Many people in Korea believe that United States are more racist country than Korea as their country had been regarded as a single ethnic nation and did not normally need to encounter other people with different races.  However, as the world is getting more divers by day and world economy is more integrated than ever, no single country can afford to live in racial and cultural isolation and Korea is no exception.  Immigration into Korea has been a greater and greater trend.  According to the government statistics, foreigners who resided in Korea for more than 90 days in ‘08 are almost 890K which accounts for 1.8% of total population (rose 23% from 720K in ‘07).  People in Korea who were not accustomed to living with different types of people are finding themselves sharing a subway car with a strange-looking people, their sense invaded by unfamiliar smell of exotic food, their streets covered in signs of incomprehensible languages, and their jobs eliminated by those willing to work harder for cheaper wages. And inevitably, a racist fire is building in their hearts, stoked by the fear of losing what was theirs before.
Had lived in the United States when I was a teenager, especially in Tennessee deep in south, I personally experienced a racism.  Among 250 classmates in our high school, I was only Asian with a few African-Americans and most of them were Caucasians.  Students and teachers in our school had no experience of any interchanges or contacts with Asian people and some of them never had chance to talk to foreigners.  What I observed during that time was that they had no interest in knowing other races, which led them to be ignorant about other ethnics and cultures. This ignorance brings fear or anxiety toward other races or people of colors, sometimes resulting in violence. Thus, for me to overcome the encountered racism, I tried to make people to understand my ethnic, culture, country as well as myself.  And it was very successful.
Foreigners in Korea, chiefly foreign workers, who had Korean Dream when they left their countries as many Korean immigrants had American Dream back in 1960s or 1970s are now hurting badly because of racism. They had been discriminated and abused in their work places, neighbors and even on streets.  However, it is time for the Koreans to recognize they are no longer living in one ethnic nation but rather living in a multi-ethnic character of contemporary society. Further, while the number of foreigners will continue to grow, Koreans need to learn how to live with other ethnics. To make this happen smoothly, I strongly believe people in Korea shall try to learn and understand more about other ethnics and cultures to avoid being ignorant about them.  From my little personal experience, that would be the best and fastest way to eliminate ever growing racism against other ethnics in Korea and make more comfortable life not only for foreigners but also for Koreans in a multi-ethnic society.