[1] Quoted in “Korea Greets a New Era of Multiculturalism,” Korea Herald, July 25, 2006.

[2] The concepts of race and ethnicity are social constructions, collective identities formed through historical and socio-political processes. This is a generally accepted view with regard to ethnicity, which is widely understood as a cultural phenomenon: a collective identity based on shared customs and values (at times rooted in religious beliefs), a common language or dialect, and other social characteristics and practices embraced by a group, community or society. Race is a far more controversial concept, especially when used to describe supposedly distinct—and inherently separate—groups on the basis of genetic or biological characteristics. The “biological” usage of race has long been discredited among social scientists, most of whom understand race as a symbolic marker of difference

[3] In 2003, the number of ethnic Koreans living in regions other than the Korean peninsula was over 6.3 million (according to a report issued by the Ministry of Diplomacy and Commerce). This figure represents 14% of the entire Korean population. Cited in Lee Jun-shik, “The Changing Nature of the Korean People's Perspective on National Issues, and Fellow Koreans Living Abroad,” The Review of Korean Studies, v. 8, no 2 (2005): 111-140.

[4] The term “Amerasian” was originally coined by Pearl S. Buck, who used it to refer to any child born to an “Asian” parent and an American parent in the aftermath of U.S. military interventions in Asia. Thus, there are Amerasian children in Korea, the Philippines, Japan, and most prominently, Vietnam. The fathers of most Amerasian children are U.S. soldiers.

[5] See, for example, Mary Lee, “Mixed Race Peoples in the Korean National Imaginary and Family,” Korean Studies, vol. 32 (2008), pp. 65-71; and Katherine Moon, Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997).

[6] Park Kyung-Tae, “Left Behind: Amerasians Living in Korea,” paper presented at the Korean Nation and Its ‘Others’ in the Age of Globalization conference, University of Hawaii, April 20-21, 2007.

[7] Lee, “Mixed Race Peoples,” p. 59.

[8] According to Pearl S. Buck International, in 2002, almost 10 percent of Amerasians in South Korea failed to enter or complete primary school (compared to a national completion rate of virtually 100 percent) and 17.5 percent did not graduate from middle school (cited in Lee, “Mixed Race Peoples, p. 60). Overall, the drop out rate for Amerasians was 47 percent (cited in Park, “Left Behind“). Dropout rate? Through high school? Explain or drop sentence.

[9] Based on a survey of 101 Amerasians conducted by Park Kyung-Tae in 2006. Park describes the situation this way: Amerasians “… are employed mostly in construction, manufacturing factories, restaurants, etc. Only 24 percent have regular jobs.” Further, according to Park's survey, the average monthly income for Amerasians was 1,460,000 won, which was less than half the national average of 3,068,900 won. Park, “Left Behind.”

[10] Lim, “Fight for Equal Rights,” pp. 338-339.

[11] Lim, “Fight for Equal Rights,” pp. 340-341.

[12] See Timothy C. Lim, “Racing from the Bottom in South Korea? The Nexus between Civil Society and Transnational Migrants,” Asian Survey, vol. 43, no. 3 (2003), pp. 423-442.

[13] Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism (London and New York: Verso, 2006, revised ed.).

[14] Gi-wook Shin, “Ethnic Pride Source of Prejudice, Discrimination,” Korea Herald, August 3, 2006.

[15] An interesting discussion of this issue is available as an audio program on United States Institute of Peace website. See “What Does it Mean to be Iraqi? The Politics of Identity in Iraqi,” a public meeting of the Iraq Working Group, October 17, 2006, online recording

[16] See my discussion of comparative methodology in Doing Comparative Politics: An Introduction to Approaches and Issues (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2006), chs. 1 and 2.

[17] By the official government definition, a foreign resident is any non-citizen residing in Korea for 91 days or longer. There are a number of minor exceptions to this rule, including any member of diplomatic delegation or consular corps, members of international organizations, and Canadian citizens residing in Korea up to six months. The number of short-term (91 days to one year) foreign residents has remained fairly constant, so the recent and dramatic increase in the overall foreign resident population is overwhelmingly based on individuals staying in South Korea for longer periods of time.

