Racism Against Refugees: The Case of South Korea

This article discusses the sociocultural context in South Korea, which has intensified anti-refugee racism especially since 2018, with the arrival of Yemeni refugees fleeing the war. Park Kyungjoo describes how dual racism encompassing institutional racism and what he calls “citizen-protecting” racism shapes the current conditions of anti-refugee sentiment in South Korea. First, South Korea implemented a refugee act in 2013, in its attempt to catch up with what it perceived as a “global standard.” However, unstable bureaucratic barriers as well as budget cuts and underutilization have left refugee applicants in an inhumane condition and resulted in a perpetually low refugee recognition rate. This is worsened by anti-refugee groups’ “citizen-protecting” racism, which was fueled by the center-left government’s failure to clearly protect refugee rights while strengthening the social safety net for the Korean public. Mobilizing Islamophobic, racist discourses about refugees, these anti-refugee groups, ranging from church groups to politicians, while hard to identify as a singular force, act based on a common interest in right-wing nationalism and the protection of Koreans. Park Kyungjoo calls for multidimensional solutions involving structural changes, institutional changes, and curricular changes in public education, to help the country challenge the current concept of citizenship and democracy.