I'm not impressed with Korean "racism" until I hear stories of Koreans burning crosses and lynching minorities...Until then, it's a non-story really.

Also can't help noticing that in an article explicitly about South Korea, the writer blithely includes a bit about "North Korean authorities" forcing abortions. Excuse me. While it may be convenient to conflate the 2 nations in order to make "Koreans" look bad, it's also egregious.

I think it's unreasonable that an article be expected to address racism in every single country before it can be "allowed" to discuss racism in any one country.There are two separate issues here. One is that the article is superficial and poorly written.The other is that South Korea does have real problems when it comes to race.South Korea is an interesting case because it was once a nation that exported workers, but it is now a wealthy nation that imports workers and attracts an international labor force. A previously homogeneous society (or, at least, a society that had a lot invested in seeing itself as homogeneous) is changing. Koreans are having to examine their essentialism about race and nationality.It's not wrong to want to examine a society in this kind of transition. Yes, the article is bad. But criticize the article because it's badly researched and written, not because it is somehow "singling out" Korea.If an article ran about discrimination against Turks in Germany, would we feel that Germany is being unfairly "singled out"? South Korea is an economically powerful country today, and it's increasingly cosmopolitan/international. It's going to have to learn to deal with international scrutiny and criticism, just as Koreans and the Korean diaspora are going to have to learn to deal with Korea coming under scrutiny.

sgpark, I appreciate your comments. You make important points about South Korea's growing emergence as a globalized society and the xenophobia that could ensue.Yet the context in which the article was written still labels South Korea as a largely racist country unfairly and inaccurately. There is no source that counters the experience of racism on the rise. Upon first reading the article, I contacted a friend (an English teacher in Busan, Korea who is Hispanic-American and is in a relationship with a Korean woman) to ask if he himself experienced the points described in the article. Not only did he reply that he seldom experiences racism, he said he often receives hospitality and respect. Granted, he gets looks and stares but nothing that is so indulgently described as the examples noted in the NYT piece.Indeed, Korea is facing the realities of racism with a new eye and the situation needs exposure. But as a reader I couldn't help but feel that the NYT, with its very broad audience (a great majority of which will not be Korean), could have been more responsible in running a story that so overgeneralizes a topic that deserves a more balanced and sensitive approach.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to see the silver lining in the cloud, but we need MORE newspaper articles informing the public that there's other countries besides the US that accept immigrants, even if such articles inevitably involve criticism of the other country. Maybe it'll get through to SOMEONE that we can't just treat the US' immigrants like criminals and presume they'll keep coming. (Fun fact: South Korea has more Mongolian immigrants than the US does.)Of course that doesn't change what we all agree on --- the article is poorly written and draws wild conclusions based on irrelevant examples and anecdotes. And it's written by someone whom the public is going to assume is an "insider" by virtue of his name.

An American media rag like the NY Times talking about racism ... in South Korea.That's hilarious. This is like Nazi Germany lecturing the world about anti-semitism.This is called political bad faith.With the promotion of Barack "Post-Racial" Obama to power, many Americans mistakenly believe they now have moral authority to lecture the world about racism--never mind that the Obama regime is just a cynical contination of the Bush regime with a more multicultural mask.The NY Times needs to stick to peddling American military propaganda about Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, as their "journalist" Judith Miller so ably did.They would have more credibility.

Oh, come on. This article is simply the result of a Korean American's reaction to embarrassing news coming out of the homeland, no more.Under her proposed standard, the article should either display a disclaimer stating "Racism is a pervasive phenomenon that exists outside of Korea" or include every other country that experiences racism, just so Korea is not "singled out." As if the Times does not report on instances of domestic racism. The difference here is that Korea is so seldom in the news here, the author cannot handle it when it is negative.And I do think it's worthy to remind Americans of racism outside of the context that we are accustomed to - it broadens our understanding of the world. Every time I travel back to Taiwan I am thankful, once again, for what pluralism that is present in the United States.And Lyx, crawl out of your intellectual cave.

