Jung Woo-sung campaigns for better treatment of refugees in Korea

Actor Jung Woo-sung, 46, listens as reporters ask him questions during a press conference in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Seoul, Tuesday. He met reporters to share his experiences about the Rohingya people at Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Actor says hatred doesn't help, laments fabricated stories about Yemeni refugees

By Jung Hae-myoung

Cause-driven celebrities are rare in Korea. Stars are usually cautious when asked to voice their opinions about sensitive issues, such as refugees, because their candid views could backfire and invite a backlash and bombardment from people who don't agree with them.

Jung Woo-sung is not one of them. Jung, who is well-known as a celebrity with “few bad comments” partly because he is portrayed as a man of integrity and good deeds, did not shy away from speaking up for the human rights of refugees, a highly sensitive issue that divided the nation last year after a total of over 500 Yemeni refugees arrived on the southern scenic island of Jeju from January to May.

He met reporters at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Seoul, Tuesday, to rally support for refugees following his recent trip to Bangladesh's Kutupalong Refugee Camp that houses many Rohingya refugees.

He depicted Rohingya refugees as the most unfortunate people in the world.

“When I first went to Bangladesh in December 2017, the Rohyingya refugees had doubts about their return to their own country, Myanmar, which is no wonder considering their circumstances. This kind of concern shows the disastrous and desperate situation these displaced people are facing.”

“I decided to revisit the camp because I was wondering if there were still people who harbored doubts about returning to their home country,” he added.

In Bangladesh, a refugee camp the size of a city was established in 2017, after the violence in the Rakhine States across the border resulted in over 700,000 displaced people, one of the largest and fastest forced migrations in the region in decades.

“The scale is huge. Nearly 740,000 refugees are here at the camp, and it is the size of a small city such as Amsterdam in the Netherlands or Dongtan in South Korea. This is not the scale one country can handle alone,” Jung said.

He called for South Korea and other Asian countries to join hands to relieve the burden shouldered by Bangladesh to better protect the displaced people.

Among others, Jung voiced worries about children, saying education is one of the most pressing issues facing the refugees. He quoted one Syrian refugee he met in Lebanon as saying “It takes 100 years to recover one generation's education gap.”

“The Bangladesh government is careful about supporting regular education for children in the camp because of a possible diplomatic rift,” he said. “Myanmar does not accept the Rohingya people as citizens, so Bangladesh is cautious because they don't want unnecessary tension with the neighboring country,” Jung added.

Despite this, Jung said there was a positive element: Rohingya refugees and residents in Bangladesh respect each other, which is rare because there are tensions between refugees and locals in other countries.

“Most of the world's refugees are staying in developing countries,” the actor said.

Jung said economic activities occur in the refugee camp as people buy and sell necessary commodities.

“To some degree, locals benefit from refugees because the former can have more daily customers. So, I think we can encourage the locals to accept refugees as part of their community and also give some incentives to people who provide shelter to the displaced people,” Jung continued.

Compared to the situation he saw in his previous visit, Jung said there has been some progress made over the past two years.

“When I first went there, the refugees had just arrived in the country, and the shelters just sprung up here and there. There was no time or space to make a constructive plan,” Jung recalled.

“Now as the camp has got bigger, I could see the local authorities have established protective measures and better living conditions for the refugees. There are flood-prevention measures in place to prepare for the monsoon season. There was also progress made in energy supplies, and protection for women who were constantly exposed to danger and violence,” Jung said.

He encouraged Koreans not to try to stereotype refugees.

“If you ask me whether there was any special episode for a particular person, each and every member in the refugee camp has their own life history as an individual,” Jung said.

“Most of them came to Bangladesh after brutal violence in August 2017. These people have seen their loved ones ― wives, husbands, children ― killed in front of their own eyes.”

In the refugee camp, Jung said humanity outlives despair and people there help one another and take care of others.

“I remember an elderly lady who came to me and quietly said: 'Actually that woman I am living with is not my daughter. But I saw her husband get shot in front of her. I pulled her out from the situation saying that she is my daughter, because I could not imagine what would happen to her if I left her there.' And then they lived together,” Jung said.

The actor is set to release a memoir based on his experiences and the refugees he has met since he was named UNHCR honorary ambassador in 2014, tentatively titled “If You Could See What I've Seen,” on June 20.

Refugees are a sensitive issue in Korea. The nation was poles apart last year because of the sudden arrival of some 500 Yemeni refugees on Jeju.

Opinion polls showed the vast majority of Koreans were against granting the Yemeni arrivals refugee status.

Such negative public opinion, however, didn't stop Jung from rallying support from the Koreans. He appealed to his fellow Koreans to show compassion.

Jung said he got some negative comments from some Koreans but showed no signs of backing off from his stalwart support for people in dire need.

“The Korean War in 1950 didn't break out because Koreans wished for it, did it? Ordinary people are hit hardest once such an unwanted armed conflict occurs,” Jung said. He added he was very concerned when five Yemeni refugees were deported.

“Most people who turned their backs on the Yemeni arrivals talked as though refugees were likely to cause great confusion or Islamization in the country. It's time to ask the question for ourselves: Have the concerns back then really happened now?”

“It is necessary for Korea to be a country that is willing to help others in need, so that Korea can also lend a helping hand to other countries in a time of crisis,” Jung said, stressing that hatred, exclusion and oppression that have been repeated throughout n history should not become a constant state in society.

With soaring youth unemployment, guest workers are also seen as threat to young job seekers in Korea.

“What job do you think they can find? Is it possible for them to compete with young Koreans in jobs many Koreans want?” said Jung, answering the question with a question. “Even for refugees with bachelor's degrees, they don't speak Korean,” he added.

The actor was critical of the justice ministry's plan to amend the Refugee Act to make it harder for refugees to enter Korea.

“If the Refugee Act is used for control and division, then Korea may be drifting away from the refugee protection act that Korea is obliged to keep as a member of international society,” Jung said.

Although he began working for UNHCR at its request, he said he feels more responsibility day by day.

Frank Remus, representative of UNHCR Korea who sat next to Jung during the news conference, praised him for his hard work and work ethic.

“If he continues to work for us, we will be very happy,” Remus said.

“When I realized my responsibility, I freaked out,” Jung said. “But I am willing to continue the work while freaking out every moment.” His questions and concerns expand every time he meets and talks with people in refugee camps and missions.

“We are all citizens before our work. I am a citizen before an actor,” Jung said. “I exist because there are others. In order to live together in this world we need empathy. If I need to give up empathy just because I am actor, I would rather give up being human.”