Racism in Jeongmi

Racism and ethnic discrimination in Jeongmi has been an increasingly major and widely studied issue since the major social protest movements of the 1950s and the relaxation of immigration laws in Jeongmi during the 1980s.

South Ujuns
South Ujuns are stereotyped as intelligent and hard-working, but also as socially inept, asexual, and effeminate. South Ujuns are often emasculated in Jeongmian media.

Nochtlicans
Nochtlicans were among the first non-Sinjun groups to arrive in large numbers in Jeongmi and have experienced racism since their earliest arrival. During the Eulhae War, many over a hundred thousand Nochtlicans were imported to work in Jeongmian factories. Following the end of the war, many were deported, even as the Nochtlican Revolution was going on. During and after the Nochtlican Revolution, there was heavy suspicion of Nochtlican-Jeongmians and many were tracked down by the Central Intelligence Bureau for potential communist activities.

In recent years a new stereotype has emerged of Nochtlicans as very wealthy but uncultured.

White people
White people in Jeongmi are often stereotyped as having very large noses, round eyes, and curly hair as well as being hairy. They are also stereotyped as eating lots of cheese, which is seen as unusual, ethnic, and low-class in Jeongmi. White women are often stereotyped as having hairy arms, legs, and armpits. Curly and/or colorful hair is often seen as distracting in the workplace, resulting in many white Jeongmians being required to dye their hair and to have their hair straightened.

There have been attacks on white people not only on the basis of their assumed religion,, but also on their appearance. Many West Yojuns have been attacked on the basis of their assumed ethnicity as Gungjuns. Popular video games, shows, and movies often feature radicalized Gungjun terrorists as enemies, which has been criticized by various civil rights groups.

In recent years, many white people have complained of being disproportionally stopped by airport security, and many white Jeongmians are often told that they are forbidden to fly in Jeongmi for security reasons. White Jeongmians have also faced discrimination in the Jeongmian military. In 2011, Aendeoseon Hennik sued for mistreatment during basic training. During training, he was ordered to put on a balaclava and play the part of a Christian terrorist. Fellow soldiers were required to try to take him down and draw their guns on him, with numerous slurs being hurled toward him. One of the soldiers threw him violently to the ground, resulting in Andeoseon's hospitalization.

Sinjun people
Claims of racism against Sinjuns have been brought forward by various far-right parties since 1958, and more recently from the general right. The Reform Party has often been the most vocal political party complaining of anti-Sinjun racism. In 2012, Conservative presidential candidate Hong Dae-su denounced "growing racism against Sinjun people and political correctness." Many Jeongmians and other Sinju-Jeongmians complain that ethnic minorities are advantaged through affirmative action programs for university admissions, scholarships, and work.

In a 2015 poll by the Gonggwang Research Center, it was found that 57% of Sinju-Jeongmians believe anti-Sinjun racism was the most severe type of racism present in Jeongmi today, compared to 14% of non-Sinju-Jeongmians.

Racism against non-Jeongmian Sinjuns
Prior to 1955, non-Jeongmian Sinjuns were to required to use non-Jeongmian readings for the characters which made up their names.

Akitsukunese
Significant discrimination existed against Akitsukunese during the Eulhae War. Akitsukunese are often stereotyped as poor and violent.

Meisaanis
Following the 1212 Jeongmian conquest of Meisaan, Meisaanis were prohibited from occupying many of the high offices of the Imperial Government.

Societal
The issues of ethnic minorities are often largely ignored by a considerable portion of the population, who will claim that ethnic minorities are immigrants are equal in Jeongmian society, and that discrimination is something that merely existed in the past. Most people feel uncomfortable when the subject of immigrants, race, or ethnic minorities is brought up or suggested, especially when it is suggested that they are disadvantaged in society.

Marriages and relationships
Ethnic minorities are often seen as largely unfit to be romantic interests and/or sexual partners, as well as uglier than Jeongmians. Attractive ethnic/racial minorities and immigrants may receive the comment that they "are so attractive," they "could almost pass as Jeongmian," or be asked if they are "half-Jeongmian." On the other extreme, people may fetishize their race/nationality/etc. and be interested in them only due to their race/nationality/etc., with no real interest in the actual person.

Interpersonal discrimination
Interpersonal discrimination is defined by its subtlety. Unlike formal discrimination, interpersonal discrimination is often not an overt or deliberate act of racism. For example, in an incident regarding a racial remark from a professor at Yeongju Law, a rift was created by conflicting definitions of racism. For the students that defended the professor's innocence, "racism was defined as an act of intentional maliciousness." Yet for ethnic minorities, racism was broadened to a detrimental influence on "the substantive dynamics of the classroom". As an effect, it is argued that the "daily repetition of subtle racism and subordination in the classroom and on campus can ultimately be, for ethnic minorities, more productive of stress, anxiety and alienation than even blatant racists acts." Moreover, the attention to these acts of discrimination diverts energy from academics, becoming a distraction that ethnic Jeongmian students do not generally face.

Minority-minority racism
Members of racial and ethnic minorities will often buy into stereotypes of other racial and ethnic minorities through exposure to much of Jeongmian culture and media. In 2006, riots broke out in Yongin due to tensions between the South Ujun and Gungjun communities present in the city.

Institutional
Aspects of the structure, pervasive attitudes, and established institutions of society disadvantage some racial groups, although not by an overtly discriminatory mechanism. There are several factors that play into institutional racism, including but not limited to: accumulated wealth/benefits from racial groups that have benefited from past discrimination, educational and occupational disadvantages faced by non-native Jeongmian speakers in Jeongmi, ingrained stereotypical images that still remain in the society.