South Korea is an interesting paradox of a nation when it comes to race and culture. As much as there is pride about the country's global economic reach and mass consumption of Western culture, the dominant cultural forces still don't know how to deal with issues of racial and cultural diversity. Remember, Korea (and most of the world) never went through a civil rights movement that was focused on race as America did; imagine how things would be different if that were the case here.The "racism" isn't unique to "race"--it's very cultural as well. There are just as many prejudices against Chinese, Japanese as there are black or white. Even Koreans from different backgrounds aren't spared. Having spent many years in the U.S. prior to moving to Korea, I've definitely felt, more than once growing up in Korea as a cultural outcast for not being "Korean enough". And while I disagree with the article's tone, the problems are very real, and most of the Koreans aren't even aware of it.Would you expect that a scavanger hunt item that said "take a picture with a foreigner" (with foreigner essentially meaning 'white') be considered problematic? Not in middle school in Korea. I'd love to say that this is an anecdotal anomoly, but the prejudices of race and culture in Korea are pretty strong, and despite the contry embracing the give and take of global culture, I'd venture to say that the average person doesn't know how to handle race in an acceptable way. Which is to be expected in an "ethnically homongenous" culture where politics and race are historically intertwined.That said, this is hugely complex social issue, and I strongly disapprove of the article's authoritative attitude and negative spin. While I could imagine each of the quotes occurring, I think the writer tries too hard to put a negative spin on things, without exploring how things are changing. It's as if the writer took a snapshot observation and decided that this was the way things are. Race/cultural relations in Korea are definitely improving, especially over the last decade. And as the flow of diverse people and ideas continue, I suspect that most people won't have a choice but to expand their worldview. And it won't take a million person march to do it.

Icarus:You must be another Proud Amurikan who just loves to talk about racism ... as long it's not in the self-styled Land of the Free.You are so happy to come back to the "pluralism" that is the USA?Pull your head out of your ass.You must be drinking America's post-racial Kool-Aid, and it's gone to your head.Either that or you're living in the unreality that is White America.Here's a few facts about America, that bastion of racial tolerance and pluralism that Icarus smugly boasts about:-A staggering number of people in the United States are subjected to racial profiling.-Approximately thirty-two million Americans, anumber equivalent to the population of Canada,report they have already been victims of racialprofiling.-Approximately eighty-seven million Americans areat a high risk of being subjected to future racial profiling during their lifetime.from:THREAT AND HUMILIATIONRacial Profiling, Domestic Security, and Human Rights in the United Stateshttp://www.amnestyusa.org/racial_profiling/report/rp_report.pdf

I don't disagree with your general response to the article. Having said that, my family and I were a little shocked when we were in Seoul this past June and were scrolling through the tv stations and stumbled on a talk show with its guests all dressed in BLACK FACE! Some were even wearing bones through their noses. UGH!We told our son that there is no such thing as a perfect country. Every one has its problems...

Anyway, for those who want to read more about racial issues in Korea than you're gonna get from a shallow article in a mainstream newspaper, start with:http://metropolitician.blogs.com/It's written by a mixed-race African American/Korean blogger from Oakland, and he has written some long, interesting (and angry) posts about these issues. (At the moment, his latest post is also about the above NYT article).

Icarus, thank you for your concise summary of my post. Yes, I am Korean-American, I had a strong reaction to the article and I am indeed very embarrassed by such news coming from my homeland.I do not think that my post proposed any standard; it is only a critique of poor storytelling. I don't deny that racism exists in Korea -- I'm sure it is abounding. Also, there is plenty of negative news from Korea (political corruption, many cases of high-profile suicides, stem cell researcher scandal) and I can "handle" it, so long as it is reported in good faith.I agree that it is healthy for Americans to learn about unique cases on race outside of our own context and history but not if it is a distorted.

Christie, I don't want to be rude, but who are you kidding? I'm Korean and from the day I was born I've grown up with one foot in Canadian society which tries to discourage racism and my own family life where racism is openly displayed without any kind of shame or regret. All my friends have a similar experience. The first time I went back to Korea I would always get these disgusted looks when I would speak English or socialize with foreigners.Well, that's not entirely accurate. The fact is that white foreigners are more than often treated with courtesy while non-white foreigners are treated like dirt. Koreans have gleefully fit themselves into a racial hierarchy. In this article the worker mentions being almost kicked awake when he fell asleep on the train. Not even given the courtesy to be treated like a human being. Meanwhile Korean attitude towards white foreigners seem to be more complex, some mix of envy and condescension, respect and hate.Several bloggers have experiences which support the one in this article. Do you think that's all a coincidence? And I love how any time criticism of a nation comes up, the first impulse is to compare it to the U.S. Well you know what, I think I have a much better time as a Korean in the United States than a Black person does in Korea.And I love how Edward doesn't care about racism unless someone is being killed. It must be really convenient for you to be able to think that way. Unfortunately it's not so rosy for us.

