Surviving in Korea: Anti-Muslim Hate
Welcome back to Surviving in the World (SIW), your biweekly newsletter written by students for students interested in global affairs. We always try to present select topics in global news in an easy-to-understand format.
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In today’s letter, we cover conflicts going around Northeast Asia, brought to you by Keonhee (Andrew) Ahn, SIW’s Editor in Chief.
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Word Count: 654 / Time: 5 minute read.
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​Since 2021, residents of Daehyeon-dong in the city of Daegu have been protesting against plans to build a mosque in their town, holding signs and banners that read: “Korean People Come First!” and “Are Daehyeon-dong citizens sons-of-*****“ around town.
Local Koreans protesting outside the proposed mosque site, with signs going against building the mosque. (Source: Photography by Woohae Cho, the New York Times)
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Why this is happening: The residents fear that building the mosque would bring more Muslims to their town, threatening Daehyeon-dong's future by driving out local Korean citizens.
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Protesters argue that Koreans will be reluctant to stay in a town where an unfamiliar culture is prevalent, leading to Daehyeon-dong becoming a town for Muslims.
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Many Koreans associate Muslims with terrorism, which is another reason why the Korean residents of Daehyeon-dong will be scared away, according to the protestors.
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One observation: One may expect Korea to be more sympathetic to migrant workers after its experience with anti-asian hate in the Western world. However, the hate residents have been throwing against local Muslims demonstrates that this is not the case.
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Why you should care: We live in an international community where many people, including Muslims, come from “unfamiliar” cultures to most Koreans.
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Chadwick International seeks to "Develop global citizens with keen minds, exemplary character, self-knowledge, and the ability to lead.”
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To fulfill this goal, we need to embrace cultural diversity and not reject other cultures just because they are different.
Protesters clash with police in Shanghai amid a strict COVID lockdown. (Source: Weibo post, used by BBC)
Why you should read his book: The breadth of Haass’ book is demonstrated by the fact that most, if not all, of the topics covered in our newsletters are covered in the chapters of The World.
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For instance, in relation to our article on anti-Muslim hate in Korea, his chapter on migration points to the fear that immigrants may pose a “cultural challenge” if they “resist integrating into the society.”
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The Daehyun-dong residents’ protests reflect a similar closed-minded fear—that the Muslim immigrants are unwilling to let go of their culture, polluting the town’s Korean identity with something “unfamiliar” and different.
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