Draft:Multicultural Koreans

Multicultural Koreans

혼혈
Total population
unknown
Regions with significant populations
Korea, North America, Europe
Languages
Korean, others
Related ethnic groups
Koreans, Multiracial people

Multicultural Koreans
Hangul	혼혈
Hanja	混血
Revised Romanization	Honhyeol
McCune–Reischauer	Honhyŏl

Multicultural Koreans are people of mixed and partial Korean ancestry. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of multicultural Koreans multicultural families in South Korea.

Terminology

Multicultural Koreans are referred to by a number of terms, the most common being "honhyeol" (혼혈), which comes from the Mandarin word "hùnxuè'ér" (混血儿) being read as Korean hanja, and means to "mixed blood". "Honhyeol" is used by the South Korean government, and human rights organizations, and is seen is the politically correct term to use when referring to Koreans of multiracial, or simply multiethnic, backgrounds.

Other terms include bangugin (반국인, 半國人), as ban (반, 半) means "half", or ban-ban (반반,半半), which means "half-half". Both of these terms are outdated, however. Most terms used to describe multicultural Koreans is only used to refer to mixed-race Koreans, and not those who are monoracial Asians and ethnically mixed.

Mixed-race Koreans who have one American parent may use "han-mi" to refer to themmselves, as 한미 (韓美), as it combines both hanja characters for "Korea" and "United States", though the term is also used by some Korean Americans.

History

Main article: History of multicultural people in Korea

Multicultural people have been living in Korea for centuries. During the Mongolian dominion over Goryeo, many Mongol elites within the Goryeo court assimilated themselves and their multiethnic descendants into the culture of medieval Korea.

1950s American article on the epidemic of Black Korean children up for adoption in South Korea

However, it is during the Korean War that the first generation of mixed-race Koreans was born. The Korean War saw the shipment of troops from the United States, and several other countries from around the world, to the Korean Peninsula. It was common for foreign soldiers to initiate relationships or sexual encounters with native Koreans, which resulted in the birth of mixed-race children. Biracial Korean children were amongst the majority of the first wave of children adopted from South Korea, following the Korean War.

Similar to the early generations of post-WWII Hāfu (multicultural/multiracial Japanese), and other Amerasians, particularly multiracial Vietnamese, multicultural Koreans were looked down upon. Many were abandoned, and were either repatriated to their father's country or put into orphanages.

Opinions of multiracial Koreans

In Korea

According to a 2008 statistic, 99.8 percent of the population of North Korea is ethnically Korean , with there being small minorities of Japanese North Koreans and Chinese North Koreans, and therefore most multicultural Koreans in North Korea are still monoracial Asians, only being multiethnic. In contrast, a 2019 statistic showed that 95.1 percent of the population of South Korea is ethnically Korean.

In recent years, celebrities such as Han Hyun-min, Bae Yu-jin, and Jenny Park, who are all Afro-Asians, have garnered fame both domestically and internationally, and have helped to make a positive change on South Korea's perception of its multicultural and multiracial minorities. There are several K-Pop bands, which have members who are of multicultural or multiracial origin.

Both North Korea and South Korea are dominated by ethnic nationalism, and both still prioritize ethnic homogeneity.

In the West

Countries in the West, especially countries such as the United States or Canada, tend to have very very ethnically diverse populations, and therefore see themselves and their culture as inherently more accepting of mixed-race individuals.

Notable people

In Korea

• Insooni
• Yoon Mi-rae
• Samuel Kim
• Jeon Somi
• Han Hyun-min
• Bae Yu-jin
• Jenny Park
• Giselle (Aespa)
• Vernon (Seventeen)