I am Korean living in New York city and I am not surprised by this article. Why? because it comes from New York Times which always loves to distort and make news to "Fit to print" as its motto says. Yes,the same paper of Judith Miller and her WMD lies and Jayson Blair and his fabrication. Also, you should remember that Americans love to portray other countries as racially conscious as they are.Are Koreans really racists as this NYT article portrays? I don't think so. I am not going to give such crass counter argument such as" we don't have any neo-nazi or super ultra nationalist political parties that project racial superiority etc." But, I must argue for Koreans' sake because the article distorts for the purpose of depicting Koreans as a bunch of cruel racists.the typical condescending attitude of the Western media toward their "inferiors"Even in early 90s there were only few Foreigners resided in Korea . A great majority of them were G.Is and their families and few foreign businessmen. I don't want to mention about G.I's aggrevation on Koreans' anti Americanism which only Americans blame for alleged delusional self victimization of Koreans. By the way, now approximately 10% of population reside in Korea turn out to be foreign born. 10 years is certainly long time but in terms of entire population of a nation to learn and change their attitude is not as easy as it seems. Koreans did not have enough time to adjust themselves to rapidly increasing number of non Koreans. Rural areas is worse because their community is usually very tightly structured and often highly parochial.people from developing countries began to work in 3D jobs which ordinary Koreans usually avoid. I personally observed quite few foreign born workers treated harshly by either managers and employers ,but you should also know that Korean workers who had done similar types of work had been treated no better than the foreign workers. It's because Korea's deeply rooted Confucianism mindset , not racism many former imperial powers deliberately constructed in order to extract maximum resources from conquered.Many Koreans felt deeply ashamed about unfortunate Mr. Hussein incident the article mentions. It was great shock and controversy that a representative initiated a bill that penalizes any discriminatory act toward Foreigners. Does the article mentioned that over 80% of Koreans agree that the congress should pass the bill? Unlike a certain country still denying the existence of racial profiling and discrimination ? Which country do you think could ameliorate the "racial problem" in future?Let me just remind you readers of real racism in Flushing NY where a republican White candidate in the city council successfully played the race card and won the election toward Korean American candidate .Pre election poll this guy was surely lost the election but even democrats voted for white candidate instead of vote for the Asian invader ..ah, then this world famous journalism sneer at Koreans. what a joke!

I hear that in some parts of the USA couples walking hand-in-hand down the street are subject to abuse and violence at the hands of strangers -- simple because they are of the same sex. In some states, they are even forbidden to marry!Those who live in glass cultures should not throw stones.

I think the "those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" argument is dumb. In that case, nobody would ever be allowed to examine negative aspects of anyone else's life, culture, country, etc.To say that, hey, the French have no right to criticize Americans because the French have problems, too-- that seems a very childish viewpoint to me.Look, racism in Korea is very different from racism in the U.S. In Korea, it is based on the idea of ethnic purity, the Korean "folk" (minjok) not "race" as we construct it in the U.S.And it's only recently that the idea that those who are not part of "the folk" don't count or are ultimately threatening has needed to change. As in many societies that are facing a challenge to their own perceptions of homogeneity, racism is pervasive, casual, and accepted in S. Korea.It's illogical to say it isn't so just because forms of racism are also pervasive in other countries.I know people who have been physically assaulted for being non-Korean men walking with Korean women in Korea. It's less of a problem for white people than for brown people, but it's definitely still a problem. There is routine discrimination when it comes to housing, employment, etc. if one is a "foreigner". It seems to be changing, though; previously, it was difficult to get fair treatment in the legal system as a foreigner, but Korean society is realizing both that it is changing and that it has to change.Of course this doesn't mean that every single Korean is racist--but we should all be mature enough to realize that one can analyze/criticize broad trends in a society and not implicate every single individual in that society in that collective behavior.I would very much like to see more in-depth articles on this transition, as I think it's interesting and relevant to any number of cultures and would provide alternate paradigms of race and the different kinds challenges that diversification and globalization can pose.I think we agree that this article was not that kind of informative journalism. But just because this article is bad doesn't mean that the Times has no "right" to offer windows on problems in other cultures. It just means it has to do a better job of it.

Christine Pae,I understand how the New York Times article might offend you. And some of the comments above have made light that Korea isn't the only country that experiences racism. True. But being a non-white Canadian of mixed ethnicity, with a Muslim family name, this article really does reflect a lot of my own experience. I worked there for over 3 years as an ESL teacher. The discrimination was hideous and shocking. But the openness and love I truly felt came from the Korean children I taught, and a handful of Korean adults. My memories of Korea are bittersweet as a result. I would ask you Christina, not to be so quick to judge a writer who speaks so accurately about the difficulties that foreigners experience. If you haven't lived in Korea at length, how would you really understand what the article is saying?

This article is a typical article reflecting the smug views Americans like to think of themselves when it comes to any foreign nation.I remember when NFL football player Hines Ward went to Korea; the US articles all emphasized potential Korean xenophobia/racism due to Ward's Korean biracial heritage, when by all accounts Ward was received and welcomed by all people there as a hero.

