Understanding Racism in Korea Through Sunday Academy (일요학원) Exhibit


I have a lot of horror stories when it comes to racism in Korea. As I find it deemed controversial and at the same time complicated, I rather choose not to speak about my experiences as one blog post could not handle it. I guess Korea is not yet ready to become fully diverse when it comes to culture. 

As a foreigner living in Korea, all I can do is to understand their culture. I am not sure where they are coming from that but I guess it's them being so much loyal to their country that they tend to close their doors to make friends with the foreigners, let alone sit beside them in the subway. For me, Koreans are not aware sometimes that they are racists. I mean, it just comes out naturally which is of course a bad thing. Of course this is just me speaking out my mind in a stereotypical mode of thinking. Not all Koreans are racists, this is just one of my prejudices about Korea.

To have a better understanding about racism in Korea, there's an upcoming event in Seoul where foreigners can openly discuss about this topic. This is an educational language exhbition called Sunday Academy 일요학원.

Here is the press release of the event.

Sunday Academy 일요학원

Minyung Im Solo Show
October 18 - 27, 2015
Mon - Sun, 11am - 7pm
Opening Performance : Free Korean language lesson “How to talk to Korean”
October 18, 4pm

Space Aka (스페이스 악어)
258-11, Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea
02-766-2555

Sponsored by Seoul foundation for arts and culture




Sunday Academy is a language educational exhibition and performance which attempts to reveal the racism directed towards immigrants in South Korea. The exhibition will be in Hyehwa-dong where the Philippine market is held every Sunday in Seoul. There will be lecture performances on “How to talk to South Koreans” on 18th of October, 2015.

One DVD video will be screened. It is an educational video shown to migrants working in South Korea. It claims to show the events of their daily lives. It reveals a situation where racism has been internalized so deeply that it is very difficult to talk about.

As immigration becomes more common, racism becomes better hidden. Usually it can be found within seemingly innocent conversations, which is why the project deals with language education. All migrant workers in South Korea have experienced discrimination from South Koreans but it is not something they are allowed to talk about. Sunday Academy aims to be a pressure-free opportunity for this issue to be openly discussed.

This project is opposed to the violence of making aliens, and asks why we do.

■Minyung Im


How to talk to Korean, 15’ 16’’, DVD, Performance, 2015

‘How to talk to Korean’ is an educational video shown to migrants working in South Korea. It claims to show the events of their daily lives like in the restaurant, company, and hospital. It reveals situations where racism has been internalized so deeply that it is very difficult to talk about.

How to get there:




If you are free on October 18 and you wish to know more about this issue, feel free to RSVP on their Facebook Event Page. CLICK THIS LINK and JOIN.

See you there!!!!

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