Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself

A foreigner-only casino at Jeju Dream Tower integrated resort / Courtesy of Jeju Dream Tower

Recently, certain media have argued that casinos in Korea should make the return of Chinese tourists their core growth engine and position Chinese visitors as the primary clientele for the gambling industry. We are deeply shocked by such remarks and firmly opposed to such practices, which warrant serious reconsideration.

It is well known to us that Confucius taught: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.” Beyond cultural ethics, it is a widely shared international consensus that gambling seriously undermines the rule of law, damages public order and decency, and brings profound social harm.

Notably, the law of Korea imposes strict restrictions on its own citizens’ participation in gambling and explicitly bans them from entering most casinos. This fact alone clearly shows that Korea is fully aware of the social dangers posed by gambling and its related illegal and criminal activities.

Meanwhile, Chinese law maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward gambling, and it is also illegal for Chinese citizens to gamble overseas. Under such circumstances, it is highly inappropriate for Korean casinos to conduct targeted marketing and recruitment specifically toward foreign nationals, especially Chinese people, and for certain media outlets to publicly promote this as a so-called “driver of economic growth.”

The heads of China and Korea, President Xi Jinping and President Lee Jae Myung, successfully exchanged visits late last year and early this year, during which they reached an important consensus on promoting sound and constructive people-to-people exchanges. In addition, law enforcement agencies of the two countries have maintained close communication and cooperation in cracking down on cross-border gambling.

The gambling industry, by its very nature, clearly does not belong to the category of “sound and constructive people-to-people exchanges.” Therefore, the practice of openly and aggressively targeting Chinese tourists for gambling solicitation is entirely detrimental to bilateral people-to-people exchanges and offers no benefits whatsoever.

In recent years, negative cases involving Chinese citizens at Korean casinos have occurred frequently. Tragically, some Chinese students studying in Korea have even died by suicide after incurring huge gambling debts, which is deeply distressing. These gambling-related tragedies not only seriously violate the legitimate rights and interests, personal safety and property security of Chinese citizens, but also severely disrupt the order of Korea's tourism market and damage the country’s international image.

China and the Republic of Korea are important close neighbors. The visa facilitation measures introduced by both countries to promote personnel exchanges and boost economic development through tourism serve the fundamental interests of both sides and help enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

However, seeking to profit from foreign tourists through the gambling industry is not only a harmful and short-sighted approach, but also gradually erodes the friendly feelings between the peoples of the two countries.

For this reason, China will strengthen education for outbound Chinese tourists, guiding them to exercise self-discipline and avoid crossing the legal red line by engaging in gambling. At the same time, we also hope that the Korean side will proceed from the overall situation of China-Korea friendly relations, earnestly fulfill its regulatory responsibilities over tourism institutions, strictly standardize casino operations and put an end to gambling recruitment targeting Chinese tourists.

Tang Liang is counselor in charge of consular affairs at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Korea.