Anti-Korean sentiment

Anti-Korean sentiment involves hatred or dislike for Korean people, culture or either of the two states (North Korea/South Korea) on the Korean peninsula.

Origins

Results of 2010 BBC World Service poll.
Views of South Korea's influence by country^[1]

Country polled	Positive	Negative	Neutral
United States	46%	28%	26%
Canada	37%	30%	33%
Central American countries	39%	27%	34%
Chile	45%	16%	39%
Brazil	38%	43%	19%
Mexico	40%	23%	37%
Portugal	23%	27%	50%
Italy	23%	46%	31%
United Kingdom	29%	33%	38%
France	30%	45%	25%
Spain	22%	46%	32%
Germany	28%	53%	19%
Russia	28%	23%	49%
Egypt	13%	37%	50%
Turkey	17%	30%	53%
Kenya	31%	34%	35%
Ghana	41%	19%	40%
Nigeria	31%	37%	32%
Philippines	50%	23%	27%
South Korea	76%	19%	5%
Thailand	23%	58%	19%
Azerbaijan	20%	17%	63%
India	19%	21%	60%
Australia	35%	26%	39%
Indonesia	43%	24%	33%
Japan	36%	9%	55%
China	57%	20%	23%
Pakistan	13%	17%	70%

Anti-Korean sentiment is present in the People's Republic of China^[2] and Japan originating from issues such as nationalism between them.

History

In China, it has only come to prominence recently, due to issues such as the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay; however, some issues, such as the debate over Goguryeo, have historical roots.

In Japan, modern dislike for Korea can be seen as a response to increasing Korean nationalism, and can be traced back to events such as the 2002 FIFA World Cup.^[3]

In the Greater China region

In the People's Republic of China

Korea and China have historically maintained strong ties.^[4][5] As Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea became under Japanese influence. Chinese believe that some ethnic Koreans were in the Imperial Japanese Army which invaded China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Additionally, adding to this sentiment is that some Koreans were reported to be involved into the operation of the Burma-Siam Death Railway.^[6][7]

From a psychological perspective, Chinese are seen as assuming Koreans to be part of a sinocentric East Asian regional order.^[8] As a part of this group, Koreans are assumed to be inherently friendly to China. Chinese also emphasize hierarchy within their sinocentric order, where China is at the top of the hierarchy. In contrast, Koreans reject the sinocentric East Asian regional order and emphasize equality in diplomatic relations in East Asia. This rejection leads to conflict of existential identities, threatening the very meaning of being Korean and Chinese. Koreans and Chinese are seen as engaging in a relationship of negative interdependence, potentially comparable to Israeli–Palestinian conflict.^[8]

At the end of World War II, North Korea, aligned with the Soviet bloc, became friendly with the People's Republic of China, while the PRC and Republic of Korea did not recognise each other. During the Korean War, when China was engaged in war with South Korea and its western allies, efforts through propaganda were placed to intimidate hatred against South Korea, named a "puppet state" of the United States at the time by the PRC government.^{[citation needed]}.

From 1992 on, after South Korea's normalization of relations with China, relations with the People's Republic of China gradually improved. Within the Chinese population, Korean art and culture became popular from 2000 onwards. Amid improvements in relations however, there were also looming anti-South Korean sentiments involved in various disputes between the two countries.^{[citation needed]}

In the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Within Taiwan, animosity towards Koreans amongst Taiwanese is present as a result of the rivalry between the two sovereign states in relation to baseball.^[9][10] Disputes between Taiwan and Korea in the international sport competition aroused numerous times. In November 2010, Taiwanese citizens protested against the disqualification of a Taekwondo athlete at the 2010 Asian Games after a Filipino referee ^[11] disqualified a Taiwanese fighter,^[12] calling for a boycott on South Korean goods.

