S. Korea looks to tackle race, ethnicity issues in military

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, which has traditionally taken pride in
its "ethnic homogeneity," is eyeing new measures to tackle multicultural and race
issues in the military, as a growing number of males from mixed-race families are
set to be drafted, multiple sources in the defense ministry said Thursday.
As part of the plan, the ministry plans to ask mixed-race males aged 16-18
whether they would like to join the military together with men from similar
backgrounds. This would allow them to go through the five-week pre-service
training together and end the compulsory draft at the same time.
"We are working on comprehensive measures to help males from multicultural
families serve in the army without too much difficulty," a defense official said,
requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media about the issue.
"We feel it would be helpful for these males to train together."
The measure is likely also aimed at preventing incidents of racially-motivated
hazing.
About 3,410 men from mixed-race families will be subject to physical examinations
for conscription from this year through 2012, according to ministry data.
Pre-duty soldiers are permitted to train among acquaintances under the current
system, but this is the first time the government has proposed setting up an
official provision concerning mixed-race males.
South Korea, which is technically still at war with communist North Korea as the
1950-53 war ended without a formal peace treaty, maintains a two-year
conscription system in which all able-bodied men over the age of 19 are required
to serve.
The nation has traditionally had a low number of foreign residents and mixed-race
families, but began to see a surge in both in the 1990s as more South Korean men,
typically from rural areas, began seeking brides in Southeast Asia and China.
The government has been promoting mixed-race marriages due to a shortage of young
Korean women in farming and fishing regions. Rapid industrialization saw many
young people here, especially females, leave their rural hometowns for the
cities.
Over 144,000 foreigners, mostly from China and Southeast Asia, came to live in
South Korea in 2008 after marrying Korean spouses, a 13.7 percent increase from
the previous year, according to recent government data.
"As we expect the number of mixed-race servicemen to continue to increase, we
also plan to set up anti-discriminatory provisions over race and skin-color,"
another defense official said. "We plan to expand these measures for professional
soldiers."
Naturalized Koreans and North Korean defectors are also included in the
"multicultural servicemen" category, along with males born to mixed-race
families, the official added.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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