism was "the negative side of our culture that my mother hid from me so much." He reiterated his resolve to "do something to help those biracial kids out and provide them with a sense of hope."

The man named �most important player� at the Super Bowl this year is making plans for his next trip to Korea, scheduled for around May 27, where he will lay the groundwork for his Helping Hands Foundation for biracial children.

Digital Chosunibo 5/16/2006 http://english.chosun.com/

soompi forums: Hines Ward Special Tribute On Sports Center - soompi forums