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Diversity Issues

 
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cfile2



Joined: 28 Jun 2010

PostPosted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 8:33 pm    Post subject: Diversity Issues Reply with quote

I said I would post it so I'm going to (albeit with some trepidation).

This another feature I wrote for Yonhap, this time addressing the issue of diversity in Korea - specifically where foreign residents are refused services. Ultimately it falls quite short of what I had in mind when I first set out to write this story. I originally wanted to talk to business owners about the reasons they exclude certain groups. I thought that with the help of my translator I'd be able to get a good discussion going.

Couldn't even get a call back. No business owners that held a policy of refusing services was willing to discuss the subject with me. Perhaps understandably as they probably feared it would damage business/reputation.

After conducting some interviews through a few organizations my next thought was the write the article specifically about Southeaster/Southwestern Asians living here and the problems they face. I had managed to get a hold of a few people and things were looking good. They told me their stories but only under the conditions that it would be off the record because they feared that their employers might find out and it would cause problems for them. So, while they helped to influence the direction of the final article, their stories could not be included.

So the two voices that I think really need to be heard from could not be included. The result is an article that I think has mostly been done before. I think the final product is a more balanced and accurate view of the picture than what I have read elsewhere, but ultimately it's not what I had imagined. I hope that people reading it understand the direction I was trying to shoot for. I had quite a few people read it over (both Koreans and Foreigners) and the general consensus was that it was a fair representation.

All that said, I'd like to also point out that the article is in no way meant to be a complaint or slam against Korea. Like it or not, issues of diversity exist here and they deserve to be put under a microscope. Though I'm sure some will read it as me taking an easy shot at the country, that's not what I was trying to accomplish.

I most likely won't respond to a ton of comments (and definitely won't respond to anything that is inflammatory), but if you have something constructive to add to the criticisms I've already made myself, go for it.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/n_feature/2011/12/21/62/4901000000AEN20111221007400315F.HTML
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bekinseki



Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 8:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Diversity Issues Reply with quote

cfile2 wrote:

Couldn't even get a call back. No business owners that held a policy of refusing services was willing to discuss the subject with me. Perhaps understandably as they probably feared it would damage business/reputation.


Does this surprise you at all?

About ten years ago when I was doing a story back home about nightclubs discriminating against Asians, I showed up at the club with Asians to observe and test it. If you had the time, it would've been a very good idea to try visiting some of these places.
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cfile2



Joined: 28 Jun 2010

PostPosted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 8:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Diversity Issues Reply with quote

bekinseki wrote:
cfile2 wrote:

Couldn't even get a call back. No business owners that held a policy of refusing services was willing to discuss the subject with me. Perhaps understandably as they probably feared it would damage business/reputation.


Does this surprise you at all?

About ten years ago when I was doing a story back home about nightclubs discriminating against Asians, I showed up at the club with Asians to observe and test it. If you had the time, it would've been a very good idea to try visiting some of these places.


Did you read the article?

I observed them. And I even got some to respond with just a simple "We don't allow foreigners". Those bits are included in the article.

What they wouldn't do was discuss it further.

And no it didn't surprise me.
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