The Impact of Ethnic Nationalism and Nouveau-Riche Nationalism on Foreign Wives’ Citizenship in South Korea

Abstract

Foreign wives have been at the center of Korean multicultural policies since South Korea (hereafter “Korea”) adopted its “Grand Plan.” This plan consists of policies and programs aimed to quickly integrate foreign wives into Korean society. As a result, their legal treatment has been relatively favorable; however, some have claimed to be mistreated socially and culturally. While a variety of reasons behind such mistreatment might be highlighted, this study focuses on Korean identity and related nationalism. The study finds that Korean identity has been mainly ethnic, and as such, it is responsible for excluding foreign wives from the sense of belonging to the same nationhood. Furthermore, ethnic nationalism has affected the social context in Korea and the emergence of nouveau-riche nationalism from the 1990s onwards. Nouveau-riche nationalism has its roots in ethnic nationalism, and it asserts a belief in Korean cultural superiority over other nations, especially less developed ones. Therefore, nouveau-riche nationalism is responsible for evaluating others based on skin color and country of origin, signifying that fairer skin is associated with the Western and more developed world, while darker skin color is associated with poorer, less developed nations. As the majority of foreign wives in Korea come from less-developed Asian countries, and particularly South East Asia, they are often discriminated against because of their darker skin color and country of origin. The study found that this prevents their full integration into society and undermines the assimilation goals set by the Korean government. The study thus stresses the importance of education and raising awareness of human rights and equality to create a fairer, more inclusive multicultural society.