Human Rights Commission: "'Joorini' and 'Boorini' Are Child Derogatory Terms... Should Be Prohibited"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The National Human Rights Commission has recommended refraining from indiscriminate use of newly coined terms that liken beginners in various fields to children, as they may demean children and promote discrimination.

According to the Human Rights Commission on the 4th, the commission expressed its opinion the day before to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to prepare promotional and educational measures to avoid using the expression '~rini' in public institution official documents. It also advised the Chairman of the Korea Communications Standards Commission to establish appropriate measures, such as monitoring to prevent the use of the same expression in broadcasting and on the internet.

Earlier, the Human Rights Commission received a petition stating that referring to 'someone who has just started or lacks skill' by likening them to children as '~rini' is a discriminatory expression against children. The commission judged that expressions like 'joolini' or 'burini' are based on the perception that children are immature and incomplete beings, which can foster negative stereotypes, and that children may grow up in a harmful environment where they are ignored and demeaned.

Regarding this, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated to the Human Rights Commission that "there is also a coexistence of the view that these expressions are used affectionately rather than to demean those who are still inexperienced in something, and it is difficult to regard them as discriminatory expressions." The National Institute of the Korean Language also said, "Since the definition and scope of discriminatory expressions have not yet been clearly established, whether '~rini' constitutes a discriminatory expression should be determined through social consensus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.