JEJU WEEKLY

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Owner defends foreigner bar banWithout domestic anti-discrimination legislation, such restrictions will continue
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As a holiday island and Free International City, Jeju does pretty well at welcoming all and sundry. Stories of bars or saunas refusing foreigners entry are almost always in far-away Seoul or Busan.

Racism on Jeju tends to be quite subtle, even granting a white, English speaker is exposed to much less than a Southeast Asian laborer. Thus, it was a shock when Ho Bar in Jeju’s City Hall began barring foreigners entry in April. Jeju was not immune, after all.

Adding to the shock was the fact that the owner, Kim, was well known by the international community from his time managing nearby Wa Bar. Young, polite and friendly — with excellent English skills — he was actually regarded as a friend by many.

His basement bar was first located beneath a drinking establishment popular among Jeju’s international community. Many would pass the bar’s explicit sign which read, in English: “Only For Koreans.” It was a wake-up call for some.

“After that night, I felt like I had to watch my back a bit. It kinda changed how I feel about the Island,” said a longtime Canadian resident.

Another foreign resident, Timo LaTour, said although he had never wanted to visit the bar in question, the situation was “disturbing” and he felt “powerless” and “unwelcome.”

A heated online discussion left many seeking remedies to pressure Kim to change his policy, some suggesting the bar should be shut down.

Others opposed the policy, but were supportive of a business owner’s right to set an exclusive entry policy. One poster, who requested anonymity, said:

“It is racist, but the owner is well within his rights to deny anyone service for whatever reason.”

The reason
After numerous promises to answer The Weekly's questions, it was only after an unannounced visit to the bar's new location, still in City Hall, that Kim gave his side of the story.

Although there is no longer an explicit sign outside, he confirmed that non-Koreans are still not allowed on his premises and he sets the entry policy as manager.

Kim said regular drinkers, mostly in their 20s, pressured him to make the change due to the behavior of some foreigners in the bar, citing instances of sexual harassment and threatening behavior by one individual in particular.

In contrast to Wa Bar, he continued, the Ho Bar environment had led to unruly behavior: “Foreigners seem to act differently in a nightclub than a bar,” Kim said.

Although he conceded that Koreans cause similar problems, he said the communication barrier had led to misunderstandings, threats and he had even been physically assaulted.

“I know this makes me look racist, but anyone who knows me from Wa Bar knows I am not like that. But, yes, this does make me look racist.”

As a business owner, he says his duty is to his regular customers and he apologized to the international community for any offense caused.

Despite further promises for an in-depth interview, Kim had not responded at the time of going to press.
Discrimination and the law

Is Kim really at liberty to discriminate? The short answer is yes.

To the dismay of human rights campaigners, and despite condemnation by the United Nations, Kim’s no-foreigner policy is legal in the Republic of Korea as there is no anti-discrimination legislation covering national or ethnic groups.

This is despite ratifying the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1978, which commits Seoul to protect minorities against racial discrimination in “any place or service intended for use by the general public.” This includes bars and entertainment venues.

After a visit to the country in 2014, the UN Special Rapporteur on Contem-porary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Mutuma Ruteere, reiterated the UN’s 2012 call for the “enactment of a comprehensive anti-discrimination Act.”

The Discrimination Prohibition Act was actually submitted to the National Assembly in November 2007. It was rejected by consecutive National Assemblies, however, and was then abandoned due to strong church opposition in 2013; it included protection for sexual minorities.

Avenues for remedy

Until the Act is passed, the avenues for remedy are few for people wanting to resist discriminatory business practices against non-Koreans.

The National Human Rights Commission was established in 2001 to advocate for human rights protection nationwide, yet its lack of teeth in investigating human rights abuses was also criticized by the UN.

A Commission spokesperson said to The Weekly that they often have success in dialogue with business owners in such situations if an official complaint is made, but they have no legal power to enforce a change in policy.

The Commission is actually dealing with a rising tide of complaints, which is put down to increased awareness of human rights. Despite this increase, it is still an “underused” remedy, the spokesperson said.
A rough ride to multiculturalism

Whatever your position on the rights of business owners to discriminate, Korea is duty-bound to bring its domestic law into line with its international legal obligations. One could say, however, that we are seeing the teething problems of a country slowly coming to terms with multiculturalism.

Despite still being self-perceived by many as racially pure, Yonhap reports the number of Korea’s “multicultural residents” (comprising naturalized Koreans and their children, migrant workers, foreign students and immigrant spouses) at 1.74 million, an annual increase of 14.4 percent since 2006.

Jeju has seen steeper 21.9-percent annual growth since 2009, and around 19,900 foreigners comprise 3.3 percent of the population — just below the national 3.4 percent — a 28 percent increase on the previous year.

As this percentage increases, which it is sure to do — Jeju’s multicultural population is increasing at the fastest clip in the nation — the province is going to struggle to ensure the reality of island life matches the rhetoric of the “honjeo opseoye” welcome messages at the airport.

Korea’s priorities are in ensuring the labor and welfare rights of immigrant workers in agriculture, the fisheries and the entertainment industries, but it is also duty-bound to uphold all of its international human rights obligations.

While many have moral misgivings about Ho Bar's policy, until the Discrimination Prohibition Act is passed by the National Assembly, Kim is on solid legal ground.


Additional research by Timo LaTour.

Darren SouthcottÀÇ ´Ù¸¥±â»ç º¸±â  
¨Ï Jeju Weekly 2009 (http://www.jejuweekly.com)
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