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A Better Environment For Mixed-Race People
South
Korea plans new legislation to eradicate discrimination.
The South Korean government is set to make history ahead of the U.K and
U.S by actively seeking to eliminate the discrimination faced by its
mixed-race population. Although mixed-race citizens are clearly visible
in the U.K. and the U.S. there has never been any real acknowledgement
of the racism and difficulties faced by this fast growing section of
society.
The government plans to pass anti-discrimination legislation, which will
protect mixed-race Koreans from discrimination in the workplace, school
and public facilities by the end of this year. The plight of mixed-race
Koreans was recently highlighted during a visit to the country by the
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward who is of African American
and Korean parentage.
In a Tuesday luncheon with the Super Bowl star and his Korean mother,
President Roh Moo-hyun said he would work to create a better environment
for mixed-race people so that they too can be successful like Ward.
The government and the ruling Uri Party Friday agreed to grant legal
status to people having mixed-race backgrounds and their families, as
part of measures to eradicate prejudice and discrimination against them.
The Ministry of Justice said it is reviewing a plan to give citizenship or residency status to those who marry Koreans, and to their children. It is also considering changing the term mixed-blood people to people of international marriages in government documents, a ministry official told reporters, after a policy coordination meeting between government and governing party officials at the National Assembly in Seoul.
Under the contemplated bill, the government would
establish nursery schools for the children of mixed parentage in the
low-income bracket and universities would be required to receive a certain
number of mixed-heritage students.
An online and offline counselling centre would be set up to offer mixed-race
people a wide range of information needed for financial assistance or
employment, as well as legal assistance, a spokesman said.
If the new legislation is passed South Korea will be the first country
ever to provide recognition for its mixed-race population.
Mixed-race people in South Korea are presently treated as second class
citizens having to endure racial taunts and have little access to decent
accommodation and employment.
The nation's mixed-race population is estimated at
around 35,000, including Kosians, children born to Korean men and women
from Southeast Asian countries, according to a Seoul charity group, Pearl
S. Buck International (PSBI), that works with mixed-race children.
And the man who started it all Hines Ward was moved to tears earlier
this week, as he received honorary citizenship from the mayor of Seoul.
'I used to be ashamed to say I was Korean and today I just want to thank
you guys and I apologize to you for being ashamed to say I was Korean.'
Whether the changes will turn to dust after Hines returns to the U.S. remains to be seen but one things for sure there are a large number of mixed-race children and adults in South Korea that feel there is some hope on the horizon.
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