Multicultural Politics: Non-Ethnic Korean Citizens’ Participation In Korean Politics

Korea is one of the most ethnically homogenous countries in the world with over 95% of its population being ethnic Korean. However, the number of foreign residents in Korea has seen a nearly 4,000% increase in the past three decades and reached 2.2 million in 2022, taking up nearly 5% of the total population. Some of them have even become naturalized Korean citizens. Between 1948 and 2018, nearly 190,000 foreign nationals became naturalized Korean citizens with voting rights, and the total number of naturalized citizens has reached 223,825 in 2024. 

As the number of foreign residents in Korea increases, more non-ethnic Korean citizens are participating in various aspects of Korean politics such as joining political parties, serving as National Assembly members, and even holding government positions. How are non-ethnic Korean citizens participating in Korean politics, and what are some challenges they are facing? Read on to find out the answers!

 

History Of Non-Ethnic Koreans’ Political Participation In Korea

The history of non-ethnic Koreans participating in Korean politics can be traced back to the late Joseon Dynasty. The first non-ethnic Korean civil servant in Korea is German linguist and diplomat Mok InDok (Paul Georg von Möllendorff). He served as a government advisor to King GoJong from 1882 to 1885 and played a key role in Joseon’s foreign affairs policies. However, there is no official record indicating that he formally acquired Korean citizenship as the concept of naturalized citizenship was not well-established back then. 

In the 20th century, non-ethnic Koreans continued to support the political development of Korea. For example, they sought diplomatic support from overseas countries during the March First Movement in 1919 by promoting the idea that Korea is an independent country. During the pro-democracy protests in the 1970s and 80s, many foreign missionaries provided shelter and protection to the protestors. However, none of them held significant positions in the government and political sphere in Korea. 

Following former President Kim DaeJung’s globalization policy in the late 1990s of transforming Korea into a more open and inclusive society, the idea of multiculturalism started to emerge in Korean society starting in the 21st century. Since then, there has been an increasing number of non-ethnic Korean citizens participating in elections and taking up major roles in Korean politics. The following section shows a few examples.

 

Non-Ethnic Korean Politicians In The 21st Century 

1. Lee Charm (Bernhard Quandt)

Lee Charm is a German-born actor and entrepreneur who first came to Korea for missionary activities in the 1970s and later became a naturalized Korean citizen in 1986. He served as a member of the “Visit Korea Year Promotion Committee” during Kim DaeJung’s office to formulate Korean tourism strategies. In 2009, Lee was appointed as the CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), which made him the first naturalized Korean citizen to hold this position and the second non-ethnic Korean to be appointed as a high-ranking government position following Mok InDok. An interesting fact about him is that he played the role of Mok InDok in the drama “Empress Myeongseong” in 2002, who shared a similar background and experience as him. 

 

2. Lee Jasmine (Jasmine Bacurnay Lee) 

Lee Jasmine is a Filipino-born television personality, actress and lawmaker. She married a Korean mariner in 1995 and became a naturalized Korean citizen in 1998. In 2012, she was elected as a proportional representative in the 19th National Assembly under the then-ruling Saenuri Party, making her the first non-ethnic Korean and naturalized Korean citizen lawmaker. Lee later joined the Justice Party in 2019 and was elected to Parliament again in 2024 to take over the seat of her fellow party member in the 21st National Assembly. This made her become the first lawmaker to switch from a conservative to a progressive party and be re-elected in Korean history. 

3. Ihn YoHan (John Alderman Linton) 

Ihn YoHan is an American and Korean physician and politician. His great-grandfather first came to Korea as a missionary in 1895, and he was born and raised in Jeolla province. When the Gwangju Uprising broke out in 1980, Ihn was a first-year medical student at Yonsei University. He went from Seoul to Gwangju and worked as a translator for foreign reporters during the Uprising. Ihn later returned to school and became the youngest director of Yonsei University’s International Health Care Center in 1991. 

Aside from working in the medical field, Ihn also actively participates in Korean politics. In 2012, he served as vice chairman of then-president-elect Park GeunHye‘s transition committee. Ihn was later appointed as an Innovation Chairman of the ruling People Power Party in 2023 and is currently serving as a member of the Korean National Assembly. 

 

Efforts Made By Non-Ethnic Korean Politicians

Non-ethnic Korean politicians have been contributing to the development of Korea in different ways by utilizing their multicultural background and expertise. 

First, non-ethnic Korean politicians serve as a bridge that connects Korea with the world. Being fluent in multiple languages, as the deputy foreign minister, Mok InDok played a major role in negotiating treaties with Western countries such as Britain, France, and Germany, which promoted trade and diplomatic ties between Joseon and these countries. He also established the Korean Customs Service and introduced a modern customs service system from the West to Joseon and ensured that customs revenue became a reliable source of income for the Joseon government. All these efforts promoted the societal and economic development of Korea. 

