In 2006, the number of foreigners living in Korea surpassed 900,000. Today, there are 1.3 million, accounting for 2.7 percent of Korea's population, a 40 percent increase over the five-year period. The wariness and antagonism has also grown to go beyond hurling verbal abuse at them on public buses.
In April, a lawmaker proposed a law giving the same medical and educational benefits to children of illegal aliens as those given Korean children. That prompted a visit to the lawmaker's office by four men, who belonged to a group opposing the government's multicultural policies aimed at welcoming foreigners to Korea. They spoke to the lawmaker for an hour detailing their reasons.
There are about five civic groups that are opposed to multiculturalism. They claim that foreigners take away jobs from locals and commit crimes, and that they dilute the racial identity of Koreans. The groups visited the Bangladeshi Embassy early this year and demanded officials educate Bangladeshis about crime prevention. They also rallied in front of KBS protesting against the state-run broadcaster airing programs that they claimed instill fantasies about multicultural families. Last year, the groups posted around 1,500 messages on the Labor Ministry's website demanding an end to work visas for people from Muslim countries.
Read the artile at Chosun Ilbo here.
In April, a lawmaker proposed a law giving the same medical and educational benefits to children of illegal aliens as those given Korean children. That prompted a visit to the lawmaker's office by four men, who belonged to a group opposing the government's multicultural policies aimed at welcoming foreigners to Korea. They spoke to the lawmaker for an hour detailing their reasons.
There are about five civic groups that are opposed to multiculturalism. They claim that foreigners take away jobs from locals and commit crimes, and that they dilute the racial identity of Koreans. The groups visited the Bangladeshi Embassy early this year and demanded officials educate Bangladeshis about crime prevention. They also rallied in front of KBS protesting against the state-run broadcaster airing programs that they claimed instill fantasies about multicultural families. Last year, the groups posted around 1,500 messages on the Labor Ministry's website demanding an end to work visas for people from Muslim countries.
Read the artile at Chosun Ilbo here.
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