[Insight & Opinion] The Prejudice Embedded in the Term 'Foreigner'

[Asia Economy] ‘Delinquent credit / Foreigners welcome.’ This was the content of a signboard in front of a certain mobile phone agency. It stated that customers who have difficulty opening mobile phone accounts are also welcome. Being placed alongside ‘delinquent credit’ gave the impression that there might be some problem associated with ‘foreigners.’ I suddenly felt the change in the meaning of ‘foreigners’ in Korea.

When I first came to Korea in the early 1980s, people usually called Westerners like me ‘American’ or ‘foreigner.’ At that time, there were not many foreigners, and among them, the proportion of Americans was high, so it was understandable. After hosting the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the perspective on foreigners began to change, and in the 1990s, the pace accelerated significantly. Various foreigners entered Korea around the time of the Olympics, and after establishing diplomatic relations with countries such as the Soviet Union, China, and Vietnam in the early 1990s, the nationalities of foreigners visiting Korea became more diverse. People now called Westerners ‘foreigners’ rather than ‘Americans.’

Another change was also taking place around this time. As labor shortages increased, Korea began accepting foreign workers. Instead of ‘foreign person,’ the term ‘foreigner’ was used before ‘worker,’ making ‘foreigner worker’ a common phrase. The countries of origin also diversified, and commercial districts where foreign workers were the main customers were formed in various regions of Korea.

Another change occurred during this period. Under President Kim Dae-jung’s administration, the F-4 visa for overseas Koreans was created, making it much easier for ethnic Koreans from China, known as Joseonjok, to come to Korea. They are referred to as ‘Joseonjok workers’ rather than ‘foreign workers.’ As the number of overseas Koreans from other countries increased, a strange term ‘pure foreigner’ (sun-oegugin) also emerged to refer to them. Since the 1997 financial crisis, foreign investors appearing in the newly opened financial market have been called ‘oein’ (foreign investors), a term still in use today.

The foreign population continued to increase in the 2000s. A new category of foreigners called ‘marriage immigrants’ emerged, referring to those who came to marry Korean men. As their numbers grew, the government established a Korean social integration support policy in 2008, creating another foreign-related category called ‘multicultural families.’

Meanwhile, the habit of automatically calling Westerners ‘Americans’ has almost disappeared. However, the term ‘foreign person’ is still used. Although ‘foreigner’ and ‘foreign person’ have the same meaning, the subjects they refer to differ slightly. ‘Foreign person’ mainly refers to people from Western developed countries who are mostly treated as guests. ‘Foreigner’ refers to those from less affluent countries who come for economic activities. While the word ‘foreigner’ means a person with a different nationality, the words used in society inevitably carry differences in nuance and feeling beyond their literal meaning.

I sensed that subtle nuance in the ‘foreigner’ on the mobile phone agency sign I saw. ‘Foreigner’ is perceived as someone who cannot prove creditworthiness or is likely to have poor credit, so it was placed alongside ‘delinquent credit,’ which in turn forms a negative image of the word ‘foreigner.’ The owner of the mobile phone agency probably did not use it with any malice. However, the signboard ‘Delinquent credit / Foreigner’ contains prejudice.

How should such unintentional prejudice be resolved? It is necessary to reconsider categorizing people into groups. Creating categories and dividing people increases the likelihood of prejudice forming. Therefore, efforts to reduce and eliminate categories as much as possible are important. The first step is a serious social discussion about all prejudices and discrimination prevalent in society, including those against foreigners. The role of the media and educational institutions in this is crucial.

Robert Fauzer, Former Professor at Seoul National University

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