Kim Hyun-bin began his journalism career at Arirang TV from 2012 to 2017, specializing in defense, foreign affairs and the economy. In 2018, he joined The Korea Times, covering society and business, and is currently responsible for embassy affairs.
Nationality main factor in discrimination against foreigners
By Kim Hyun-bin
By Kim Hyun-bin
Koreans in Seoul discriminate against foreign residents mainly based on their country of origin, a survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Government showed Tuesday.
Many foreign residents said their image of Seoul had improved, but some still face discrimination and disdain.
The city government announced the results of the survey conducted on 2,500 foreign residents in the capital last September, to reflect the findings in its policies.
According to the survey, 57.3 percent of respondents said Koreans discriminate against foreign nationals based on their nationality. When multiple replies were allowed, 41.5 percent also said discriminative responses took place according to their fluency in Korean, 23.9 percent their financial status, 16.6 percent their jobs, 15.6 percent their appearance including skin color, and 1.1 percent their religion.
Regarding the overall quality of life in the capital city, they gave an average rating of 6.89 points out of 10, up 0.03 points from the previous year. They were most satisfied with the residential environment, followed by security, economic environment and welfare programs.
Nearly half, or 49.3 percent, said their feelings about Seoul had improved after residing in the capital region, while 45 percent stated there was no change.
The former group said their feelings improved because they experienced respect and consideration from Koreans, felt an open and tolerant attitude toward foreigners, and enjoyed welfare services for foreign residents and fast administrative services.
But 5.6 percent said their feelings had become worse, mainly because they suffered from discrimination, adding that Korea is not open to foreigners and lacks welfare services for them.
Close to 39 percent have experienced stress in the previous two weeks, and the main cause of this was finances (46.2 percent), followed by excessive workload or study (28.7 percent) and difficulty in relations with schoolmates or coworkers (18.5 percent), when multiple answers were allowed.
Some 46 percent of the respondents were living with family, and 66.1 percent cited convenient transportation as the most important factor when choosing where to live.
The city government also surveyed 42,991 Korean citizens.
Regarding immigration, 44.3 percent of the Korean citizens in Seoul agreed the government needs policies to reduce prejudice against marriage immigrants, while 33.4 percent also highlighted the need to set better immigration policies and invite more immigrants to help resolve the country's decreasing population.
But 41 percent said an increase in immigration will lead to conflicts with Koreans over jobs.