About 60 people gathered Sunday for a picnic celebrating multicultural relationships in Yeouido Park in Seoul.

The picnic was set up as a response to a recent MBC report, aiming to show a more positive side to international relationships in a non-political way.

The report had depicted foreign men as dangerous and predatory, and Korean women as helpless victims.

“I think it’s a great idea because it’s a positive reaction to the MBC video that shows the much more common reality of mixed-race relationships,” said Ben Scoville, who attended with his wife Seung-joo.

“A lot of us come from countries that are multicultural and we can see the benefits of that. It’s to all of our benefit if we can move past hate,” said Steve MacKinnon, who organized the picnic.

“In the long term we’d like to see a shift in policy, but the laws and policies on political activity are vague and unclear. I think some clarification is needed on that.”

Most foreign nationals in Korea are barred from political activity, but this is not clearly defined. Foreign protesters do not usually face legal action but some are deported. In a separate interview with The Korea Herald in June, the Justice Ministry refused to clarify their stance.

“We don’t need to disclose our criteria … even to the person him or herself. There is no rule forcing us to,” a Justice Ministry official said. “We are abiding by the rules. Besides, they all know why Korea does not want them anyway.”

Perhaps because of this, a protest outside MBC on June 3 was attended by less than 20 people.

However, the numbers at the picnic were also smaller than expected, with 150 having said they would attend.

The picnic was set up through a Facebook group launched in response to the MBC report. Members are being encouraged to join a more permanent Facebook group, Multicultural Organization for Diversity and Unity.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)