Interview Summary #3 with "A", "B", and "C" by Jaewan Oh
- Multicultural Family in Korea
The interview was held near Oryun Church in Gangdong-gu, where they have their family support center. My friend goes to this church, so I could get this link with A, B, and C, who are members of multicultural family in Korea. They were friendly, but didn't allow me to record the interview or take a photo. They didn't want their privacy and personal information to be shown to people who they don't know. A and B weren't that good in English, so many times they needed translation from C and some Korean to say what they want.
Introduction
A, B were from China, and C was from Peru. All of them were housewives in their 30s. A, B have come to Korea since 7 years ago and C for 15 years. They all live in Gangdong-gu, Seoul.Daily Life & Family Life
A identified herself as an ordinary housewife. However, she made distinctions between her and genuine Koreans or the 'non-multiculturals'. She said the life is much difficult being multicultural in Korea. B told me that she married Korean which is an international marriage, but the way people look at the marriage isn't always true. Some people think that this kind of wedding cannot ensure the sincerity of love, but B said it is just case-by-case. She said there are some difficulties, but her family are quite stable.About Koreans marrying foreigners, B wanted people to be honest as possible. She said the problems people hear in media is oriented from lying each other. There should be strict regulations about fraud in marriage.
Life in the Society
C said that people's eyes looking at the multicultural family is not always that welcoming. She is worried sometimes people think of the foreign immigrants as a potential criminals. Negative discriminations have decreased thanks to many campaigns and laws. Still, some news about immigrant crimes can scare the natives.
Institutional Support (Welfare System)
Interviewees said that the most difficult part living in Korea is the language. They lived here for a pretty long time, still the language isn't that easy. When they have to send some documents and fill out the forms, the instruction is insufficient. A said that her child goes to elementary school, and she gets trouble teaching her Korean languages.In Korea, there are some people who think multiculturalism can harm the society, especially financially. A knew about some people criticizing the multiculturalism policy and budget. She could understand the reaction, but she also wanted the Koreans to understand the phenomenon and accept them. She said the increasing budget made them feel much easier than before, and it is quite grateful. Nevertheless, she couldn't understand the fact that budget for multiculturalism is increasing dramatically, since the assistance they feel haven't improved that much.
Community for those
C said A, B, and C usually go to church like here, where they can get help in their language. Also, they go to community relief center and family support center to learn Korean language, how to cook, etc. There are other friends to do these together.Overall, the 3 people I met thought the language barrier is blocking the cultural exchanges between them and Koreans. The government should make some assistance for this.
I read through other interview synopses as well, and it is indeed interesting to see that the hardships or discrimination that they feel are different depending on their racial backgrounds. Perhaps the root problem of xenophopia, or reluctance against multicultural families is some kind of racism that is deep inside us. Just like the first interviewee mentioned, the elderly people in Korea do have some sort of pride for being a of single blood. (Which I think is quite absurd) Still, it is good to know that multicultural families feel like it's getting better.
답글삭제I agree that there are definitely negative views about multi-cultured people in Korea. I think one of the biggest reason why this negative view is portrayed is due to, as interviewee B slightly touched upon, the media. In the media there are TV shows where foreign wives appear and talk about their marriage life. When we see these kind of shows it seems as if foreign wives by their Korean husbands and are loved and living a very stable and happy life in Korea. However, if you look at other shows especially documentaries or news reports, we can see that South East Asian women purposely attract Korean men and marry them but are treated very harshly after marriage or eventually even get kicked out of the house. Thus although there are some TV shows that prompt the idea that women of other nations don't marry Korean men for financial reasons, I think Korean people tend to focus more on the opposite view that South Eastern Asians target Korean men as husbands on purpose.
답글삭제Korean language is one of the hardest languages in the world. It's really brave that the women who came to Korea embraced such difficulties without any preparations. It is no longer an unique way to marry with other racial person. I guess the huge budget for solving the problem went into the campaigns that are just effective in the short period of time. Some korean policy makers want to show up what they did in their tenure. Therefore it is really easy to open up such showmanship like policies. That's definitely the thing we need to revise. Maybe we can make consultant group consisted of multiracial people.
답글삭제In this interview, I could feel a very distictive atmosphere other than the two previous interviews. From the interviewees here, I could feel their harsh lives in Korea. It is a very good chance for me to hear the voices of the foreigner houswives in Korea. I think the difficulties they are confronting with is related not only to the multicultural issues, but also to many other social problems in Korea. And it is quite shocking, that multicultural marriages occured in agricultural areas are mostly staind with fraud. I think, to embrace the new culture, we have to change from the very beginning of our mindsets. It is not only the 'cultural' thing, but it is a person-to-person thing. Political things and mindsets should interaction to make Korea a better place to live for everyone.
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