Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Nightclub sticks with race ban policy despite watchdog's warning
By Bahk Eun-ji
The nation's human rights watchdog has recommended a nightclub to stop denying entrance to foreigners based on their race or skin color. The owners of the facility, however, refused to accept the recommendation, saying they have had numerous “problems” involving foreign customers.
People line up in front of a nightclub in Seoul in this file photo. A nightclub recently rejected a recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission Korea for it to stop denying entrance to foreigners based on their race. / Korea Times file
By Bahk Eun-ji
According to the National Human Rights Commission Korea (NHRCK), Wednesday, an Indian American filed a petition last year after he was barred from entering the nightclub due to being a foreigner while his Korean American friend was not.
The NHRCK said it concluded that the club's rejection of his entry was clear discrimination based on the petitioner's race and skin color, as the staff of the club did not check ID cards showing nationalities and allowed the entry of the Korean American.
In July, the commission recommended the club stop deciding customers' entry based on their race and skin color.
However, the club said it would not follow the recommendation.
“We have had a number of uncomfortable incidents involving foreigners, such as clashes between foreigners and Korean customers due to different drinking customs and scuffles with club workers after the foreigners misunderstood alcohol prices,” the club said in a written response, according to the NHRCK.
It added, however, it would train its staff to make sure foreigners do not feel discriminated against even if they are declined entry in the future.
“We decided to make this case public, because we believe people should recognize that any specific group of people should not be excluded from using certain places and services even though the owners of commercial facilities have the freedom to offer the places and services in the ways they want,” the commission said in a statement.
Korea has no laws to punish racial discrimination, but the NHRCK said it observes the principles to abolish any sort of racial discrimination based on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which requires member countries to eliminate racism and to promote understanding among people of all ethnicities.