Utterly inexcusable xenophobic propaganda on MBC

The first video at this Scroozle post is purported to be from MBC. It seems intended to scare people about relations with foreign residents and, given the wording used, seems to smear the whole lot of them with nasty allegations (HT to The Marmot).

I'll deal with this more when if I have some time (I haven't even been able to scrutinize the English captions vis-à-vis the original Korean, which is always prudent in cases like this, lest someone ramp up the translation to make it sound even more inflammatory), but for now I'll just say that this is the kind of thing that needs to be called out. Sure, there really are some nasty foreigners who come just to score jobs and girls, and they violate a cultural taboo when they talk about it more than when they do it, but MBC is taking a wide brush approach that is meant to smear.

I couldn't find a way to extract the video from the post, and that means I should probably also address Scroozle's second video, which is of an immigration official giving a PowerPoint-type information briefing to teachers on laws and regulations in very stilted English pronunciation. Scroozle is tying this video to the first because it's "about rising foreign crime rates and the need for HIV testing," which the English-teaching crowd has largely taken to be xenophobic and racist.

The slideshow included this language:

Drug use, child sex abuse, and other criminal activities (e.g., fake diploma) by some foreign teachers have been social issues in Korean society in recent years. [emphasis mine]

It is reasonable to expect that people working with children should be subject to criminal background checks. Ditto with people who are coming in to work in another country, if that country so chooses (local Korean nationals who have committed crimes are in the Korean national crime database, and criminal background checks from their respective countries brings it up to a similar level, though I agree this has been handled in a ham-handed way sometimes).

On the matter of HIV testing, though, I've stated over and over again that I don't agree with the "HIV mentality" of the anti-testing opponents. HIV testing should be a public health issue, but we're still stuck in a 1985 loop treating it as a human rights issue because of associations of AIDS with homosexuality at a time when gays were mostly in the closet. Never mind that 1 in 200 people in the US (which tests incoming Korean nationals for tuberculosis) is infected with HIV, a rate thirty times higher than in South Korea, and early detection prevents its spread and allows for crucial life-saving treatment. [I fixed this sentence after Schplook pointed out my error in the comments section.]

Ah, but I realize that I'm never going to convince much of the English-teaching crowd that mandatory HIV testing (which is done on a large scale among the native Korean population as well) is anything but racism and xenophobia, so my criticism that the MBC video should have stood alone would probably be roundly booed.

But I'll end this with Scroozle's valid points about the MBC video, because that's where the real outrage should be directed:

This type of BS is exceedingly hurtful. It creates an air of distrust between foreigners and Koreans. It attempts to shame Korean women into staying away from foreign men. It damages Korea’s international image.

The country is expected to host the 2018 winter Olympics, and yet programing such as this continues to be produced.

Valid points. I'd like to check out a link to this video on the MBC website both to see what viewers are saying. I'm sure there are lots of yahoos leaving, "Yeah! Stupid foreigners!" type stuff (and if you think that doesn't exist in the US, go look at the comments section in just about any online source talking about how one public school in New York City has decided to offer Arabic in its curriculum).

But if I'm reasonably certain a good chunk will, if this translation is correct, be knocking MBC for this xenophobic crap that runs counter to the 다문화주의 mood that is gripping the nation.

In the meantime, head to MBC's English-language contact page for a list of emails addresses. Most are related to sales and marketing (Korean wave!) but the "international relations" one might be useful for expressing a politely worded but stern email about your disappointment.

UPDATE:
Roboseyo has a very well reasoned post on this, where Msleetobe has posted contact information for the Korea Broadcasting Commission:

If anyone wishes to file a formal complaint, this is where it can be done: 방송통신위원회 (I believe it's the Korean Broadcast Commission) 02-750-1114 ...press 2 for English.

I think this a good idea. Calling gets them to sit up and take notice in a way that blogging in English does not. But be nice when you call. They didn't do it.

...

And another thing...

I'm very tired, but while walking back to the dorm from the parking structure, I had this epiphany. Bear with me, please, as I'm in an altered state brought on from intense grogginess.

Deep in the bowels of the ATEK lair, a conversation takes place.