I have lived in Korea for many years and I agree with the article. I don't think It was trying to be too harsh. The experiences I go through each day here are much worse. There is a lot of prejudice here, but I'm sure there are many countries like it. I have lived in several countries now and Korea seems to be the most vocal when expressing their dislike for foreign people. I'm not moaning or complaining, it's just something you have to live with while you are here and be thankful that not all people here are like that. I do like it here for the most part. I try to ignore the comments/actions some people make and just try to feel sorry for them for misplacing hate. A lot of Korean people are not prejudice towards me and I am happy for that. But, sometimes these same people talk about other races in poor taste. I am not sure why this happens but it does.I have a good feeling that this could change in the generations to come. The younger population are becoming more open. Though many still have prejudices set in place from the media and their parents.They just need time, and we 'foreigners' just need to show them they are wrong about whatever misguides them.I hope the prejudice people (from all countries) realize soon that treating other people poorly is not the way to go. I cannot express how bad these few people can make you feel, but you just need to be above it.Human rights here will slowly improve and I really really hope then people can start looking towards animals rights, which are a disgrace in this area of the world.

Racism in Korea? Oh you betcha. I've lived in three different countries and this place takes the cake. Anybody heard of Anti-English Spectrum. It consists of a bunch of netizens who manufacture stories, such as foreigners are deliberately spread HIV, sexually molesting Korean childrean and raping Korean women. The sources of these claims are often like "Waiter A. heard a rumour". These stories are then fed to the mainstream media, who accept them with out questions or criticisms, and then re-iterated by lawmakers as fact. Members of this group spend their time stalking suspicous foreigners and then are congratulated by both the police and media.

I would ask all those angry Koreans if it is not a fact that a Korean born citicen of "mixed blood" is (or, I hope, was recently) banned from the military service?That is a fact.Then there are the testimonies of many, many persons, but those, for the people that don't want to hear it, are ever flawed, of course, if you don't mix you don't see racism and you don't call it racism but something else, then there is not racism ... that is the logic, isn't it? shame on you.The faults past or present of others don't excuse you of your own, don't point to others, you have your own big beam on your eye.Sad, some countries seems to get along a lot better with attrocities than others. Maybe is human nature that we don't want to know that we buy fine products from a bunch of bigots (and feel guilty).

To be fair, racism exists in all nations. But it is true that nationalism was a major driver in the rebuilding of South Korea in the post war era. As expected, the current racism seen is a by-product of nationalistic view. It is true that some Korean do take pride in their homogeneousness and some media do position this as a national pride. This type of nationalistic thinking even get passed on to some of the Koreans who live in American societies. The incidents captured on the NYTimes articles are true incidents as my girlfriend, who is Korean, also shared similar concerns in Korean society. Though it is unfair to label South Korea as a racist country based on one article, the issue of racism does need to be addressed seriously as South Korea continues to grow as a nation. Korea does not need to turn into Japan of the 70s.

I agree with the Times article. I've spent long periods in several non-Western and Western countries, and South Korea is the most vocally racist country...and I'm Korean-American. I don't think you can fully make this comparison until you've travelled quite a bit, and you've spent long periods in South Korea. The blogger here wrote that she hasn't been to South Korea yet...I don't think she can really address the issue of racism in Korea until she's been there for more than a vacation. I have to go there for work every summer, and I come back to America with a mild case of post traumatic stress disorder. I speak Korean well but I still get treated unfairly because I'm from the States.

I want to reiterate that it was never my intention to deny the presence of racism in South Korea. After all, the beginning of my post stated, “tell me something I don’t know.”I am glad some of you pointed out that I have never visited South Korea. It is true that my eyes have yet to see the real deal. I made sure to mention this at the end of my post because I felt it was an important aspect of my reaction to the article.That I have never visited Korea is largely because I was born in the U.S. and most of my family is here, offering few opportunities to visit Korea – though I would very much like to and plan on doing so in the future. Korea is both a familiar and unfamiliar place to me. While I am immersed in Korean traditions through my family, the harsh realities of Korean society – racism being one – remain elusive to me. So when a story like this comes out in the media, my feelings toward it are a mix of doubt and wonder. In this regard, I do think it is my Korean-American heritage that inspired my criticisms. Whether my opinions are right or wrong is besides the point.I tried to remember how I first felt after reading the NYT article and my immediate reaction was that it seemed to be an all-too easy harbinger of stereotyping – something that ethnic minorities are particularly watchful of. Whether this reaction was due to (as some commenters stated) the naiveté of my American-ness or the loyal, defensive roots of my Korean-ness, it was mostly an honest-to-god Asian-American perspective. It is probably why I thought it was fitting for Hyphen’s blog.I’ve thought about everyone’s personal experiences and I appreciate the comments. That my post produced a strong response shows it is a moot issue. It is why I decided to contribute because it deserves active dialogue and thankfully, we are having it.