Why Koreans have a xenophobia

Why Koreans have a xenophobia

I admit that some Korean has a touch of xenophobia which comes from the background of Korean history. Korea is one of the most homogeneous nations on earth because of its geographical position. Since the Korean peninsula is surrounded by water on its three sides, going abroad means you must take a ship which was not easy in the past when air planes didn’t exist. Therefore expats can be easily spotted and identified as a foreigner and a curiosity. 

Historically, as a small country, Korea has always been suffering from foreign invasions throughout our long history. It is no surprise that Korean people are hostile towards the outsiders once you learn Korean tragic history. It is no exasperation that there hasn’t been a day when Korean people didn’t have to worry about being invaded and looted by other countries in the past.

Our fore-bearer's major means of making a living is rice farming that made people settle down in one place for a long time. Living in the same place for a long period made it possible for people to know each other so well to the point of knowing how many spoons a certain family has. This special bond among same villagers strengthen xenophobia over time.

Things are not much different in Korean right now. Our country is divided into North Korea which is supported by Russia and China and South Korea which is supported by America. Russia and America are the ones that reached a cease-fire agreement after the Korean War without any official Korean government which was ruined and devastated by the war. Even though it is pretty obvious that Korea is sovereign country, we have no right to operate the military power without America.

Anyway, I don’t mind saying we would be in a great danger without American military power because the young leader of North Korea is frantic to develop nuclear weapons in order to achieve unification under communism. Korean government officials and the politicians and leaders in other big countries often say that North Korean and South Korean should be united soon outwardly, the truth is that being divided builds tension that feeds munitions industry that makes certain group of people rich.

Because America deployed THAAD(Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) in South Korea to defend from North Korea’s provocation, China which doesn’t want to stand up against America directly has banned all kinds of imports and exports between China and Korea. China has banned its citizens from buying Korean products in China as well. You can’t imagine how much this sanction harms the Korean economy. Under this delicate diplomatic situation for a long time, Korean people have ended up being terrific at kissing up to their superiors and disregarding their subordinates in a measure.

It is so natural to have an insecurity and defensive behavior against foreigner for Korean people as citizens in a small and weak country though, I admit, in this era of globalization, that it is time for Korean people to overcome that insecurity and biased views.  

Please don't take it personally if you meet someone who gives you cold the shoulder at first.  And if you bother get to know them, you'll easily find out how warm and kind Korea people are. Once Korean people accept somebody as a friend, you'll experience Korean people's special hospitality which is incomparable.