ATEK Figure 1 gloatingly holds up a headline in the Korea Times: "Xenophobic Group Opposed to English Teachers Forced to Remove Offensive Content from Site." ATEK Figures 1 through 8 raise a glass and laugh with giddiness at their success.

As the laughter subsides, a mirthful ATEK Figure 2 asks, "Well, what's the next order of business in our plot to take down Lee Eun-ung and his gang of bores?"

ATEK Figure 3 was gleeful: "We must kick them while they're down. We must pursue them into nothingness. We must vanquish them for good."

[above: ATEK's secret lair is located beneath an island in the middle of the Han River.]

ATEK Figure 2 recalled that several people in the K-blogosphere had suggested that ATEK first get their nemesis designated as a hate group. He wondered aloud if that wasn't a bad place to start the next phase: "I wonder if it's not a bad idea to get our nemesis designated as a hate group as a start to the next phase."

ATEK Figures 5 through 8 mumbled into their glasses. Going to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea and getting AES designated as a hate group had been passionately proposed by a moderately prominent blogger who was thought by many to secretly be opposed not just to ATEK, but to all teachers of English, something to do with having been jilted by one before going into exile on a faraway isle. Indeed, he posted letters of mockery — or at least letters interpreted to be letters of mockery — ridiculing teachers or English and calling them whiney. Following his plan would be beneath them... and possibly even a trap.

But ATEK Figures 1 through 4 were convinced that this was a sound idea. They had thought of it even before the mocking blogger had expounded its merits.

ATEK Figure 4 held the power, and he decided that this is what they would do. Immediately, electronic mail, traditional mail, and electronic voice communications were sent out to the Commission. The ATEK figures waited with bated breath for a response from the Commission. They had hoped their request would be accepted and followed up, for their case was strong. Evidence of AES's xenophobic and even racist hate was as copious as it was obvious.

[above: AES's secret lair is located inside a Daewoo Matiz.]

But soon their hopes were dashed. As ATEK Figures 1 through 8 sat around the telephone, they heard a member of the Commission state what was wrong: "We don't see what hate and xenophobia you're talking about."

"What are you talking about?" barked ATEK Figure 5. "It's right there plain as day."

The Commission member clarified: "We see contact information, some newspaper links, but not much else. There's a graphic of kids practicing their ABCs on a chalkboard."

ATEK Figure 5 was furious. She had been against this move from the beginning, but she was now incensed that the Commission could not see the conspicuous evidence in front of them. "What about the stuff about stalking, claiming English teachers are diseased sex fiends, descriptions of our whole lot as drug-taking incompetents? Why don't you recognize that as hate speech?"

"Perhaps it is, Ms ATEK Figure 5," responded the Commission members. "But there is no such stuff on the site."

Almost like an epiphany, ATEK Figures 1 through 8 realized their folly: In forcing the xenophobic group opposed to English teachers to remove its offensive content from its site, ATEK had inadvertently eradicated the evidence they needed to prove their nemesis was in fact a hate group.

NSETs versus AES in the KT (Or, yankers of wankers)

The news is a few days old by now, but the much derided Korea Times staff reporter Kang Shin-who wrote a piece on the efforts by ATEK (Association for Teachers of English in Korea) and English lecturer Andrea Vandom to get popular Korean web portal Naver.com's parent company, NHN, to yank racist material from the Anti-English Spectrum website.

This move is not without controversy. For starters, the original title of the Popular Gusts post that announced this move said that ATEK wants Naver to "pull the plug on the Anti-English Spectrum." The Marmot may not have been alone in thinking that ATEK wanted Naver to remove the AES site:

Personally, I think Anti-English Spectrum are a bunch of wankers, and their stalking activities, if illegal, should be dealt with, but pressuring Naver to shut them down? I’m not sure if I like where this is going…

His interpretation was the same as mine (pulling the plug on something means preventing it from continuing), but ATEK insisted they only wanted to yank the offensive material, not turn the lights out on the entire AES site, and matt at Popular Gusts changed the title to something considerably less incendiary: "ATEK on Andrea Vandom's letter to NHN Corp."

