Instead, ethnic pride, or pride in general, can be considered a source of self-respect and dignity. Ethnocentrism and racism, on the other hand, refer to discriminating against people because of their ethnicity and believing in the superiority of one ethnic group over another ethnic group.
For some individuals and cultures, having a high degree of ethnic pride is discouraged, and acculturation and assimilation are instead emphasized. However, ethnic pride and acculturation or assimilation are not mutually exclusive concepts. The theory was used to justify colonialist policies to replace Korean cultural traditions with Japanese ones in order to supposedly get rid of all distinctions and achieve equality between Koreans and inlanders.
Colonial assimilation policy included changing Korean names into Japanese, exclusive use of Japanese language, school instruction in the Japanese ethical system, and Shinto worship. Koreans resisted by asserting their unique and great national heritage. Yi Kwang-su, a key figure during colonial rule, claimed that "hyeoltong" bloodline , "seonggyeok" personality , and "munhwa" culture are three fundamental elements of a nation and that "Koreans are without a doubt a unitary nation danil han minjok in blood and culture.
Japanese rule did not erase Koreans' national consciousness but rather reinforced their claim to a truly distinct and homogeneous ethnic identity. After independence in , and despite peninsular division into North and South, the unity of the Korean ethnic nation or race was largely taken for granted.
Neither side disputed the ethnic homogeneity of the Korean nation, spanning thousands of years, based on a single bloodline of the great Han race. Instead, both sides contested for the sole representation of the ethnically homogeneous Korean nation. Even today, Koreans maintain a strong sense of ethnic homogeneity based on shared blood and ancestry, and nationalism continues to function as a key resource in Korean politics and foreign relations.
Ethnic national identity has been a crucial source of pride and inspiration for people during the turbulent years of Korea's transition to modernity that involved colonialism, territorial division, war, and authoritarian politics. It has also enhanced collective consciousness and internal solidarity against external threats and has served Korea's modernization project as an effective resource.
At the same time, such a blood-based ethnic national identity became a totalitarian force in politics, culture, and society. It came to override other competing identities and led to the poverty of modern thought, including liberalism, conservatism, and radicalism.
It has hindered cultural and social diversity and tolerance in Korean society. Ethnic nationalism will remain an important organizing principle of Korean society. We cannot ignore ethnic national identity or treat it as a mere myth or fantasy.
But neither can we remain simply content with its current role. Instead, it should be recognized that ethnic nationalism has become a considerable force in Korean society and politics and that it can be dangerous and oppressive when fused with racism and other essentialist ideologies. Koreans must thus strive to find ways to use ethnic nationalism constructively and mitigate its potential harmful effects.
Koreans must thus strive to find ways to use ethnic nationalism constructively and mitigate its potential harmful effects. In particular, Koreans must seriously consider the establishment of a democratic institution that can contain the repressive, essentialist elements of nationalism.
The principle of bloodline or "jus sanguinis" still defines the notion of Korean nationhood and citizenship, which are often inseparable in the mind of Koreans. In its formative years Koreans developed the ethnic base of nation without a corresponding attention to the political notion of citizenship. After colonial rule, neither state paid adequate attention or made any serious effort to develop a more inclusive notion of citizenship. Social institutions that can address issues of discrimination against ethnic non-Koreans for example, ethnic Chinese known as "hwagyo" in Korea have been largely overlooked.
The Korean nationality law is still based on jus sanguinis and legitimizes, consciously or unconsciously, ethnic discrimination against foreign migrant workers. In this context, most Koreans have stronger attachment to "ethnic Koreans living in foreign countries" than to "ethnic non-Koreans living in Korea. This is true even if the Indonesian worker might be more culturally and linguistically Korean than a Korean-American. Korea needs to institutionalize a legal system that mitigates unfair practices and discrimination against those who do not supposedly share the Korean blood.
Koreans need an institutional framework to promote a democratic national identity that would allow for more diversity and tolerance among the populace, rather than simply appeal to an ethnic consciousness that tends to encourage false uniformity and enforce conformity to it.
They should envision a society in which they can live together, not simply as fellow ethnic Koreans but as equal citizens of a democratic polity. It should be an integral part of democratic consolidation processes that Korea is currently undergoing. Discussion of unification is premature and can even be considered dangerous if unification occurs without such change.
As the German unification experience shows, a shared ethnic identity alone will not be able to prevent North Koreans from becoming "second-class citizens" in a unified Korea.
Even worse, because of higher expectations resulting from a shared sense of ethnic unity, a gap between identity ethnic homogeneity and practice second-class citizens will add more confusion and tension to the unification process. Thus, it will be a major challenge for Koreans to develop democratic institutions that can treat people living in Korea as equal citizens of a democratic polity.
This task will be all the more important and urgent as Korea becomes more democratic, globalizes, and also prepares for national unification.
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