Jasmine Lee Advocates for Multicultural Society in South Korea
Jasmine Lee is the first non-Korean member of the National Assembly in South Korea and the Korea Herald has an interview with her published that discusses some of her views:
When the governing Saenuri Party picked Jasmine Lee to serve as a lawmaker in April 2012, hate groups attacked her as a “dark-skinned” foreigner posing as a Korean.
Saenuri officials hoped Lee would encourage “diversity” in a dominantly homogenous, and sometimes xenophobic South Korea, to better represent naturalized citizens, foreign laborers, and other minorities in the National Assembly.
She has done her best to meet the expectations, Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald earlier this month, but the country has a long way to go.
“There has never been a multicultural society in South Korea,” she said. “So officials here don’t know exactly how to support such families here.” [Korea Herald]
Here is what she had to say about mixed race males serving in the ROK military:
South Korea’s Constitution obligates physically and psychologically fit men to serve 21 months in the armed forces. But the military did not accept “multicultural” men until 2011, as officials thought they would lack the social skills to mingle with others in their unit.
Lee has a son with her late Korean husband, who is likely to enter the military sometime next year. She said incorporating men from multicultural families was a step in the right direction.
“A Justice Ministry official once suggested that ‘multicultural’ servicemen serve in segregated units,” Lee said.
“I asked the official if those multicultural men would fight separately from other units if a war broke out. He said no.”
“So I asked him, then why segregate them?”
You can read more of the interview at the link.
Why South Korea is the only country in Asia that is always under criticism for this? I don’t see no other Asian countries force to use their tax money to invite massive amount of immigrants into their country and help them. Why South Korea only country in Asia under attack and under pressure all the time by the Western lead multi cultural dream makers? Why don’t they bother other countries like China, Philippines, Vietnam, or Japan? Why are those countries getting away with this, when South Korea is always getting pestered? Anyone?
Multiculturalism has failed in Europe.
Tom, I completely agree with you…
…even though all those other countries are technically more multicultural than Korea.
Tom, the reason you always feel put upon on this website is because of the name of this website ROKDrop. It is not VietDrop, ChinaDrop or any other kind of drop. It deals with ROK. I know this is beyond your comprehension but deal with it.
I am for Korean multiculturalism…
Koreans who like soju.
Koreans who like beer.
Koreans who like whiskey.
Why does anybody want to force other cultures on Korea as if they are equally valid or correct?
If some other country is doing better, Korea should consider importing aspects of their culture… as they have done with North America, Europe, and Japan.
Some aspects of Korean culture have been heavily modified within a few decades by adopting beneficial aspects of foreign cultures… from attention to quality to equality for women.
But “multiculturalism” these days generally means some imaginary obligation to allow third world losers who screwed up their own countries with their third world ways to bring their failed cultures in and then demand government support to rationalize and promote them.
The issues she is talking about is not one of culture, however. It is one of race… or a subset of it… in the sense there is an obvious difference between Koreans and many other Asians.
In the case of mixed-race children, Korea MUST accept them as Korean to promote unifying monoculturalism instead of segregating them and encouraging distructive multiculturalism.
A shared military experience with strict control over discrimination is a good step in assimilation of those who might not feel fully Korean.
As for non-Koreans, there is no obligation for Korea to give any support for their cultures and Korean citizens are under no obligation to socially accept foreign cultural aspects they don’t like.
Indiscriminate muticulturalism is a curse upon a nation… and forced multiculturalism is likely a tactic of those who wish to destroy the integrity of a nation and the solidarity of its population.
South Korean government just liquidated and destroyed all figures on illegal immigrants in South Korea. All figures include how many are officially illegal, how many were deported, from which countries, and for how long.
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2015/02/27/0200000000AKR20150227061800372.HTML?input=1195m
These figures were officially eliminated with an excuse that South Korea is now a multicultural country so it does not want to upset other countries and risk diplomatic tensions by keeping illegal immigration records. What kind of a lame excuse is this? Is this what multiculturalism is?
So it looks like they are so embarrassed about the out of control rising number of illegals, and they did not want to take public flack for it. So they just destroy the records with a plan to gradually give these illegals the legal status over time with unofficial amnesties, and make the embarrassing figure disappear from view.
Great job, multiculturalists, you are doing a fine job, destroying the country because you want it to follow the ruinous west.
Multiculturalism failed in UK and France, why would it work in Korea?
England and France have been melting pots of different cultures throughout their histories.
“England and France have been melting pots of different cultures throughout their histories.”
Ah, yes, because when one thinkd of the British, nothing comes to mind more quickly than the exitement felt over the hopes that Princess Diana would have some little half-Arab babies.
JoeC, quite the contrary. The European model is not “the melting pot” where everyone assimilates to achieve a common identity, such as with European immigrants in early American history.
The European (and British) model is “the salad bowl” where keeping one’s distinct cultural identity is encouraged.
This is causing quite a bit of grief as the population no longer has common values or goals.
Please, Korea… take only useful immigrants, reject multiculturalism, and encourage assimilation.
Please, America, do the same.
It is not raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacism to want immigrants–legal or otherwise–to integrate into the social structure. It’s only communists who advocate for class warfare. Or ethnic cleansing.