Current mood:	contemplative
Entry tags:	culture, korea, news

"Pure race"

Image taken from The Hankyoreh (5/4/06).

The Hankyoreh Sinmun is an independent Korean newspaper. It has been described as radical, unconventional, outspoken etc. Nevertheless, it serves good stuff that appeal to many. I love the cartoons section, because of witty caricatures like this one.

Apparently inspired by the recent hooha concerning Hines Ward and the issue of mixed blood Koreans, this is one of the finest satirical cartoons I have ever seen. The socio-political nuances are just too obvious to be ignored.

It depicts three dark-skinned children outside what is seemed to be a fortress wall. The sign that hangs above the wall says: 단일민족 (dan-il minjok, literally "pure or homogeneous race"). However, the door is open from the inside, with the people all running towards a joyful Hines Ward with open arms. "Wow!" exclaims the enthusiastic crowd, either in awe or in ignorance.

The three children obviously represent the mixed blood people of Korea, significantly those of Afro-American descent, judging from the sketches. They’re outside the fortress that holds the "pure race", meaning they’re at the fringe of Korean society. This clearly indicates the current status of mixed race Koreans. It’s noteworthy that when Koreans speak of "mixed race" with disdain, they’re actually talking about those with dark skin tones, especially Afro-American, Hispanic or Indian mix.

In the cartoon, the door of the fortress is open, as members of the “pure race” rush out to greet Hines Ward. Ward is given an almost-superstar treatment (note the open arms, video cam and paparazzi-like crowd). The crowd is oblivious of the three children by the walls.

The three children look miserable. Despite the spotlight on their fellow mixed blood brother Ward, they’re still in the shadows. Two of them look longingly to the frenzied crowd, probably wishing for the same welcoming response from their pure blood brethren. The other boy is possibly looking up at the signage of "pure race" and wishing for the same thing: acceptance into the fortress, that is, acceptance into mainstream Korean society.

The caption on the top right sums up the whole picture. 잠시성밖으로외출.. (Jam shi seong bakkeu roweo chul.., "A brief trip to the outside of the fortress walls..").

Pessimistically speaking, the current enthusiasm is going to be short-lived. It is just a momentary adventure for the "pure race" by stepping outside their comfort zone to fuss over this dark-skinned curiosity that had brought honor to Korea, albeit in an indirect way. Once the fervour is over, once Hines Ward leaves to return to the States, who knows what’s going to happen? The assumption is that the "pure race" will return to their protective closed-off walls, thus closing out on the dark-skinned children once again. The plight of these children will once again be ignored and forgotten.

I think the artist recognizes this inevitable fact, thus came up with this brilliant caricature. Because that’s just how the people are at the core. It’s really going to take more than Hines Ward to change the ingrained attitude of mainstream Korean society. They can accept him at face value by granting him citizenship and whatnot, but deep down they’re still wary of the mixed blood Koreans. And they know it.