Panel: MATERIAL REALITIES OF RACE, CLASS, GENDER AND RELIGION. QUESTIONING THE PRODUCTION OF INEQUALITY AND INJUSTICE



50.4 - ZUR JOSEONJOK-FRAGE: A POLITICAL-THEOLOGICAL ESSAY ON APORO-XENOPHOBIA IN SOUTH KOREA

AUTHORS:
An T. (Vanderbilt University ~ Nashville ~ United States of America)
Text:
This paper develops a political-theological analysis of race, class, and transnational mobilities by examining how Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans with Chinese citizenship) are a "question" in contemporary South Korea. To elaborate on the nature of this "question" as it pertains to an ethnic group, it begins by situating two historical texts as analytical points of reference: Karl Marx's account of the material constraints on freedom in Zur Judenfrage and Jean-Paul Sartre's etiology of antisemitism in Reflexions sur la question juive. It then examines the transition in Korean perceptions of Korean Chinese migrant workers (from dongpo to a distinct jok) by highlighting popular media representations from the 2000s and 2010s. The paper contends that this shift emerged from emphasis on their "Chinese" identity, portraying them as violent, brutal, and immoral. It further explores the socioeconomic realities of class and labor dynamics that are often obscured by the racialized dimension of prejudice and hatred. The paper coins the term aporo-xenophobia to conceptualize "the Joseonjok question" as one of its manifestations. It argues that the prevalent employment of Korean Chinese migrant workers in manual labor reinforces hierarchical racial differentiation between "real" Koreans and Korean Chinese workers. In response, the paper seeks to articulate how theological reasoning might contribute to secular politics by offering a framework for reimagining shared life and renewed social relationships. Drawing on Luke Bretherton and Jörg Rieger, it contends that a Christian theological imagination of the "tent" (in lieu of "temple" or "house") and of "deep solidarity" provides a way to envision a shared space beyond secular toleration. Christian hospitality and deep solidarity illuminate the marginalized situation of Korean Chinese migrant workers and point beyond a secular conception of toleration that merely seeks to preserve existing ways of life for the tolerant and the tolerated.