On 23 August 1992, South Korea's "Nordpolitik" (Northern diplomacy) have made it to establish a diplomatic ties with People's Republic of China after Soviet Union. This resulted in the change in the diplomatic relationship of South Korea with the Republic of China, since it replaced anti-communist foreign policy with an effort to improve relations with other surrounding countries in the sense of geopolitics, including the People's Republic of China, in order to pressure and appease North Korea that eases the political anxiety and softens military tension in the Korean Peninsula and enables the possibility of a peaceful reunification of Korea. As normalization begun, Roh transferred diplomatic recognition from the ROC and PRC, and confiscated the property of the ROC embassy, transferring it to the PRC.^[13]

Sales of Korean products are not very successful in Taiwan; according to an official from the Korean trade office in Taipei, "the Taiwanese felt very betrayed after Korea severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and reestablished ties with China in 1992, because the people of Taiwan had seen Korea as an ally in the fight against Communism... Now because the two countries have similar export-oriented economies and focus on the same business sectors, the Taiwanese see Korea as a great rival, and think that losing to Korea would be the end of Taiwan."^[14]

In Japan

Persecution of ethnic Koreans after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake

Kuniaki Koiso, Japanese Governor-General of Korea, implemented draft of Koreans for wartime labor.

The relations between Japan and Korea have historically been bleak.^[15]

During the Joseon Dynasty, Wokou pirate raids on Korean soil were frequent, and so there has been general discontent for either side for a long span of time as a result, which would eventually form the basis of hatred between the two sides. Such tensions built up further after the annexation of Korea in 1910.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, widespread damage occurred in a region with a significant Korean population, and much of the local Japanese overreacted to rumors which spread after the earthquake.^[16] Within the aftermath of the event, there was a common perception amongst groups of far-right Japanese that ethnic Koreans were poisoning wells, eventually setting off a killing rampage against Koreans, where Japanese would use the shibboleth of ba bi bu be bo (ばびぶべぼ) to distinguish ethnic Koreans from Japanese, as it was assumed that Koreans would be unable to pronounce the line correctly, instead as [pa, pi, pu, pe, po].^[17] All people who failed the test were killed, which caused many ethnic Chinese and Ryukyuans, also unable to correctly pronounce the shibboleth, to be indiscriminately killed in large numbers. Other shibboleths used were jū-go-en, go-ji-ssen (15円 50銭) and gagigugego (がぎぐげご), where Japanese people pronounce initial g as [ɡ] and medial g as [ŋ] (such a distinction is dying out in recent years), whereas Koreans pronounce the two sounds as [k] and [ɡ] respectively.^{[citation needed]}

Much of the anti-Korean sentiment present today however deal with contemporary attitudes.^{[citation needed]} During the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Japanese and Korean supporters clashed with one another, while Japanese media reported the conduct of Korean spectators in a negative fashion. Both sides were also known to post racist messages against each other on online bulletins. There were also disputes regarding how the event was to be hosted, as a result of the rivalry between the two nations. The territorial dispute over Dokdo/Takeshima also fuels outrage within far-right groups. Manga Kenkanryu (often referred to as Hating the Korean Wave) by Sharin Yamano discusses these issues while making many other arguments and claims against Korea.^{[citation needed]}

Zainichi Koreans in Japan are also publicly perceived to be a nuisance^[18] and are seen as likely to cause trouble and start riots, a view shared by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara. A Zainichi organisation, Chongryon, is commonly accused of providing funding and material to North Korea and indoctrinating the Zainichi Korean population to actively hate Japan.^{[citation needed]}

Right-wing groups in Japan today still commonly target ethnic Koreans living within Japan. One such group, known as Zaitokukai, is organized be members on the internet, and is known to be responsible for leading street demonstrations against Korean schools.^[19]

There is also much concern in Japan regarding North Korea and its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, as a result of missile tests in 1993, 1998 and 2006 and an underground nuclear test in 2006. There are also controversies regarding North Korean abductions of Japanese, where Japanese citizens were abducted by North Korean agents between 1977 and 1983.^{[citation needed]}

In recent years, Japanese Wikipedia has a growning number of articles describing Anti-Korean sentiment by applying terms under specific political and emotional context. The counterpart article for this Anti-Korean sentiment is ja:嫌韓,^[20] or literally "Dislike/Hate-Korea", where its representation of the topic is more focused on describing selective and negative images of Koreans, rather than representing the aspects of discrimination.^[21]

