“Forbidden to foreigners”: our Observers denounce discrimination in South Korea

Published on: 06/06/2022 – 20:19Modified on: 06/06/2022 – 20:27 In South Korea, certain nightclubs and other festive places systematically prohibit entry to foreigners. A policy deemed xenophobic and which targets racialized people in particular, widely documented on TikTok and Instagram by those who suffer from it. Partygoers who live in South Korea know it: impossible to go to certain nightlife spots if you are not Korean. On social networks, more and more foreigners who live in Seoul document this discrimination at the entrance to certain nightclubs, bars or even sometimes restaurants. A video posted on May 15 on TikTok and viewed nearly 400,000 times has recently revived the debate. It was posted by Patrick Ramos, aka “Theexpatpat,” on social media. We see him facing a bouncer who asks him to stop filming before grabbing his wrist, then slamming him against the wall. According to one of her friends contacted by the editorial staff of the Observers, the bouncer continued to abuse him after he stopped filming. According to the Korean Herald, Patrick Ramos was filming a live as he passed by the nightclub “ Owl Lounge”, known for prohibiting access to non-Koreans. The establishment is located in Itaewon, a very cosmopolitan district of Seoul. On a sign at the entrance to the establishment, visible in a photo published by the Korean Herlad, it is indicated that only people with an identity card national identity and foreigners with an F-4 visa (issued to members of the Korean diaspora) were allowed to return. @beyonceibnidas Reply to @brittanypanzer ♬ original sound – Krys Tha Sis “Beyonce Ibnidas” (“I am Beyoncé” in Korean) regularly films herself trying to enter nightclubs in South Korea. We wouldn’t let her in here because she doesn’t speak Korean. Contacted by the Observers editorial staff, several expatriates in South Korea confirmed to us that they had been the subject of this type of refusal at the entrance to night establishments, on the pretext that they were not Koreans. The establishments concerned have already given several arguments to justify this filtering: the fact that the staff does not speak English, past bad behavior of certain foreigners, or more recently the Covid. Serious abuses committed by some American soldiers based in South Korea in nightclubs (including cases of rape and sexual assault) are also believed to be involved – particularly in the city of Daegu, near a major US army base. . The OWL lounge nightclub, which has not yet responded to our requests, for example explained to the Korean Herald to exclude foreigners, because if they were to commit a reprehensible act, sexual harassment in particular, they could flee the country with impunity. Quentin F. (“Denoz”) explains to the editorial staff of Les Observateurs: “I live in Daegu, where there are very few foreigners, and there are several nightclubs that won’t let us in. Some foreigners can enter Korean-only clubs if they have a South Korean guarantor – preferably a celebrity, who vouch for appropriate behavior”. People with dark and black skin are particularly discriminated against According to our Observers, this sorting would target black, South Asian and North African people in particular. @nya_0152 #racistclubinkorea#expatinkorea #southkorea #daegu ♬ original sound – nya_0152 TikTok by Nysha, an American who lives in Daegu. She explains to our editorial staff that she got angry with the bouncer who refused her entry when the disco was playing Hip-Hop music by a black American rapper. “It’s our music, why won’t you let me in?” can we hear him say. Kirsten Kreels is an African-American student living in Seoul. She is a friend of Patrick Ramos. Like him, she tries to draw attention to this discrimination at the entrance to certain nightlife venues. For her, there is no doubt that all foreigners are not housed in the same boat. I went to a pretty “hype” club in Gangnam [quartier chic de Séoul : NDLR] two years ago. I was the only black person among my friends, the bouncer went to tell my white friend, “there are some people in the group who can’t come in”, while looking me up and down. He said my clothes didn’t conform to the “dress code”. We had checked everything, I was dressed like any Korean who goes out to a nightclub. (…) The way he looked at me, I felt that I was not welcome.”Most of the time, they don’t say that directly, but rather say: “it’s complete”, or “not of strangers”. But we see white people coming in. There are even images of signs that say: “no Africans allowed” that circulated on social networks, or messages from the managers of the nightclub on Kakaotalk (Korean WhatsApp: Ed) that said “no black people” All the black people I have met have told me of having been discriminated against in nightclubs, and even elsewhere. >> READ ALSO ON THE FRANCE 24 OBSERVATORS WEBSITE: South Korea: a video reveals the humiliating conditions of detention from a Moroccan migrant Playing hiphop music but not allowing black ppl enter the club!? pic.twitter.com/EuBkvjyQRi— rin|| #BEATBOX (@__lookey) April 29, 2022 of “Beyonce_ibnidas”. We see her in the middle of an argument with a bouncer who refused her access on the pretext that she is a foreigner. However, at 0’59”, the vlogger films two white women entering without a hitch in this same nightclub Michelle is mixed-race and comes from the United States. She is an English teacher in Daegu, a city in the center of the country. She also said that she had already been refused entry to a nightclub when white people were able to gain access in front of her eyes. As a mixed-race woman in a city unaccustomed to foreigners, Michelle details how this differential treatment goes far beyond the nightclubs: I am often stared at in the street. And since I have very curly hair, strangers touch it without asking me. I’ve heard some kids call me the “monkey teacher”. I imagine they must have learned that somewhere. And again, I don’t understand everything they say to me. Between foreigners living in South Korea, we tell ourselves that the more we learn to master Korean, the more complicated it becomes on a daily basis, because we understand what people are saying about us. Kirsten Keels, who grew up in a southern state in the United States and says she is used to racist remarks, also sees ignorance and curiosity in it, which can be benevolent, in a society recently exposed to immigration: Sometimes people don’t want to sit next to me or tell their child not to talk to me (…). But I would say it’s mostly ordinary racism, or just sometimes even ignorance, or even curiosity, because some have never spoken to strangers. So I try to give them a positive image. To be able to enjoy the nightlife, Kirsten Keels has therefore decided to group together the places considered “tolerant” on a list which was published on Sunday June 5. We made this list ” green” so that black Americans, South Asians, Africans… who are more and more numerous to live in South Korea can have fun without thinking: “I may be discriminated against”. It’s also a way to bring this community together, and to say that we are together and that we are present. And that racism and discrimination are not acceptable. According to our two Observers, places that refuse people based on their ethnicity or nationality remain a minority, but difficult to denounce. The names of nightclubs and other discriminatory places are often silenced or hidden on social networks. Our Observers also did not wish to communicate the names of the incriminated clubs. At issue: the law punishing defamation, which in South Korea is widely used in the event of an accusation, sometimes even at the expense of the truth. There is no law to punish discriminatory practices in South Korea, whether on the basis of nationality, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation.