South Korea criticised for ‘racist’ handbook on marrying foreign spouses

The book claims that Chinese people see other ethnicities as 'barbarians' among other racist claims

Credit: Ahn Young-joon/AP

South Korea has had to withdraw a handbook used in mandatory classes for Korean citizens marrying foreign nationals for racist and stereotypical descriptions of their future spouses.

Published by the Ministry of Justice in 2019, the book — titled “Understanding the social customs and marriage culture of foreign countries” — has been used to instruct thousands of Koreans who apply for a marriage visa for spouses from one of seven designated countries; Cambodia, China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. 

The book claims Vietnamese are not able to admit that they have done something wrong and have a tendency to make excuses for a mistake rather than apologising, The Korea Times reported.

“Insulting Filipinos with high self-esteem may lead to unexpected violence”, the book claims. “It is advisable to refrain from commenting about their skin colour or curly hair as they have feelings of inferiority about their looks."

“Chinese tend to perceive other neighbouring ethnic groups as barbarians, based on their Sinocentric mind-set”, it adds. “Thais may lack the ability to think deeply. They focus on getting things done quickly but do not care about quality.

“Cambodians are usually shy and quiet, but they change their attitude dramatically when they are insulted, leading to violence and, in some cases, shootings”. 

The contents of the book were reported to Kim Jin-ae, a politician of the minor Open Minjoo Party, who condemned the descriptions of foreigners in a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. 

The handbook contains a plethora of racial stereotypes about non-Koreans

Credit: Ahn Young-joon /AP

“Considering the poor level of sensitivity for human rights, it is unbelievable that the handbook was published in 2019”, Mr Kim said. “It is simply discriminatory to educate people about their spouse’s culture through just one or two sentences”.

Reports on the contents of the ministry’s instruction book have triggered anger in online sites popular with people from south-east Asian countries. 

“South Korea is an advanced country but, unfortunately, not an advanced society,” said one post on the Resetera web site. “The attitude towards others is, frankly, disgusting. I have really soured on the country with their racist and disgusting views of other peoples”.

Others condemned the Korean government’s insistence that people are required to undergo a four-hour course on the culture of their future spouse, “as if they bought them on eBay and needed an instruction manual”. 

The ministry has pointed out that the manual was primarily designed for people who had met their future spouse on-line and knew little about their culture or background.

South Korea has a falling birth rate and there is a chronic shortage of women in rural areas as they tend to move to the cities for education and employment opportunities. Men who choose to stay in the countryside are increasingly having to rely on international marriage brokers to find them a partner.

The ministry has announced that it is withdrawing the handbook and has promised to “consult with human rights experts” before releasing a revised version.