The introduction of Hallyu into Japan has created some resentment among pockets in Japanese society. Right wing nationalist groups in Japan have organized anti-hallyu demonstrations via 2channel. On 9 August 2011, more than 2,000 protesters demonstrated in front of Fuji TV's headquarters in Odaiba, Tokyo against the broadcasting of Korean dramas.^[22] Earlier, in July 2011, well-known actor Sousuke Takaoka was fired from his agency, Stardust Promotion, for tweeting against the influx of Korean soaps.^[23]

Advertisements and mannerisms within Japan can also be influenced by various racist elements, as within the Japanese public various portions respond favourably to racial stereotypes, such as those relating to ethnic Koreans.^[24] As an example, "Bakachon camera" (バカチョンカメラ^?) is the Japanese slang term for a point-and-shoot camera (more formally called konpakutokamera (コンパクトカメラ^?, "compact camera") in Japanese), a term which Koreans take offense due to use of the racial slur "chon" (see below); the namesake is derived from the saying that such cameras are so simple and easy to use that "even idiots and Koreans can use them" (馬鹿でも、チョンでも、使える, baka demo chon demo tsukaeru^?),^[24][25] where the phrase "bakachon" (馬鹿ちょん^?, lit. "idiot-Korean") can be used to refer to something that is "foolproof" or "idiot-proof".^[26] The term has notably been featured in various advertisements by camera manufacturing companies,^[27] and represents a casual use and acceptance of stereotypes and discrimination within aspects of Japanese society.^[24][26]

In Mongolia

Some South Korean men take sex tourism trips to Mongolia, often as clients of South Korean-run businesses in Mongolia, has also sparked anti-Korean sentiment among Mongolians, and is said to be responsible for the increasing number of assaults on South Korean nationals in the country.^[28]

In the Soviet Union

Many ethnic Koreans were relocated to Central Asia under the national delimitation policies.

During the era of the Soviet Union, ethnic Koreans in the Russian Far East were subject to deportations under the national delimitation policy, with the majority of Koreans relocating to Soviet republics in Central Asia.^[29]

The deportation was preceded by a typical Soviet scenario of political repression: falsified trials of local party leaders accused of insurrection, accusations of plans of the secession of the Far Eastern Krai, local party purges, and articles in Pravda about the Japanese espionage in the Far East.^[30]

The resettlement plans were revived with new vigor in August 1937, ostensibly with the purpose of suppressing "the penetration of the Japanese espionage into the Far Eastern Krai". This time, however, the direction of resettlement was westward, to Soviet Central Asia. From September to October 1937, more than 172,000 of Soviet Koreans were deported from the border regions of the Russian Far East to Kazakh SSR and Uzbek SSR (the latter including Karakalpak ASSR).^[31][32]

In the United States

The majority of resentment against Koreans in the United States and much of the western world is only in regards to North Korea, although there have also been minor historical incidents.

During the Korean War, the United States fought a bloody war to assist South Korea from communist invasion. Since the war, the common perception of North Korea is that of an oppressive state. Anti-communist education in the United States, as well as allied countries such as South Korea. Following heavy re-militarization and a series of missile tests, Americans were made to fear a possible attack by a "rogue state" such as North Korea. In United States President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002, he described North Korea as a part of the "Axis of evil". Following the Nuclear program of North Korea and subsequent 2006 North Korean nuclear test, the United States imposed UN sanctions on North Korea. These economic sanctions are very unlikely to be lifted by the United States due to North Korea's incompliance to the Six-party talk agreements.^{[citation needed]}

The Los Angeles riots of 1992 were partially based on Anti-Korean sentiment. Ice Cube's song Black Korea which would later be accused of inciting racism was written in response to the death of 15-year old African-American Latasha Harlins, who was shot and killed by Korean-American store owner Soon Ja-du on March 16, 1991, as well as the preponderence of Korean grocery stores in primarily black neighborhoods. The event resulted in mass ransacking and destruction of Korean-American owned stores in Los Angeles by groups of young African-Americans.^{[citation needed]}

Derogatory terms

There are a variety of derogatory terms referring to Korea. Many of these terms are viewed as racist. However, these terms do not necessarily refer to the Korean people as a whole; they can also refer to specific policies, or specific time periods in history.

