Is S Korea racist towards Thais? Dehumanizing immigration ordeal says yes

[bristolgeoff]

Every country will do this,australia amercia the west all will check people coming in.It is not only asia who asks question before they allowed in

[digbeth]

Thais also can travel visa-free to Japan, why is it less of a problem there? Japan is still activel welcoming Thai tourist 

[joonchan]

My wife is Thai and she’s a university lecturer. She hates the little ghosts in Korea. It’s not discrimination the government is fed up with people from Thailand coming here under the guise of tourism and overstay to work here becoming little ghosts. A Thai reporter did a report on this and called the little ghosts out and he got crucified by the netizens. I never understood this. Thailand is a no visa country all they had to do was do a visa run every 85 days I understand someone from countries that are not visa waiver counties that overstay. 

[Photoguy21]

They are protecting their country. If you are legit then you more than likely wont have a problem. Having said that I do know a few men who had jobs to go to, work permits etc and got turned back. They tried the next day and everything went without a problem.

[Neeranam]

7 hours ago, PJ71 said:

brilliant - now they know how it feels for tourists getting interogated entering thailand and their silly requirements, ie onward flights / 20K cash / proof of hotel blah blah blah.

What country are you from?

I'd bet it's a hellava lot easier for you to come here than Thais to go there.

Thai immigration has very lax requirements, despite many Westerners bypassing requirements by bribing rogue Immigration officers.

[TTSIssues]

There certainly is a certain irony in this article !

 

although to be fair to South Korea my ex went on an organised tour with 30+ other Thais. When it came to go home, she was the only one who turned up for the group bus to the airport, the rest of them scarpered to go and work illegally !

[Neeranam]

10 minutes ago, joonchan said:

My wife is Thai and she’s a university lecturer. She hates the little ghosts in Korea. It’s not discrimination the government is fed up with people from Thailand coming here under the guise of tourism and overstay to work here becoming little ghosts. A Thai reporter did a report on this and called the little ghosts out and he got crucified by the netizens. I never understood this. Thailand is a no visa country all they had to do was do a visa run every 85 days I understand someone from countries that are not visa waiver counties that overstay. 

Not sure the relevance of your wife's job.

Thais like the Korean soaps and terrible Pop music.

I met Korean on the golf course last week, very unfriendly. My caddy said none of the caddies like them.

[mran66]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

It seems that Thais can never look in the mirror. It's always someone else's at fault.

 

My experience is they look at mirror all the time. The problem is what they always see is a perfect specimen that never done or will do anything wrong, wondering why foreigners do not hand more cash to them. 

Edited February 23 by mran66

[orchidfan]

1 hour ago, LALes said:

Every country in Asia is racist/xenophobic with their own, peculiar, often demeaning terminology for outsiders.  Gwailo in China, Gaijun in Japan, Farang in Thailand...

Hey Thailand, karma's a biatch  ain't it.

Nearly...it's laowai in China (pinyin) guilo in Hong Kong (and Cantonese speakers).....basically all meaning Foreigner. Fair enough I guess.

Most of us can't easily distinguish between most Europeans, north Americans, Canadians. Aussies, Kiwis etc.

[koolkarl]

And you can be assured that S. Korea, Thailand, Japan will never ever let in 1 Palestinian in a million years, not like bright Canada.

[sqwakvfr]

I was born in Busan.  I grew up in California and have been back to the "Land of the morning calm" many times.  When I go back to Korea I am a JAF (Just Another Foreigner).  Korea does not allow dual citizenship.   I think it is less racism and probably xenophobia or even the old feeling of "my country and my people are better than you".  Many Koreans are fiercely proud of their country, customs and contributions to the world.  That is if KPOP or KDramas are actually contributions?  Th truth is Korea has the lowest birthrate in the developed world (this from the OECD) and desperately needs foreign workers.  Of course the expectation is people from SE Asia will do the DDD jobs (Dirty, Dangerous and Dehumanizing).  Does anyone think a Thai National will get an office job at Samsung Headquarters.  

[Older and Wiser]

Thais aren't getting special treatment here, South Koreans are racist against many nationalities. When I lived in Japan, many of my western friends visited SK with Japanese girlfriends and complained about their racist attitude,

[ikke1959]

39 minutes ago, digbeth said:

Thais also can travel visa-free to Japan, why is it less of a problem there? Japan is still activel welcoming Thai tourist 

Japan is too expensive 🙂

[Older and Wiser]

5 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

I was born in Busan.  I grew up in California and have been back to the "Land of the morning calm" many times.  When I go back to Korea I am a JAF (Just Another Foreigner).  Korea does not allow dual citizenship.   I think it is less racism and probably xenophobia or even the old feeling of "my country and my people are better than you".  Many Koreans are fiercely proud of their country, customs and contributions to the world.  That is if KPOP or KDramas are actually contributions?  Th truth is Korea has the lowest birthrate in the developed world (this from the OECD) and desperately needs foreign workers.  Of course the expectation is people from SE Asia will do the DDD jobs (Dirty, Dangerous and Dehumanizing).  Does anyone think a Thai National will get an office job at Samsung Headquarters.  

