Nearly 1,200 foreigners are “living” on the easternmost Dokdo island, according to data released on Sunday.
The foreigners are among 36,000 “honorary residents” recognized by the Dokdo management office on Ulleung Island, an inhabited island west of Dokdo.
They do not actually live there, but are documented as residents in a promotional campaign for the island.
Since 2010, the office has issued “honorary Dokdo residency” to certificate-seeking visitors regardless of nationality to promote South Korea’s sovereignty over Dokdo. [Korea Times]
I went to Dokdo before 2010 and thus was not offered honorary residence on the island. Personally I think it is pretty stupid to accept an honorary residence from some place I would never want to live at.
I wonder if this guy was scammed into making some kind of large cash purchase of real estate by the group with the intent of robbing him?:
Six foreigners are on the run after stealing a bag of cash from Seoul Station earlier this month.
The bandits, from countries including Mexico and Colombia, stole 360 million won ($316,000) from a Korean man at a fast food restaurant at the train station in Jung-gu, on Aug. 2, according to Seoul Namdaemun Police on Monday.
Three men and three women were involved, of whom at least some had left Korea, police said.
They said the gang had waited for the victim at the station and followed him into the restaurant.
The man left his bag on a table and went to place an order with the cashier while a person with him kept an eye on the bag.
But gang members distracted him by dropping money on the floor. The others snatched the bag and fled. [Korea Times]
To summarize a Columbian man and his Korean wife were walking back to their car at the Busan Costco when the Korean wife yelled loudly for a car to stop which saves the life of little kid who can in front of it. The grandpa of the little kid gets angry at the Korean wife for yelling at the kid and then eventually tries to assault her. However Columbian husband gets in front of him to stop the assault and the grandpa pushes the Columbian to the ground and begins to punch him. While this is going on he is yelling racist remarks the whole time. The assault is caught on camera and yet the police side with the Korean grandpa who is lying and yelling racist remarks the whole time. The police arrest the Columbian man and say this can all go away if he does not pursue the assault charge on the Korean man. The charges are dropped after the Columbian man agrees to not pursue the case against the grandpa and everyone goes home.
The best thing the Columbian man did was not to try and fight back despite being pushed to the ground and having the Korean man on top of him punching him. In Korea you do not have the right to self defense like people in the United States for example may be use to having. If he would have punched the guy back he would likely be in jail for assault. What he was not smart about was trying to pursue the assault charge against the Korean man. He should have just left after the assault was broken up because the odds of the police siding with a foreigner are very low. This is where the swallowing your pride and walking away is the best thing to do. It lets the Korean man save face while the foreigner doesn’t have to worry about getting arrested.
I saw this question posted on to Reddit and figure I would comment on it:
I’m wondering why the foreigners who re-sign year after year until they’re past the 5+ years in Korea mark and don’t learn Korean stay in Korea? If you, after more than five years in a country you are choosing to live in, can’t have a conversation in Korean, isn’t that racist/Eurocentric? What reason would you have for not bothering to learn your host country’s language? The Bangladeshi worked in the factory has learned it, why haven’t you?
I get the “I thought I’d just be here for a year but then I re-signed,” I really do, but after five, six, seven years you’re a long-termer. [Reddit]
I don’t think it is racist to not become proficient in Korean. From the US military perspective I knew servicemembers who had many years of service in Korea and could not speak Korean. A lot of it has to do with working in an English work environment plus Korea is so English friendly as well especially around US military bases that knowing Korean is not mandatory. Getting fluent in Korean takes a lot of time and work that most people don’t have. However, many folks who have served many years in Korea do know enough Korean to get around and communicate simple things.
Many foreigners do not seem to realize this, but attending protest rallies is actually illegal in Korea:
Foreigners participating in the protests against President Park Geun-hye may carry legal complications ― theoretically.
“As legal counsel I would say not to go to the rallies, as there are some articles in law that in principle prohibit foreigners from attending rallies,” said Nam Won-chul, a lawyer with Hwang Mok Park law firm.
According to the Immigration Control Act, “No foreigner sojourning in the Republic of Korea shall engage in any political activity with the exception of cases provided by this Act or other statutes.” The act empowers the Ministry of Justice to order a violator “in writing to suspend such activity” or “take other necessary measures.”
This may include deportation or a ban on visa renewal, according to one source familiar with the matter.
The law applies to all foreigners regardless of visa type, Nam says. “According to the text of the article, I think all foreigners are uniformly prohibited from political activities.” [Korea Times]
The KNPA has recently ended a 100 day crackdown on foreigner crime:
Police arrested 800 foreigners from July to October who were involved in 348 crimes. / Korea Times file
Police booked more than 800 foreigners for allegedly committing crimes during a special 100-day crackdown from July 4.
The National Police Agency said Tuesday 803 foreigners involved in 348 cases were booked and 136 were arrested in the period.
By crime type, violent crime (67 percent) led the way, followed by narcotics (24 percent), sexual violence (5 percent) and gambling (4 percent).
For violent crime, 189 cases (80 percent) occurred among foreigners and 83 percent among compatriots. Police said most criminals who assaulted people were drunk. [Korea Times]
Placards are hung on street lamps in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul, on Sept. 30, 2016, to open the welcome week for foreigners on the eve of China’s weeklong National Day holiday. A variety of performances will be held in Myeondong and seven other tourist attractions in the capital during the week, when some 250,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit South Korea. (Yonhap)
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