Black Face in Korea

Recently on popular Korean television, comedian Hong Hyun Hee created a skit which featured her acting in blackface, a practice common in Korean, comedy skits.  Since releasing the skit, the actress and TV broadcasting station have come under intense criticism from international viewers yet no such criticism has come from within Korea. For many living in Korea, the idea that racism is an American creation prevails, thus there is a belief that they themselves are unable to be racist.  This idea first became popular during the Korean War in which both black and white American troops were sent to aid South Korea.  During their stay, many troops visited brothels where the idea of race differences made its grand debut.  Korean sex workers were abused and, in some extreme cases, murdered by white soldiers whenever they attempted to do business with black soldiers.  The white soldiers serving in Korea brought with them the Jim Crow and Plessey v. Ferguson mindset they possessed in America to the Korea and forced this ideology into the minds of the Korean sex workers. In this way, the white soldiers convinced Korean sex workers to refuse service to black soldiers, thus perpetuating their ideals of white supremacy.  The black soldiers saw this treatment as a direct violation of their rights as U.S. soldiers and this, along with numerous other offenses at the hands of the white soldiers caused many to protest, an act which seemed unjust to the Korean sex workers.

            The white soldiers took the idea of race inequality and put it in the context of a country who never before experienced such a sharp divide of people based on race and used their ignorance to perpetuate their anti-black agenda.  Due to the lack of knowledge surrounding racism, the idea that Korea is unable to be racist, and racism as a purely American issue grew which is what allowed the modern day use of black face to be aired on public Korean television.  The ignorance that Korea claims to the topic of race is not a valid argument especially due to the rise of international trade and international media.  The fight of the black soldiers serving in Korea as race became an issue that continues on today due to lack of willingness to address the problem and an overall sense of indifference on the part of the Korean government.