[18] Based on data from South Korea's Ministry of Justice; cited in “Korea Heads Toward a Multicultural Society,” Korea Herald, June 6, 2008.

[19] “Korea Heads Toward a Multicultural Society.”

[20] Figures cited in Seol Dong-Hoon, Migrants' Citizenship in Korea: With a Focus on Migrant Workers and Marriage-based Migrants, “unpublished paper (n.d.). Data collected by Seol from the Statistical Yearbook of Departures and Arrivals released by the Ministry of Justice.

[21] Cited in Korean Immigration Service (KIS), The First Basic Plan for Immigration Policy, 2008-2012 (Seoul, June 2009). p. 45.

[22] KIS, The First Basic Plan, p. 45.

[23] Lee Yean-Ju, Seol Dong-Hoon, and Cho Sung-Nam, “International Marriages in South Korea: The Significance of Nationality and Ethnicity,” Journal of Population Research, vol. 23, no. 2 (2006), p. 166-167.

[24] KIS, The First Basic Plan, p. 45. This figure also includes Korean men engaged in fishing.

[25] Global hypergamy refers to a pattern of movement in which brides from more remote and less developed locations to increasingly developed and less isolated ones, and globally from the poor and less developed global south to the wealthier and industrialized north. For further discussion, see Nicole Constable, “Introduction: Cross-Border Marriages, Gendered Mobility, and Globaly Hypergamy,” in Nicole Constable, ed., Cross-Border Marriages: Gender and Mobility in Transnational Asia (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005), pp. 1-16.

[26] It is useful to note that global hypergamy is not as clear cut as it may appear on the surface. Freeman, for example, points out that in the case ethnic Korean brides from China who marry Korean men, “…the complex and conflicting ways in which constructions of nationality, gender, and geography intersect in these marriages make it difficult to distinguish those ‘in charge’ from those who are deprived.” Caren Freeman, “Marrying Up and Marrying Down: The Paradoxes of Marital Mobility for Chosonjok Brides in South Korea,” in Constable, ed., Cross-Border Marriages, pp. 80-100.

[27] For an extended discussion of the role of the Unification Church, see Kim Minjeong, “‘Salvation’ Through Marriage: Gendered Desire, Heteronormativity, and Religious Identities in the Transnational Context” (paper presented at the Gender, Religion & Identity in Social Theory Symposium, Blacksburg, VA, April 2009).

[28] The factors behind the upsurge of international marriages in South Korea are too complex to adequately cover here. But several studies available provide in-depth discussion of these factors. See Nancy Abelman and Hyunhee Kim, “A Failed Attempt at Transnational Marriage: Maternal Citizenship in a Globalizing South Korea,” in Constable, ed., Cross-Border Marriages, pp. 101-123; Lee Hye-Kyung, “International Marriage and the State in South Korea: Focusing on Governmental Policy,” Citizenship Studies, vol. 12, no. 1 (February 2008), pp. 108-123; and Freeman, “Marrying Up and Marrying Down.”

[29] See Park, “Left Behind.” Park estimates that, as of 2000, there were fewer than 1,000 Amerasians residing in South Korea, maybe as few as 433.

[30] “Educating Children of Foreign Residents,” Korea Herald, June 24, 2008.

[31] “Diversity Causes Korea to Face New Challenges,” Korea Times, February 24, 2008.

[32] The Korean National Statistical Office reported the figure of 1.08 in 2006. Over a five-year period from 2000 to 2005, however, the United Nations, World Population Prospects 1950-2050: The 2006 Revision gave a figure of 1.20, which was still lower than or equal to all countries except for Hong Kong (SAR). Figures are cited from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), Human Development Report. Available here.

[33] A number of other scenarios were also discussed, but most did not anticipate a further significant decline in Korea's fertility rate. See United Nations Population Division (UNPD), “Country Results: Korea,” in Replacement Migration: Is it a Solution to Declining and Ageing Population? (United Nations, 2001), available here.

