On June 26, 2008, ARENA hosted a seminar on “Whiteness, Race, and Migration.” Activists, scholars, and members of the general public attended the afternoon event to discuss the implication of “race” and “whiteness” within migrant struggles in South Korea.
The first presentation was made by Haewoo Yang from Human Rights Solidarity for Women Migrants in Korea. Her presentation, “The Implication of Race within the Migrant Movement in Korea,”
highlighted her experiences working in solidarity with migrant workers, as well as her personal thoughts on “race” within a “nationalist Korea.”
Alex Jong Seok Lee, a Programme Officer from ARENA, discussed his perspectives on “racial ideologies” that exist within public spaces in South Korea. In his presentation, “Visible but Invisible: Whiteness, Race, and Migrants in South Korea,” he argued the need to expand the paradigm of the “migrant debate” in South Korea to include white English-teaching foreigners.
Afterwards, presenters and audience participated in an open forum discussion.
ARENA Programme Officer Toshiko Tsujimoto chaired the seminer
, while ARENA Programme Officer Jiyoung LeeAn provided translation.
