WATCH: Finally, it is OK for Koreans to date and marry foreigners

Just a couple of years ago, most Koreans were against the notion of dating or foreigners that are marrying.

But times have actually changed, and they’ve changed fast. Now, the couples that are international in this latest Borderless News video ( simply simply simply click above to look at) say a lot of people around them generally don’t have any issues with their relationship, and their own families support their decision to date internationally.

Attitudes toward marrying foreigners have actually changed fast. Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, in a 2016 study cited by the Korea instances, discovered that almost 8 in 10 Koreans aged 13 to 24 say they truly are “fine with worldwide wedding.” That’s up sharply from 2008, whenever 66 per cent of young adults stated they supported worldwide marriages.

Korea has within the decades been criticized for the treatment of foreigners as second course residents, and discriminating against ladies who dated or hitched foreign men. Such reasoning ended up being when profoundly ingrained in Korean culture. That’s because into the years following the Korean War, a projected 1 million women that are korean when you look at the intercourse trade, with numerous of these servicing U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea.

Years ago, it had been thought that a girl observed in general public with a international guy must be described as a intercourse worker, and therefore resulted in widespread — and incredibly unjust — stereotypes. The stereotypes held that any woman that is korean with a international guy must be either a intercourse worker or an alleged “bar girl” — freelance sex employees whom have consumers by frequenting pubs.

Through the years, Koreans also started initially to genuinely believe that Korean ladies foreigners that are dating promiscuous, and older generation men — frequently experiencing threatened by foreign men’s sexuality — referred to these females with such terms as Yankee Yoja, which loosely translated means yankee whore, or even a whore for international guys.

Needless to say these stereotypes had been unjust, however they stuck, and contributed up to a negative view toward both international guys together with Korean ladies in relationships together with them.

Korea has additionally seen high points of anti-American belief. About ten years ago saw a rise that is sharp anti-American belief throughout the accidental loss of two Korean junior senior high school girls, whom were stepped on by a U.S. armed forces automobile, along with on the Iraq war. All this ended up being additionally section of a continuous trend of anti-American belief in exactly what ended up being a rather nationalist, xenophobic country that resenting the U.S. presence that is military.

And also this translated to a broad anti-Western belief.

Protests during the early 2000s saw foreigners assaulted regarding the street a few times, along with spat upon or cursed away. Well-known pop that is korean such as Yoon Do Hyun performed hits such as for example “Fucking USA” and Psy, that is extremely popular into the U.S. now for their hit Gangnam Style, in 2004 sung “kill those fucking Yankees..Kill their daughters, mothers…,” talking about U.S. soldiers fighting when you look at the Iraq war.

The type of reasoning had been therefore widespread that, in decades past, it ended up beingn’t unusual for Korean ladies in a relationship by having a man that is foreign conceal the connection from their moms and dads, doubting they’d a boyfriend at all — even for many years. Some would surely even enable their moms and dads to repair them through to times with young Korean guys, in order to keep the ruse up. Korean females hitched to international guys had been usually the topic of gossip of next-door next-door neighbors.

However with younger generation, much has changed. Korea’s generation that is new a lot more well-traveled than past generations, most of them having examined, worked, or done internships abroad. Korea can also be advertising its nation as being a tourist destination that welcomes other nationalities — a razor-sharp distinction from 10 years ago. Furthermore, like a great many other nations, social media marketing links Korea to your globe.

In Borderless News’ video that is latest, interviewees state they usually have no issue because of the notion of dating or marrying foreigners — plus some state their moms and dads even would choose which they marry a foreigner. Some state worldwide relationships are a definite real means for Korea to get worldwide.

No product might be completely re-printed or re-broadcast without having the written authorization of Borderless Information on the web.