Kim

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“Baby Boom of Mixed Children Tests South Korea” is an article written by Martin Fackler that addresses the recent increase of mixed-race children being born to South Korean families, and the difficulty they will have assimilating into the homogenous society. These children come as a direct result of women who are trying to choose their own destiny, but whose families are being punished for it. Traditionally, South Korea has credited its strength to ethnic purity. Nevertheless, the number of mixed-race children in South Korea has doubled in six months because of a growth in immigration of foreign women, who make up for the shortage of native Korean women eligible for marriage. Although these children are helping to replenish the nation’s dwindling population, they face discrimination from a society unwilling to host these “Kosians.”

This article makes me ill at ease. We base our identities as Americans on allegiance to a certain political culture. Koreans, however, formulate their identity around ethnicity. Their staunch disapproval of mixed-race citizens comes from a brutal history of bullying from neighboring China and Japan. It is understandable, but in my opinion outdated. I hope my fellow mixed-race children can successfully circumvent Korean society into one that welcomes their stay.

The plight of women trying to adapt to to a new culture is not new, and I have seen first-hand how it can change a woman's life for the better. My uncle Jiujiu in Taiwan had an arranged marriage with a woman from Vietnam named Yubi. Her agreement to this marriage brought her out of poverty and into a supportive family. Hopefully these immigrant women can pioneer the way for a similar conclusion in the future.

Why do Koreans discriminate against mixed-race people living in South Korea? Do you think Koreans will attempt to hinder the growing population of mixed-race children in their country? Should they? What can mothers do to help themselves and their mixed-race children transition into Korean society? What will it take to make Korean society welcome, or, at the very least, not discriminate against mixed-race children? Will the nation ever reach this point?