[KS] Korea & ethnic purity

[Balazs Szalontai]

Dear Dr. Josephs,
 
I think it may be advisable to distinguish between ethnocentrism and the non-recognition of multiple citizenship. While I consider quite likely that concerns about ethnic purity did influence legislation on citizenship in both Koreas, in the various East, Southeast, and South Asian countries there is no clear correlation between the degree of ethnic homogeneity/heterogeneity and the state's willingness to recognize dual citizenship. To my knowledge, the countries which recognize dual citizenship are as follows: Bangladesh, India (for overseas Indians), Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In contrast, the following countries deny dual citizenship: Brunei, Burma, China, Indonesia, Japan (over 22 years), North Korea, South Korea (over 21 years), Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Singapore, and Vietnam. (I have no data on Cambodia, Laos and Taiwan at hand for the time being.) 
 
That is, a number of ethnically heterogeneous countries, including ones that formally recognize certain minority rights, are also unwilling to grant multiple citizenship. On the other hand, it can be safely concluded that such unwillingness is usually an indicator of unresolved inter-ethnic and/or international relations (see, for instance, Korean-Japanese relations; Sino-Indonesian relations; Sino-Malaysian relations; Sino-Mongolian relations; Sino-Vietnamese relations; Burmese-Indian relations; etc.). 
 
With best regards,
Dr. Balazs Szalontai
East China Normal University
Shanghai

--- On Sun, 2/10/11, Hilary K Josephs <hkjoseph at law.syr.edu> wrote:











Dear colleagues:
 
Based on previous discussion of the presence of "foreigners" (including ethnic Chinese) in Korea, would it be safe to infer that Koreans are just as ethnocentric as the Japanese? May one also infer that most of the ethnic Korean population in Japan came to the country involuntarily? By involuntarily I mean forcible removal, not in search of better economic opportunities. As I recall, Korea, like Japan, is a country which does not recognize dual nationality for its citizens, in other words, if you obtain nationality elsewhere, your Korean nationality is automatically revoked.
 
Best regards,Hilary K. Josephs
 
 
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