I read the following Korea Times article from the IEKAS listserve. IEKAS is an electronic weekly newsletter published by the Society of Korean-American Scholars (SKAS). Recent issues are posted in SKAS.
It is interesting to watch as an outsider/insider as South Korea adjusts to the changing mores of transnationalism and globalization. The recent celebrity status of Hines Ward (Super Bowl MVP) and Toby Dawson (U.S. Olympic Skiier) also suggest that South Korea is beginning to look at itself in the mirror. For all the success and achievements of South Korea as a rising economic power, it is time to begin to examine the darker side of South Korean nationalism, including it's treatment of biracial children, adoptees and orphans, and women.
NO TO THE 'UGLY KOREANS'
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The Korea Times, April 5, 2006
'Ugly Koreans' to Be Banned From Going Overseas
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Tuesday
that it was planning to toughen departure control as a way
to ban "ugly Koreans" from smearing the image of South
Korea in foreign countries.
News media used the term "ugly Koreans" to describe those
who behave in a disorderly fashion in foreign countries.
The term has been used frequently amid a rising number of
South Koreans being caught for buying sex in Southeast
Asian countries.
The ministry's initiative was presented during a Cabinet
meeting at the presidential office.
"The government is planning to forbid their departure for
some period if their misdeeds in foreign countries, such as
illegal acts or shameful conduct, are reported to us," an
official said on condition of anonymity.
Currently, the law governing passports has a clause
preventing people from departing South Korea for a maximum
of three years if they have records of being deported from
a foreign country for illegal actions.
The plan is expected to invite strong criticism from human
rights groups as it infringes upon the people's basic rights.
"What if I have to go out for business purposes?" Kang
Chan-ho, a resident in Seoul, said. "I think it's a pointless
policy. I can't believe the government is trying to limit
our freedom in such a way."
A number of South Koreans have recently been caught in
Southeast Asian countries for disreputable acts, especially
involvement in prostitution.
In July last year, a television network in Vietnam broadcast
a news story on the police's apprehension of 28 South Koreans
just in a single day for their illegal behavior of buying
sex at a Korean-owned saloon.
Another case was found more recently in Shanghai. The police
arrested 17 South Koreans in February for their involvement
in a "host bar" in which men were hired for sexual services.
It was recorded the first case of foreigners being caught for
running a host bar in China.