A deep analysis into the phenomenon of the term 'Minjok.'

Korean 'Minjok'

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JeeHoon Lee

Japan is an enemy(?) that the Korean minjok would always unite against.

                    Once I was having a conversation with my friend about the friendly soccer match between South Korea and Japan. I asked him about his expectation about the result of the match. We both knew that Korean national team was evaluated weak compared to Japan, but he said, "Come on! There is no option other than beating them. It's Japan. My grandma once said that we should win against Japan in every aspect, even the rock-scissor-paper." This statement was a kind of a joke, but it also partially showed the nature of Koreans. Since we share a common history under Japanese colonization and we are taught from a very young age about this, we hate Japan. Also, my friend's grandmother tried to implement an antagonism into my friend with her horrible experience.

This is an example of how Koreans usually form an entity to come together and share their pride as the same 'Minjok.' Taking a deep look at this phenomenon, I found some crucial questions that have to be answered in order to define and analyze the ‘Minjok' phenomenon. What historical background enforced Koreans to feel this entity as the same 'Minjok?' How did the term 'Minjok' speed up or down Korea's progress and industrialization? What kind of change is this paradigm going through when a sudden change of 21st century's globalization is occurring? I will take a deep look back on the development of this paradigm, current changes that it is facing, and the future result it will cause through numerous examples and explanations. 

All people with Korean ancestry apparently share this person's blood. So we're all family.

             First, studying the origin and development of the term ‘Minjok’ through different eras will give us an important clue to understand it. The history of this term all begins from emphasizing the importance of 'Dan-il Minjok.' 'Dan-il Minjok’ refers to the idea that Korean people all share the same ancestor, 'Dangun,' and no matter where we are or what country we belong to, the fact that we share the same blood does not change. Therefore, Koreans belong to a very large family, and somehow, every single one of us is a relative of another. Koreans have educated this idea of 'Dan-il Minjok' to their children through many millennia. The long story of 'Minjok' all begins here: sharing the same origin.

             We are also proud about our history. The so-called “five millennia of history” of the Korean peninsula gives us the pride in having preserved our nation, our 'minjok' without having been contaminated by external forces, along the history of Gojoseon, Shilla, Goryeo, and Joseon dynasties. We remained a 'Dan-il Minjok,' despite the disputes from inside and invasions from outside the Korean peninsula. This history gave Korean people a strong sense of unity, and every time this country faced a new obstacle, we are confident that we can go through this again since our ancestors have also done it. In school, we are educated to believe that every single one of us should work with best effort in being loyal, protecting, and working to develop our nation since this nation's success was achieved through the Minjok’s mutual sacrifices. From the first process defining the term 'minjok,' we can sight out the fact that this term is mostly related to the same origin and blood of Korean people, rather than citizenships.

Korea cannot go further if it discriminates foreigners as not a member of our minjok.

               However, can we really say that the loyalty towards nation, sense of unity, sacrifice towards nation, and every selfless aspect of 'minjok,' were all caused from the pure soul of Korean people? I would say no to this question, since I witnessed numerous attempts from the Korean government to promote this kind of feeling to their citizens. Granting Korean citizenship to a baby deflects the government implication to promote the phenomenon 'minjok' in Korean society. Currently, Korean citizenship is granted to a baby if either of his parents are Korean. On the other hand, foreign babies born in Korea would not be granted Korean citizenship. What can we conclude from these two policies? If you have the blood of Korean, you get to vote, and you are a Korean. However, if you don't have it, it is hard for one to become a Korean no matter whether he is born in Korea or not. These imply that 'Minjok' is about blood and heritage, more than just geographical area. 'Minjok' supercedes geographical boundaries. Even if you’re across the Pacific, if you have the blood, you’re connected to the Korean Minjok. Conversely, even if you’re living within the territory of Korea, if you don’t have the Korean root, you’re not considered as a member of the Korean Minjok.

             Having defined what 'Minjok' is, and showed its relationships to our history, now it is time to think about the contemporary meanings of it. In 21st century, globalization has been the trend spread on the whole world. Many countries have been experiencing diverse culture exchanges; even countries like Germany, Japan and Italy that symbolized ultra-nationalism are facing changes towards a globalized society. In these series of changes, what path is our idea of 'Minjok' heading? Did Korean people also face a change under the name of globalization? Professor Shin ki-wook says Korean still have their 'Minjok' in their heart by mentioning in his paper that "Koreans initiated and pursued globalization with a clear nationalistic agenda from the outset. Samuel Kim said Koreans cannot purse nationalism and globalization at the same time. I personally think that ethnic identity was even intensified in reaction to the globalization process. However, how can I say that identity is even intensified through the paradigm 'Minjok,' even though looking around us, we see people wearing Nikes everywhere, spending months to learn English and Chinese?

Every Korean is required to learn English, sometimes even beyond Korean, to survive in this ‘globalized’ society

Under the name “Taehan Minguk”, the Korean Minjok becomes one.

             The 2002 World cup fervor is a good example. In this miraculous moment, our 'Minjok' came together from all around the world. I was surprised by the fact that the film of Korean national team's match in world cup is also very popular in North Korea. We shouted out "Taehan minguk,” and "Uri nun hana." Korean 'Minjok' showed its sense of unity again in this world cup whether or not Korean government again had this intention. Kim Dae-Jung, the formal president of Korea called this world cup as "Korea's happiest day since Dangun." As this shows, we still consider our bloodlines very important, and stress the fact that we are 'Koreans.' We are proud of what Korea has. We are excited to all the games that Korean national team participates, and we are happy about the outputs of Samsung.

