Korean Job Discussion Forums

[LuckyNomad]

So when did the attitudes change? I can't go anywhere without every person who walks by saying how cute my baby is(he pulled to the western side so he's got all the facial features everyone here wants).
Other women are always telling my wife how lucky she is that she'll never pay for english lessons and how our son has american and korean citizenship. (two things that people here go through hell to give their children.)

And yet this goes directly against the prevailing myth and preference for racial purity in korea.
Many people are against interracial marriage and dating here but they love seeing my kid(I think this is the case with many on this forum), and half western half koreans are quite prevelent on TV and in the movies.

So anyway. When did this phenomenon of fascination with half westerners come about? For those of you with half korean kids, was there a time when you felt they were kinda shunned or looked down upon?

[teretere]

Ever since half-Korean models and television stars become all the range (like 7-8 years ago).

By the way, this is an Asia-wide thing now, at least in the fashion industry. Eurasian are highly sought after.

[jvalmer]

Koreans are open to mixed-marriages, if it doesn't involve their family.

[misher]

I'm assuming that you are of northern European descent and you posted with the wrong assumption that white = western correct? Based on what I've seen and been told, mixed kids will not get the same positive attention if your ancestry is African. Indian, Latin Mestizo etc.

[Gaber]

The people coo-ing over your baby weren't necessarily ever the same ones blathering about racial purity.

[oldfatfarang]

No big deal. You see Asians cooing all over Eurasian kids in Thailand, too. They like the big eyes, whiter face etc. But I have to say that Thailand is a far more open society in many respects - especially mixed marriages.

I suspect that many of the Koreans cooing over your kids wouldn't necessarily be that excited if their daughter married a waegook.

Personally, I think Eurasian kids are beautiful, but then so are many full blood Asian kids. Perhaps its the finer features????????????

[morakanokbs]

They just like little babies. No need to expand to phenomonem and all that nonsense... you all think too much.

[ldh2222]

Koreans act very strange when it comes to Westerners.

[PatrickBateman]

[Kaypea]

[verloc]

[flakfizer]

[teretere]

[Tundra_Creature]

Many peoples minds tend to change when the actually see the babies and realize they're not Quasimoto-esque figures trying to eat the other children. A baby is cute, regardless of what race it is.

My mom told me that when she was young, my grandpa wanted her to marry a nice, white French-Canadian guy. Needless to say, he had quite the shock when she brought home a guy from a black guy from Africa. Of course, once my sister and I came around, boy, did his opinion change. I only have fond memories of him and how much he used to play with me. He was pretty much a big kid himself.

Of course, as other people have said here, there are also others who are open to OTHER people having interracial relationships and children. Not their own kids (sounds like this is common in Korea).

I know when I used to visit my friends' places back in the 'homeland', they were very kind to me and all that, but they certainly wouldn't want their daughters having children with anyone who wasn't white and male. I know another friend who's of Vietnamese heritage who wasn't so picky about their background as she was about if they were brought up in the 'west' or not (I.E Chinese Canadian is okay. A guy straight from China is a big no-no.).

To when this whole facination with westerner/Korean kids came about in Korea... my assumption is like others; when they started appearing more on television and in music.

[tiger fancini]