Second, non-ethnic Korean politicians also elevate the international status of Korea by bringing new perspectives to the Korean government. Lee Charm made use of his background as a Korean with European heritage and initiated new tourism strategies during his tenure as the CEO at the KTO. He prioritized the development of multilingual resources such as tourist guides, websites, and mobile apps in multiple languages, and set up tourist information centers with staff who could speak multiple languages to better serve international tourists. Lee also actively promoted palace tours in Korea to showcase the modest beauty of Korean palaces that are different from European palaces and cathedrals. He expanded night tours of palaces and arranged special events accompanying the tours such as traditional music performances, tea ceremonies, and guided storytelling tours to immerse visitors in Korea’s royal history. Lee’s initiatives contributed to a significant increase in international tourist arrivals and heightened global awareness of Korea as a vibrant and diverse travel destination.

Third, non-ethnic Korean politicians help transform Korea into a more inclusive society by bringing the voices of foreign residents in Korea to the forefront of Korean politics and public discourse. As a marriage immigrant, Lee Jasmine played a significant role in advocating for the rights and welfare of foreign residents in South Korea. During her tenure as a National Assembly representative, she actively pushed forward the establishment of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law that aims to protect individuals from all forms of discrimination, and advocated for better enforcement of labor laws and policies to ensure that foreign workers were treated fairly and had access to legal recourse when needed. All these efforts raise awareness of the need to combat systemic discrimination against foreign residents and protect the rights of migrant workers, which increase the visibility of immigrants and promote multiculturalism in Korea. Here is Lee Jasmine promoting the anti-discrimination law on KBS World English radio show: 

 

Discrimination Of Non-Ethnic Korean Politicians 

Despite contributing to the development of Korean society, Korean politicians with foreign ethnicity still face racial discrimination. When Lee Charm was appointed as the CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization, some Korean media outlets described him as “foreigner” even though his nationality is Korean. Public discussions about him were also focused on his foreign background instead of his expertise in tourism. 

Ihn YoHan also faced racial discrimination from his fellow party member Lee JunSeok. In November 2023, Ihn traveled to Busan to meet Lee JunSeok in the hopes of patching up the internal feuds in the party after being repeatedly denied a meeting with him. However, Lee gave him a cold response in return by addressing him by his American name “Mr. Linton” and saying “You became one of us, but you don’t look like one of us.” in English. Ihn later confessed on a radio show that he was “very disappointed” by Lee’s disrespectful attitude, and that “It was hard being treated as a foreigner.” 

 

All these examples show that despite being naturalized Korean citizens or even born and raised in Korea, non-ethnic Korean citizens are still not considered as “full Koreans” by the Korean society. This deep-rooted racial discrimination makes the political participation of Koreans with foreign ethnicity remain largely inactive. Other than Ihn YoHan’s People Future Party (a satellite party of the People Power Party), none of the political parties include non-ethnic Korean politicians on the proportional representation candidate list on the 22nd National Assembly, and only the Green Justice Party (a coalition party formed by the Green Party and the Justice Party) has made specific pledges related to immigrants. Korea still has a long way to go to achieve “multicultural politics” where the voices of foreign residents and naturalized citizens can be adequately represented.  

 

Moving Towards “Multicultural Politics” 

While non-ethnic Koreans still face deep-rooted racial discrimination working in the political realm in Korea, the situation is moving towards a positive direction. As the number of foreign nationals living in Korea continues to increase, Koreans have become more open towards foreigners and willing to recognize them to be a part of the Korean society. 

According to the Korea Social Integration Survey conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration in 2023, nearly half of respondents accepted foreign nationals as members of the country, which is 1.5 times more than those who do not. The World Values Survey also revealed that the percentage of Koreans unwilling to have immigrants or foreign workers as neighbors decreased from 44.2% in 2010-2014 to 22% in 2017-2020. These statistics serve as a good sign showing that non-ethnic Koreans are increasingly accepted as a part of Korean society, and with the continuous efforts of naturalized politicians like Jasmine Lee in advocating immigrant rights and multicultural policies, it is likely that non-ethnic Koreans will have more political representation in Korea in the future. 

 

In conclusion, non-ethnic Koreans have been participating in Korean politics since the Joseon Dynasty, and with the continuous increase in the number of immigrants in Korea and the emergence of multicultural initiatives from the Korean government, naturalized Koreans started to take an increasingly active role in political activities since the 21st century. However, due to the monoethnic nature of Korea, naturalized Koreans face deep-rooted racial discrimination, which makes their representation in the political realm remain low until today. But with the increasing number of naturalized citizens and politicians, Korea is gradually moving towards the direction of multicultural politics and, hopefully, Korea will become more open to non-ethnic Koreans participating in politics in the future. 

What do you think about the future of multicultural politics in Korea, and how is the situation in Korea similar to or different from your country? Let us know in the comments!