             It must be noted that this phenomenon of 'Minjok' has become a double-edged sword in the current Korean society. It has both potential advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side of it, we can draw a parallel line to Jews in America. Like them, connecting with each other, helping each other just because they share the same ethnicity can also be applied to Korean 'Minjok.' Korean ethnicity becomes a springboard for success by bonding over similar backgrounds. LA, Beijing, NY all has Korea Towns, and Koreans greet each other anywhere when they hear Korean.

Koreans are seen everywhere, forming cliques and helping each other out – just because they’re the same Minjok

On the other side, this can easily mean Koreans being ostracized from the rest of the global society. Many Koreans overseas connect with Koreans only. This often leads to Koreans failing to adapt well to the fast-changing global society, which could slow Korea's development in different industries. Discrimination towards foreigners and children from multicultural families including half-Korean would become a very serious issue. Due to the aging population, labor force in Korea depends on the foreign workers. Also, globalized society causes different kinds of exchanges between Korea and the outer world, and Korea has incentives to persuade foreign talented people to visit or even immigrate into Korea. In these circumstances, if Koreans only focus on 'Minjok,' arguing the same bloodlines, Korean society will degrade its productivity in many different industries. In one sentence, Korea will not be able to upgrade its image into a developed country.

Koreans group too well with other Koreans that they often end up losing their opportunity to group with others.

Looking at the Minjok term at a national level, the 'minjok' propaganda has worked well in motivating the people to cooperate "as one” in the past, during the take-off period. The period of 1960-90s required individual sacrifice, and Koreans worked very hard and contributed to the success of Korean short industrialization. Many nurses and miners were sent to Germany to earn money. Getting through this kind of hard period required some external force to unite Korean people into one, and the propaganda 'Minjok' served its goal. Miners, nurses, construction workers worked as hard as they can because they believed their sacrifices would help their Minjok prosper and make their sons and daughters live in a better condition.

These people voluntarily flew to Germany to help our Minjok  prosper.

             In the 21st century, however, the paradigm for Minjok has shifted. This can be seen in the changed version of 2007 'pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag.' It demonstrates not an unconditional sacrifice, but a proud affirmation of allegiance to the free and just Koran society. To conclude, spirit of Minjok still remains in the 21st century, but its practical implication has been modified, relevant to the trends of the 21st century. 'Minjok' means rights and privileges more than obligation and burden. This change of the meta narrative of 'Minjok' is happening, and it is necessary for Korea's success in 21st century. 

This is how Korean pledge of allegiance changed over time.

1)This is the original version of pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag.
나는 자랑스런 태극기 앞에 조국의 통일과 번영을 위하여 정의와 진실로서 충성을 다할 것을 다짐합니다.

"I pledge in front of the proud Korean flag to be loyal for the nation's prosperity and unification with justice and honesty."

-2)This is the 2nd version of pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag, which has changed in 1974.

나는 자랑스런 태극기 앞에 조국과 민족의 무궁한 영광을 위하여 몸과 마음을 바쳐 충성을 다할 것을 굳게 다짐합니다.

"I pledge in front of the proud Korean flag to be loyal for the nation and minjok's unstopping glory, by sacrificing all my body and heart."

3) This is the 3rd version of pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag, which has changed in 2007.

 나는 자랑스러운 태극기 앞에 자유롭고 정의로운 대한민국의 무궁한 영광을 위하여 충성을 다할 것을 굳게 다짐합니다.

"I pledge in front of the proud Korean flag to be loyal for free and just nation's unstopping glory.

The pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag.

             Still, the paradigm Minjok has a lot of way to go. Multi-cultural families in Korea are still living up with discrimination, with almost no support from the neighbors. Since we have not considered foreigners as a member of our 'Minjok,' we treated them differently. This is a harm to not only foreigners but also to the Korean society as a whole. If we do not fix this problem, Korea will be a closed society, isolated from the international society. We should acknowledge that now we should think 'Minjok' in a broader way. It is more than just blood which is something we cannot change. We should put an emphasis on culture and language, properties of Korean minjok-ness that can be learned through experience. We should put these factors as the primary ones in our Minjok. We should learn to appreciate those who appreciate the Korean 'Minjok.'

Embracing foreigners is more than a choice; it's a necessity.

             Even though it is not heading the most ideal destination, KMLA initially had the purpose to make a mixture between Korean identity and globalized Korea. This was an experimental try which surprised many people including professor Shin Ki-Wook. However, KMLA also could not keep the perfect balance between two values. Korea is also currently a mixture of “Korea in the globe, the globe in Korea”. In some sense, the civilization itself has been globalized or westernized more than ever, but many Koreans still keep pride in their history, language and culture. Keeping a delicate balance, toning down the exclusivity of Minjok, and bringing out the connectivity of minjok through shared culture, language, perception as Koreans will help Korea prosper as a globalized nation with a grounded identity appropriate for the 21^st century.

Korea 2013: How Korea developed and where it should head in the future