Okay, then. I can respect that poor word choice should not scuttle what might otherwise be a noble effort. And by "noble effort," I certainly mean that my hat's off to ATEK and Andrea Vandom for, at the very least, actually putting word into action instead of just sitting behind a computer complaining in the comments section of someone's blog and moaning about AES being such racists.

But, respectfully, I don't agree with how they're going about this. Back in September, I suggested that a case be made against AES:

Clearly [AES founder Lee Eun-ung] has enough influence that he's a go-to guy for lazy journalists at the KT and CSI, and insofar as he is apparently running a hate group, that should be put to a stop.

Among the stuff that he acknowledges on his site, what would constitute a hate crime or hate speech? How about in his television appearances or quotes in the printed media?

It's time to make a case against AES to a group like the National Human Rights Commission. Taint them like Acorn, preferably by hoisting him on his own petard.

Others agreed, and I put out feelers with the NHRCK about this. The following is the body of an email I sent a day or so later:

I am writing to you because I have some questions about how to proceed about a certain issue that has become very troubling in recent months.

There is a group called Anti-English Spectrum that purports to get rid of "illegal English teachers" in Korea.

There are many in South Korea's English-speaking foreign community that are concerned about this group because it appears to be promoting hatred and spreading false information about English teachers and other foreigners living in Korea.

In particular, the group claims to track (stalk) foreigners trying to find information to use to get them deported (such as drug use, illegal teaching, etc.). It appears they may be stalking people who are innocent of these crimes as well. Whatever the situation, they are singling out their targets based on race. It also appears that their motivation is due to animosity toward Koreans and non-Koreans who engage in interracial dating.

What makes this group further dangerous is that many newspapers like the Chosun Ilbo and the Korea Times routinely quote them in stories about foreign criminals, even though their data may be inaccurate.

What I'm writing about now is to find out what can be done about this group. Is it possible to investigate them for violations of human rights or promoting hate crimes? Is it possible to file a petition against them?

I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Unfortunately, my several emails to the NHRCK contact email have not yet received a reply. If I were in Seoul, I would walk from my apartment to their offices in Ŭlchiro-1-ga, or at least give a call, but I'm a bit hamstrung being over here in Hawaii. [In a similar way, it has been difficult tracking down some of the HIV testing- and treatment-related information I need; emails get ignored much more readily than in-person visits or phone calls.]

At any rate, and this is the primary reason for this post, I think ATEK is going about this the wrong way and I think they should consider getting AES listed as a hate group or some such before they pursue other channels. As I wrote at Brian's:

Interested groups should go first to the human rights commission and have them investigate the group, and push the case there that AES is a hate group.

From there, dealing with AES vis-à-vis Naver would be an easier task and one that would be taken more seriously because it would carry more weight.

Ben Wagner, one of those spearheading ATEK-related causes these past months, told me I am free to file a complaint on my own:

You can file a complaint Kushibo. The NHRCK takes 3rd party complaints. Please do and post about it.

I have publicly voiced criticisms of ATEK actions in the past, and I detected in Ben Wagner's remark that he felt that I was taking more potshots than action, which is why I responded with the letter I had sent in order to pursue the very course of action I was recommending for ATEK.

While I could very well be wrong about my above assessment of Ben Wagner's tone, he was good enough (maybe because he was surprised that I had actually been taking this seriously as an issue) to point me, as I'd requested of him, toward someone to contact directly. That is something I shall do tomorrow.

But me doing that does not address the issue at hand: Is it a good idea for ATEK to be pursuing AES in this manner? Frankly, I think they are going through the wrong avenues in the wrong order, and perhaps even overstepping their bounds.

The overstepping their bounds part is where they are trying to enlist the aid of Korea-born mayor of the Orange County community of Irvine, California, where NHN's American offices are located, in their cause. As a former resident of Irvine and one involved in Korean-American issues, I find this quite troubling. Asian-American politics are a sticky business, and it is often detrimental to AA politicians to be seen as getting sucked into political positions based favoring or oriented toward one's "motherland." Seriously, would Irvine mayor Kang Suk-hee be dragged into this if he weren't Korean-American?

