By Jason Lim
"Hafu" is the term that's used in Japan to denote someone born from parents of different ethnicities. Apparently, 35 members of the 583-strong Japanese Olympic team are multi-ethnic.
What undoubtedly struck me watching the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics was seeing the tennis champion Naomi Osaka, daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, a hafu, light the cauldron after walking up the mock-up of Mount Fuji. It's not something that could have happened back in 1964 when Tokyo hosted its first Olympics as a part of its coming-of-age party to the world.
Japan is significant to Korea in multiple ways, mostly due to geographical proximity and past history. However, it's Korea's future that can be foretold in Japan's now. Korea has mirrored Japan's post-World War II paths in so many ways that Japan's trends almost seem like Korea's inevitability. Sure, Korea might have amplified upon what Japan has done in terms of industry, pop-culture, etc. but, in many key ways, especially demographics, Korea is walking in her neighbor's footsteps.
This is certainly true with the multi-ethnic or multicultural makeup of their mutual populations. According to the New York Times, "Japan's growing roster of multiracial Olympians reflects how the country, with its fast-aging population, has had to crack open its doors to immigration, despite a powerful tradition of isolation.
Today, about one in 50 children born in Japan has a foreign-born parent, according to the nation's health ministry." This is happening on top of the larger macro demographic trends of ageing, isolated, and declining overall population that's turning the natural sustainment equation ― more numerous, younger, and productive workforce supporting a much smaller, aging group ― on its head.
In fact, Korea might have passed Japan in terms of the multiculturality of its population. Back in 2012, Korea already recorded 22,908 multiethnic births out of a total of 484,550 newborns, which is close to 5 percent. More recent forecasts predict that, by 2040, one out of every 15 households will be multicultural, including both first and second generations.
During the same time, Korea's population will decrease from 50 million plus people today to 48 million. Worse, every 1.6 working age adults will have to support one elderly, from the ratio of 4.5 to 1 today. Besides the very unlikely scenario of reunification and integration with North Korea, the only way for South Korea to slow down these trends is to increase the intake of immigrant populations in ever greater numbers, not out of some largesse, but out of a sheer need to survive as an advanced economy.
Both Japan and Korea are not traditionally known for their open societies. In fact, Japan was one of the most isolated countries in the world, by choice, until Commodore Matthew Perry blasted open its ports in 1853, and Korea was literally known as the Hermit Kingdom in the waning days of the Joseon Kingdom.
How will these societies react when their children look very different than they do today?
In Korea's case, the largest ethnicities in a multicultural family are Vietnamese at 38.2 percent, followed by Chinese at 19.9 percent and Filipinos at 6.1 percent. This has been the general trend for the last two decades at least, which means that Korean children in the not-too-distant future will look markedly different from how they look today. Furthermore, with mothers usually being the foreigner, the home cultures of these children will also represent a deviation from the traditional and largely homogenous culture of traditional Korean society.
With blood-based, jingoistic tribalism being one of the central organizing dynamics of both countries, albeit with differences, how will increased diversities of their own children affect the societies as a whole? It's easy to be proud of superstars like Osaka or Rui Hachimura, but how about the hafu's that are not necessarily super talented? Will they be as celebrated? Forget celebration. Will they be even accepted as full-fledged members of society? Even more importantly, will they accept themselves as a part of mainstream society?
The same NYT article also quotes Sewon Okazawa, an Olympic welterweight boxer who is the son of a Japanese mother and a Ghanaian father. He says, "I forget I'm Black sometimes ... When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't look Japanese." Similarly, will Korean-Vietnamese kids in Seoul see themselves as full-fledged members of Korean society? Will they be invited to sit at the table, or will they have to demand seats? When will the "other" transition into "us?"
This trend might have been better received in the era of plenty. Human beings can be generous to others when there is plenty to go around, as long as we feel that we are taken care of. However, the decrease in overall resources to support the aging demographics will inevitably result in socioeconomic scarcity in which larger numbers of mouths have to fight for a smaller piece of the pie. This doesn't bode well for acceptance and assimilation.
