The Barbarian Within: Images of Joseonjok in the Yellow Sea

Abstract

This paper will explore the portrayals of ethnically Korean Chinese, Joseonjok, in the film, The Yellow Sea (2010). Although they are often viewed simply as "Chinese who speak Korean,” the reality of Joseonjok's relationship to South Korea is far more complicated. By analyzing popular Korean media portrayals, it becomes apparent that Joseonjok are often framed within a discourse of "problematization”: in The Yellow Sea (2010), they appear as barbaric criminals and illegal immigrants. This problematization discourse reinforces Joseonjok's exclusion from Korea's multicultural policies that are meant to foster more ethnic diversity within the historically homogeneous nation. Unlike non-Korean ethnic minority groups, the Joseonjok's ethnic and lingual proximity has also impelled Koreans to subject them to processes of Othering through problematization. However, even as Joseonjok are not counted within this multicultural discourse, the relationship between Koreans and Joseonjok in the film still reflects the same paternal attitudes of cultural superiority that dictate the policies governing other migrant groups. While the portrayals of Otherness through which they are seen relate to their exclusion from the multicultural discourse, The Yellow Sea (2010) ultimately presents the Joseonjok male protagonist's characterization in a sympathetic light. This sympathetic portrayal fits into a hierarchy of social and economic power that is at once a commentary on Korean society and a reinforcement of Korean supremacy.