[34] UNPD, “Country Results: Japan,” in Replacement Migration.

[35] “Get Ready for a Multi-Ethnic Society [Editorial],” Hankyoreh, June 29, 2005.

[36] “Korea to Scrap Mixed-Race Discrimination,” Korea Times, April 8, 2006.

[37] “Law for the Mixed-Blood?” Korea Herald, April 11, 2006.

[38] Cited in Lee, “Left Behind.” These classifications come from a government prepared handbook on adoptions entitled, Adoptees by Types of Disability: Domestically and Abroad.

[39] Despite familiarity with Korean language and culture, ethnic Koreans from China often find it hard to thoroughly assimilate into Korean society. Freeman, for example, points out that Joseonjok women are “[r]eadily identified by their style of dress, their patterns of speech and pronunciation, and their unfamiliarity with Korean linguistic and behavioral codes of politeness. [Joseonjok] are for the most part unable to ‘pass’ as South Koreans.” Freeman, “Marrying Up and Marrying Down,” p. 95.

[40] All figures cited in Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA), Report of the Review of Settlement Services for Migrants and Humanitarian Entrants (Canberra: Commonwealth Publishing Service, 2003), pp. 23-25.

[41] Larry Rivera, “Australian Population: The Face of a Nation,” available here.

[42] The Cronulla riot involved a violent clash between white Australian “surfies” and “Arab” youth from the Western suburbs of Sydney. To many in Australia, the riot was understood as a backlash against Australia's turn toward multiculturalism, as an effort to protect Australia's national identity by drawing limits around multiculturalism. For a fuller discussion, see Andrew Lattas, “‘They Always Seem to be Angry‘” The Cronulla Riot and the Civlilising Pleasures of the Sun, “Australian Journal of Anthropology, v. 18, no. 2 (December 2007), pp. 300-319.

[43] For the most part, these traits have been confirmed through empirical research. In a national survey in Australia, for example, four academic researchers drew this conclusion: “The overall picture is one of a fluid, plural and complex society, with a majority of the population positively accepting of the cultural diversity that is an increasingly routine part of Australian life. … In practice, most Australians, from whatever background, live and breathe cultural diversity. … Cultural mixing and matching is almost universal. There is no evidence of ‘ethnic ghettos.‘” Ien Ang, Jeffrey E. Brand, Greg Noble and Derek Wilding, “Living Diversity: Australia's Multicultural Future,” Humanities and Social Science Papers (Bond University, 2002), p. 4. Available here.

[44] Shin, “Ethnic Pride Source of Prejudice, Discrimination.” Shin provides a much fuller and scholarly treatment of this subject in his book, Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics and Legacy (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006).

[45] Although passed in 1901, the Immigration Restrictions Act more or less codified existing practices that had been going on for several decades.

[46] James Jupp, “From ‘White Australia’ to ‘Part of Asia’: Recent Shifts in Australian Immigration Policy Toward the Region,” International Migration Review, v. 29, n. 1 (Spring 1995), p. 208.

[47] James Jupp, From White Australia to Woomera: The Story of Australian Immigration (Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 9.

[48] Jupp, From White Australia, p. 3.

[49] Anthony Moran, “White Australia, Settler Nationalism and Aboriginal Assimilation,” Australian Journal of Politics and History, v. 51, no. 2 (2005), p. 172.

[50] One scholar argues that it was not just cultural genocide, but simply genocide. See Paul R. Bartrop, “The Holocaust, the Aborigines, and the Bureaucracy of Destruction: An Australian Dimension of Genocide,” Journal of Genocide Research, v. 3, no. 1 (2001), pp. 75-87. Similarities and differences to Japanese colonial policies in Korea are striking. Like the Australians, Japan sought to assimilate Koreans in numerous ways including banning the Korean language in the schools and enforcing Japanese names. For analogies to the practice of breaking up families of aboriginal Australians, however, it is better to turn to US practices with respect to Indian families in the first half of the twentieth century.