For that matter, why are NHN's American offices being dragged into this? NHN's original founders may both be in the US, but AES is not operating out of the United States, are they? The regulations ATEK is attempting to use in order to remove the offensive material are Korean regulations, aren't they? This is about playing the national shame card, and it has a huge potential to blow up in ATEK's faces.

One major problem with this approach is that even if it succeeds, the success will be short-lived. AES can remove some materials, but those could easily be replaced merely by toned-down materials that don't violate any regulations, even if the spirit of the group remains. Moreover, if the effort fails, it makes other action harder and makes ATEK radioactive.

ATEK is not playing the hand they've been given: AES is a hate group, and it should be outed as such publicly — via the NHRCK — so that its credibility will be shot to hell. It is not the site that does so much damage, if all the K-blog reports on AES are to be believed, but their connections with the media and the legislature. They must be discredited! Taking it to the NHRCK is the best course of action right now.

Sh¡t, I would seriously go over to the NHRCK offices right now if I were in Seoul, but I'm not. I'm not an English teacher, my visa is not an E2, and currently I'm outside of the country. I am not the one to go and spearhead this. I'm happy to lend my support in the ways I can, but it has to be someone who is there.

Seoul office of NHRCK (02-2125-9718 or 02-1331):

Pusan office (051-710-9716):

[Maps and contact information for offices in Kwangju and Taegu are available here.]

And maybe it doesn't have to be an NSET. If AES is really promoting hatred of foreigners, it is more than just teachers who should be concerned. Come on, people follow the links to the emails and do something. Or do as Ben Wagner suggested and write a letter. Here's the brick-and-mortar address of NHRCK in Seoul:

Gumsegi Building

#16 Ulchiro-1-ga

Chung-gu, Seoul 100-842

If I do not receive a response by the middle of this week, I will be doing the same. I am adamant that this is the best first step for any action against AES. In the absence of AES being designated as a hate group or receiving some other official scarlet H, the attempt to remove content posted on their site takes on an entirely different meaning, one that is not lost on Koreans or Americans. Asking Naver to take down regulations-violating material by an organization listed as a hate group has the air of proper procedure, whereas, in the absence of such a designation, it looks just like one group is just trying to silence a group they don't like.

Such a designation would also leave AES with less power to retaliate, since that scarlet H would follow them around as they go to the press, the legislature, or to other groups. Think how easy it would be for ATEK or anybody else to simply discredit whatever came out of the AES founder's mouth if they just say, "Mr Lee and his organization have been designated a hate group."

In the absence of such a designation, it's simply a matter of his group's opinion versus ATEK's opinion, and most spectators don't have the time to read through every ATEK press release or Popular Gusts post to find out who's right.

So it is my hope that ATEK will quickly table (as in shelve) this matter for the time being and pursue instead getting AES designated as a hate group. This is prudent, it follows official channels, it makes it harder for AES to retaliate, and it is a simpler result for people unfamiliar with this issue to get their heads around.

And this is not even getting into the issue of free speech. I'm not the only one who has raised the question of who in particular has been harmed by AES's material. It's a hard case to prove that people have been harmed in such a way that this group's right to free speech should be taken away. Without this organization being designated as a hate group, it can easily be seen as a case of blocking things you simply don't want to hear.

And where would that end? The Korea Times comments section and Dave's ESL Café are full of comments just as racist and derogatory as AES, if not worse. The Orange County Register comments section, I've mentioned from time to time, is full of some of the vilest things you'll ever read about Hispanics (and occasionally Blacks and Asians). Do all these get shut down? Why AES and not other sites?

As a teenager, I recall when Beatles' songs such as Revolution or Sting's Russians were censored out of Culture Ministry-approved albums in South Korea. Others not much older than me recall when people were arrested, beaten, and/or tortured for saying the wrong thing. Consequently, a lot of people are squeamish about snuffing out someone's right to say something — even something nasty.

In other words, without the hate group designation, you're fighting a battle that is infused with meaning you don't intend.

That said, if ATEK insists on going ahead with this ill-advised scheme, it is my fervent hope that they succeed. A loss would be worse than a win, even if it's a better idea to have played a different game in the first place.