You got it 100% and Japan is the same, though they have made advances in making such people, especially from Philippines, legal. 

[richard_smith237]

Just now, ikke1959 said:

40 minutes ago, digbeth said:

Thais also can travel visa-free to Japan, why is it less of a problem there? Japan is still activel welcoming Thai tourist 

Japan is too expensive 🙂

Not really….  If you’ve ever been to Japan you’ll see Thai’s there everywhere.

 

The TG flights are always full of Thai tourists.

 

Tokyo metro & subway is cheap.

Ramen is 230 baht / a beer is 140-200 baht in most places. 
 

Japan is doing very well out of Thai Middle Classes tourism.

 

Go to Hakuba, Niseko, Furano, Kuraro in ski season & there are always Thai’s there. 

Japan is an incredibly popular tourist destination for Thai’s. 

 

 

 

[Sydebolle]

Well, whoever went through the skinning ordeal of Thai immigration in extending a normal visa ........... 

[yussiesamui]

Is Thailand racist to farangs?

[Lemsta69]

What's wrong with xenophobia anyway? Outsiders should be feared. Look at Europe to see what happens when you let your guard down.

[digbeth]

20 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Not really….  If you’ve ever been to Japan you’ll see Thai’s there everywhere.

 

The TG flights are always full of Thai tourists.

 

Tokyo metro & subway is cheap.

Ramen is 230 baht / a beer is 140-200 baht in most places. 
 

Japan is doing very well out of Thai Middle Classes tourism.

 

Go to Hakuba, Niseko, Furano, Kuraro in ski season & there are always Thai’s there. 

Japan is an incredibly popular tourist destination for Thai’s. 

And Korea would have a nice chunk of that middle class tourist market, even moreso with thai teens' K-Pop craze 

 

Not that there aren't Thai working illegally in Japan  Maybe there's less of a market for illegal Thai workers in Japan than South Korea, 

Why does the problem in Korea became so rampant that airport immigration are now jeopardizing genuine tourist? Some would say the South Korean economy needed the illegal workers

[bluemoon58]

Pot, kettle, black! Hey ho!

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, digbeth said:

Why does the problem in Korea became so rampant that airport immigration are now jeopardizing genuine tourist? 

 
Racism…..   I think that’s the whole point of the Op. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

what have the Thais ever done to the Koreans?

 

[HuaHinNew]

So block all the Koreans from entering Thailand, too bloody many of them clogging up the golf courses here in Thailand now during their winter season .....55555

[soi3eddie]

2 hours ago, joonchan said:

It’s not discrimination the government is fed up with people from Thailand coming here under the guise of tourism and overstay to work here becoming little ghosts. A Thai reporter did a report on this and called the little ghosts out and he got crucified by the netizens.

 

I was on pretty much the last flight out of Seoul to Bangkok on 12th March 2020 as Covid panic was truly setting in. It was absolutely full of "little ghosts" returning home to Thailand. Quite surreal really.

 

[bristolgeoff]

The thais are overstaying or illegal working there,It happens in thailand and the thais don,t like it.They are quick to grass up the person if caught.I agree a bit of karma maybe coming back to them now.I don,t know many sth koreans saw a few in angeles and it seemed some think they are more special than others.So maybe they have a number to ring up to catch the illegals too, a previous comment said he wanting to return after being caught before.So the cycle continues 

[stoner]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

They need an electronic entry authorisation (eTA) or an e-visa.

My Thai friend is VP of major car brand here in Bangkok,  his wife has been rejected for eTA 3x in a row (she’s a former actress, relatively famous & wealthy).

 

Another friend travelling with his wife, his wife was refused outright at Korean immigration & returned (they’ve traveled all over the world together without an issue). 

 

the kind of people you are referring to are not denied a visa 3x for no reason other than racism. there is much more to the story and i would need to see everything attached to make a proper decision. 

 

your other friend again very little info to go on i'm afraid. 

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, BritScot said:

Have you ever been? 

No. Would go if the trip was free. Otherwise, don't have much interest. Japan is near the top of the list. Great food, sake, sights, culture, etc. Not South Korea. 

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

They are likely jobs the locals don't want. Same as the Burmese workers here and the Latino workers in the US. 

[RichardColeman]

Maybe they should ask how many thais are working illegally and not paying tax in Korea as opposed to koreans working in thailand illegally ?

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Not really….  If you’ve ever been to Japan you’ll see Thai’s there everywhere.

In the convenience stores.