In English

• "Gook" - (U.S. military slang) a derogatory term for all Asians,^{[dubious – discuss]} first used against south-east Asians.^{[33][dead link]} The etymology of this racial slur is shrouded in mystery, disagreement, and controversy. The Oxford English Dictionary admits that its origin is "unknown".^[34][35]

In Chinese

• 高麗棒子 (Simplified Chinese: 高丽棒子; Pinyin: gāolì bàngzǐ) - Derogatory term used against all ethnic Koreans. 高麗 refers to Ancient Korea (Goryeo), while 棒子 means "club" or "corncob", referring to how traditional Korean clothing supposedly had^{[citation needed]}. There are other various etymologies; some suggest that the term originates from Taiwan as a result of its baseball rivalry with South Korea, where 棒子 refers to a baseball bat; another explanation refers to the Second Sino-Japanese War, where ethnic Koreans in the Imperial Japanese Army were unarmed, and hence beat civilians with sticks and clubs in occupied areas. Sometimes 韓棒子 (hán bàng zǐ, "韓" referring to South Korea) and 死棒子 (sǐ bàng zǐ, literally "dead corncob") are also used.^[36]
• 高麗泡菜 (gāolì pàocài) - literally "Goryeo kimchi" or "Korean kimchi", which makes a reference to kimchi, a Korean staple food. Used by Taiwanese baseball fans, as a result of their rivalry against South Korea, where Chinese Taipei is commonly defeated by the South Korean national team. Variants include 死泡菜 (dead kimchi).^{[citation needed]}
• 二鬼子 (èr guǐ zǐ) - A disparaging designation of puppet armies and traitors during the Anti-Japanese War of China.^[37][38] As with the term hanjian, the definition of 二鬼子 has varied throughout history. Japanese were known as "鬼子" (devils), and 二鬼子 literally translates into "second devils". During World War II, some Koreans served in the Imperial Japanese Army, so 二鬼子 refers to hanjian (i.e. Chinese who collaborated with the Japanese) and ethnic Koreans. During the Chinese Civil War, both the Chinese Communist Party and Kuomintang accused each other of being hanjian, and the term 二鬼子 was then applied to the Kuomintang by the communists. More recently, 二鬼子 mainly refers to South Koreans. In addition to the historical background of World War II era, Koreans are perceived as resembling Japanese in their appearance and popular culture.

In Japanese

• チョン (chon) - Vernacular nickname for Koreans, with strongly offensive overtones.^[39] Various suggested etymologies exist; one such etymology is that it is an abbreviation of Chōsen (朝鮮^?), a Japanese term for Korea.^[25]
• キムチ野郎 (kimuchi yarō) - literally "kimchi bastard". In 2003, the Mongolian sumo wrestler Asashoryu was taking interviews from journalists when he called a Korean journalist a "kimchi bastard", sparking controversy.^[40][41] The phrase became a sensation on the 2channel messageboard overnight following the incident.
• 朝鮮人 (chōsenjin) - Derived from the non-derogatory term 朝鮮人 chōsenjin used to describe Koreans in a neutral manner.^[42][43] The term, however, has eventually been used in a derogatory manner against Korean people.^[44]
• ゴキブリ (gokiburi) - literally "cockroach". There have been incidents in which Japanese have called ethnic Koreans as "cockroaches".^[45] The most recent incident took place in August 2011 when a number of Anti-Hallyu protestors referred to music groups such as SNSD and Kara as "cockroaches".^[46]

See also

• Anti-Japanese sentiment
• Sinophobia
• Japan–Korea disputes
• Liancourt Rocks dispute
• Manga Kenkanryu
• Goguryeo controversies
• Baekdu Mountain

References