Racism in South Korea

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Racism in South Korea (Korean: 인종차별; Hanja: 人種差別) comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in South Korea, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and actions (including violence) at various times in the history of South Korea against racial or ethnic groups. It has been recognized as a widespread social problem in the country.^[1][2] South Korea lacks an anti-discrimination law, which was recommended by the UN Human Rights Committee in 2015. The law has been reported stalled due to "lack of public consensus".^[3]

An increase in immigration to South Korea since the 2000s catalyzed more overt expressions of racism, as well as criticism of those expressions.^[2][3] Newspapers have frequently reported on and criticized discrimination against immigrants, in forms such as being paid lower than the minimum wage, having their wages withheld, unsafe work conditions, physical abuse, or general denigration.^[2]

In the 2017–2020 World Values Survey, of the 1245 South Koreans surveyed, 15.2% reported that they would not want someone of a different race as a neighbor.^[4] This represents a sharp decrease from the 2010-2014 World Values Survey, where of 1200 South Koreans surveyed, 34.1% mentioned that they would not want someone of a different race as a neighbor.^[5] In the 2010–2014 survey, 44.2% reported they would not want "immigrants/foreign workers" as neighbors.^[3][6] By the 2017–2020 report, this figure was at 22.0%.^[7]

According to a survey conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea among foreign residents in South Korea in 2019, 68.4% of respondents declared they had experienced racial discrimination, and many of them said they experienced it due to their Korean language skills (62.3%), because they were not Korean (59.7%), or due to their race (44.7%).^[8]

According to a report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, undocumented migrant children are left without many of the rights enjoyed by their South Korean counterparts. The process used to determine refugees status is designed "not to protect refugees but to keep them out." Migrant workers are only allowed to change their job with their old employer's permission. Migrant workers who work in agricultural sector, small businesses and domestic services are the most vulnerable to discrimination because of the temporary nature of their work.