[51] Increasing prosperity and lower unemployment in post-war Britain also stemmed the flow of Anglo immigration to Australia.

[52] Stephen Castles, “Australian Multiculturalism: Social Policy and Identity in a Changing Society,” in Gary Freeman and James Jupp, eds., Nations of Immigrants: Australia, the United States and International Migration (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 185.

[53] As Jupp notes, “… despite the growth of Asian studies and the current popularity of Japanese as a school subject, the severance from Britain has not involved a massive shift in cultural orientation.” Jupp, “From ‘White Australia’ to ‘Part of Asia,‘” P. 211.

[54] Robert J. Hawke, “Australia's Security In Asia”; cited in Denis McCormack, “Immigration and Multiculturalism,” in Your Rights ‘94, Australian Civil Liberties Union (Carlton, Australia: ACLU, 1994), p. 10.

[55] Perry Nolan, “Ability the Only Criterion that Matters in Migration,” The Australian Financial Review, September 5, 1988.

[56] The text of the Act is available here.

[57] Smolicz, “Globalization and Cultural Dynamics in a Multiethnic State,” p. 32.

[58] The full-text of the speech is available here.

[59] A year after the speech, for example, Michael Mansell (director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Center) argued that Rudd was hiding behind his largely symbolic apology to avoid the hard work of improving Aboriginal living standards, which are among the lowest in the world. As Mansell put it, “Aboriginal people, and especially members of the stolen generations, are probably worse off now than when Kevin Rudd made the apology a year ago.” Even more, Mansell asserted: “There is no land rights for the dispossessed, no compensation for the stolen generations, the health standards are not improving and the Aboriginal imprisonment rate continues to climb. The apology has provided the Rudd government with a political shield against criticism of its failures in Aboriginal affairs.” Cited in “Rudd Under Fire a Year After Apology to Aborigines,” available here.

[60] The focus in this section is on non-Aboriginal communities in Australia. This is largely because government policies toward the Aboriginal communities and other ethnic communities have proceeded along different tracks. Until recently, the basic policies toward Aboriginal communities were premised on deliberately encouraging separate traditional Aboriginal communities. These policies have not prevented integration (for example, 70 percent of Aborigines are married to non-indigenous spouses, live in urban areas, and profess Christianity), but they have helped to create remote Aboriginal communities that suffer from poverty and other social problems. Peter Howson, “Aboriginal Policy,” Melbourne Age, April 20, 2004.

[61] DIMIA, Report of the Review of Settlement Services, p. 27.

[62] DIMIA, Report of the Review of Settlement Services, p. 27.

[63] DIMIA, Report of the Review of Settlement Services, p. 28.

[64] The official title of the Galbally Report is the Report of the Review Post-Arrival Programs and Services to Migrants, which was prepared b a 4-person committee and chaired by Frank Galbally. For a brief discussion of the report, see Leslie F. Claydon, “Australia's Settlers” The Galbally Report, “International Migration Review, v. 15, no. 1/2 (Spring-Summer 1981), pp. 109-112.

[65] Malcolm Fraser, “Inaugural Address on Multiculturalism to the Institute of Multicultural Affairs,” The Malcolm Fraser Collection at the University of Melbourne, November 30, 1981. Available here.

[66] Fraser, “Inaugural Address on Multiculturalism.”

[67] Smolicz, “Globalization and Cultural Dynamics in a Multiethnic State,” p. 32.

[68] Smolicz, “Globalization and Cultural Dynamics in a Multiethnic State,” p. 32.

[69] See, for example, “Racing from the Bottom in South Korea? The Nexus between Civil Society and Transnational Migrants in South Korea,” Asian Survey vol. 43, no. 3 (2003), pp. 423-442; and “Democracy, Political Activism and the Expansion of Rights for International Migrant Workers in South Korea and Japan: A Comparative Perspective,” IRI Review, vol. 11 (Spring 2006), pp. 156-204.

[70] For a discussion of this issue, see my 2002 article, “The Changing Face of South Korea,” in The Korea Society Quarterly (Fall/Summer). Available here.