How are foreigners treated in Korea?

I think most of the time foreigners are treated with curiosity. Often the interaction between Korean citizens and foreigners can be limited because of the language barrier. Either Koreans don't feel comfortable about their English, or people from other countries don't feel comfortable with their Korean. That may cause some trouble in communication but usually, it goes away after some time of the conversation. There is a racist situation that some would encounter. I haven't experienced them myself but I have witnessed such a situation towards people from other South Asian countries. Also, some of my friends would experience it too. I can surely say I have received more kindness acts. However, I'm also aware that people can experience different treatments depending on their nationality. The situation from the subway that I mentioned: the car was full but not overcrowded so you could see easily people that were there. In one part of the car, there was me with two of my 'Western-looking' friends. In the same car, there were also few people that based on their features, resembled South Asian nationals. Everyone in the subway was seating calmly, suddenly one older Korean person started screaming at the group of foreigners of South Asian origins.

I wanted to describe my personal experience also because I felt uneasy and unfair that people are treated worse based on some association related to the exterior features. I haven't heard earlier about this dispute of people being treated differently based on their origins, that's why it was also a surprise for me. I also feel that the approach is different among the younger and older generation. This occurrence is present of course not only in South Korea. I think the young generation has a big role in changing that matter all over the world.

Since I addressed this post to my personal experience, I wanted to ask you about your personal experience. What would be the approach of your young colleagues in terms of racism? What would be the perception of foreigners of different nationalities? If someone of your friends made a racist comment, do you think other of the friends would react to it?




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