Where can we draw the line between racism and innocent depictions? Students from Uijeongbu High School opened a Pandora’s box when, on August 6, Ghanaian entertainer Sam Okyere publicly criticized them for wearing blackface as a part of a school tradition in which students cosplay for yearbook photographs. However, the following backlash towards Okyere cast light on Korea’s need for awareness on racism and a lesson that many fail to realize – that an action, even if it seems like a harmless depiction, can be racist regardless of intent.

Blackface originated from minstrel shows in the mid-19th century United States (U.S.), in which white actors painted their faces black in order to portray black people in a degrading manner that perpetuated the stereotype that black people were lazy, ignorant, and cowardly. The Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation in the Southern U.S. in the late 19th century, were also named after a famous blackface character from a minstrel show. This painful history behind blackface explains why the gesture has become one of the biggest cultural taboos today.

Yet the most recent blackface controversy is a clear indication of Korea’s comparative lack of awareness on such racial issues. Many of those who call the yearbook photo a “harmless cosplay” argue that the students’ lack of malicious intent stops their blackface from qualifying as racism. This forms the majority of the public sentiment among the Internet users who lashed out at Okyere’s criticism – that the cosplay is a mere “depiction,” rather than a racist action.

However, an action can be inherently racist regardless of intent, especially one with a painful historical context such as blackface. In other words, the lack of intent does not grant the freedom to make gestures that are seen as hurtful and offensive. The same gesture can contain different meanings and connotations for different beholders. The decision on what qualifies as racism or not should always belong to the race that is being depicted. The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) once mentioned that the action of painting one’s face black “cannot be separated fully from the racial derision and stereotyping at its core.” Indeed, what may appear like an innocent portrayal to a person of one race can be a reminder of the painful past to someone belonging to another race. This is why such racist gestures cannot be justified in the name of comedy or entertainment.

While blackface has appeared several other times in Korean media, such as the comedy show “People Looking for a Laugh” and in a parody of “Uptown Funk” by an idol group, many instances have been dismissed as much ado about nothing. However, such a dismissive attitude is certainly an unsuitable one for this age of globalization. Facebook recently announced on August 12 a new regulation forbidding posts with blackface in them. Likewise, it is perhaps the time for Korean society to catch up with the international progress towards becoming more conscious of racial problems. There is no reason to doubt that the students in the yearbook have painted their faces black with innocent intentions. What truly matters is not whether the students are guilty or not, but accepting and learning from the lesson, rather than rejecting it.

“Ignorance acknowledged is an opportunity; ignorance denied is a closed door.” As the writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, being called out on ignorant behavior is no reason to feel a kind of personal attack or insult. Rather, this controversy should be taken as an opportunity to educate each other and move forward towards a mutual understanding and empathy between different races.