The hafu train is coming down the demographic tracks. Will it lead to a wreck? Which country will deal with it better?
Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.
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What undoubtedly struck me watching the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics was seeing the tennis champion Naomi Osaka, daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, a hafu, light the cauldron after walking up the mock-up of Mount Fuji. It's not something that could have happened back in 1964 when Tokyo hosted its first Olympics as a part of its coming-of-age party to the world.
Japan is significant to Korea in multiple ways, mostly due to geographical proximity and past history. However, it's Korea's future that can be foretold in Japan's now. Korea has mirrored Japan's post-World War II paths in so many ways that Japan's trends almost seem like Korea's inevitability. Sure, Korea might have amplified upon what Japan has done in terms of industry, pop-culture, etc. but, in many key ways, especially demographics, Korea is walking in her neighbor's footsteps.
This is certainly true with the multi-ethnic or multicultural makeup of their mutual populations. According to the New York Times, "Japan's growing roster of multiracial Olympians reflects how the country, with its fast-aging population, has had to crack open its doors to immigration, despite a powerful tradition of isolation.
Today, about one in 50 children born in Japan has a foreign-born parent, according to the nation's health ministry." This is happening on top of the larger macro demographic trends of ageing, isolated, and declining overall population that's turning the natural sustainment equation ― more numerous, younger, and productive workforce supporting a much smaller, aging group ― on its head.
In fact, Korea might have passed Japan in terms of the multiculturality of its population. Back in 2012, Korea already recorded 22,908 multiethnic births out of a total of 484,550 newborns, which is close to 5 percent. More recent forecasts predict that, by 2040, one out of every 15 households will be multicultural, including both first and second generations.
During the same time, Korea's population will decrease from 50 million plus people today to 48 million. Worse, every 1.6 working age adults will have to support one elderly, from the ratio of 4.5 to 1 today. Besides the very unlikely scenario of reunification and integration with North Korea, the only way for South Korea to slow down these trends is to increase the intake of immigrant populations in ever greater numbers, not out of some largesse, but out of a sheer need to survive as an advanced economy.
Both Japan and Korea are not traditionally known for their open societies. In fact, Japan was one of the most isolated countries in the world, by choice, until Commodore Matthew Perry blasted open its ports in 1853, and Korea was literally known as the Hermit Kingdom in the waning days of the Joseon Kingdom.
How will these societies react when their children look very different than they do today?
In Korea's case, the largest ethnicities in a multicultural family are Vietnamese at 38.2 percent, followed by Chinese at 19.9 percent and Filipinos at 6.1 percent. This has been the general trend for the last two decades at least, which means that Korean children in the not-too-distant future will look markedly different from how they look today. Furthermore, with mothers usually being the foreigner, the home cultures of these children will also represent a deviation from the traditional and largely homogenous culture of traditional Korean society.
With blood-based, jingoistic tribalism being one of the central organizing dynamics of both countries, albeit with differences, how will increased diversities of their own children affect the societies as a whole? It's easy to be proud of superstars like Osaka or Rui Hachimura, but how about the hafu's that are not necessarily super talented? Will they be as celebrated? Forget celebration. Will they be even accepted as full-fledged members of society? Even more importantly, will they accept themselves as a part of mainstream society?
The same NYT article also quotes Sewon Okazawa, an Olympic welterweight boxer who is the son of a Japanese mother and a Ghanaian father. He says, "I forget I'm Black sometimes ... When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't look Japanese." Similarly, will Korean-Vietnamese kids in Seoul see themselves as full-fledged members of Korean society? Will they be invited to sit at the table, or will they have to demand seats? When will the "other" transition into "us?"
This trend might have been better received in the era of plenty. Human beings can be generous to others when there is plenty to go around, as long as we feel that we are taken care of. However, the decrease in overall resources to support the aging demographics will inevitably result in socioeconomic scarcity in which larger numbers of mouths have to fight for a smaller piece of the pie. This doesn't bode well for acceptance and assimilation.
The hafu train is coming down the demographic tracks. Will it lead to a wreck? Which country will deal with it better?
Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.
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