Nearly 70 pct. of foreign students in Korea gripe over racism

"93,232."

This is the number of foreign students who are studying in Korea this year. Considering the trend over the past five years, the number will likely top 100,000 next year.

In 2004, the Korean government established “Study Korea Project,” and announced that it will attract 100,000 foreign students to Korean universities through 2012 to improve the account balance in the overseas studies and training sector and promote Korean culture to the world.

Though Korea has achieved its quantitative goals, how do foreign students feel about the quality of education and life in the country?

With the imminent arrival of the era of 100,000 foreign students in Korea, The Dong-A Ilbo conducted in-depth interviews with 125 foreign students by visiting 23 universities in Seoul and the provinces of North Chungcheong, South Gyeongsang, North Gyeongsang and North Jeolla from Nov. 14 through Sunday.

In the survey, 85 or 68 percent of the interviewees said they experienced bashing and discrimination stemming from xenophobia.

Thirty-one of 44 foreign students who claimed they were discriminated at schools, said they were excluded from group meetings or classes because of poor Korean-language skills or different skin color.” Oftentimes, professors would instigate students to bash foreign students, they said.

Eleven students said they experienced discrimination, including one who said, “A professor told all Chinese students to leave in his first class,” another who claimed, “I was given an F unfairly, but the professor didn`t explain why,” and yet another said, “I was excluded from the list of presenters because I`m a foreigner."

Foreign students were also discriminated off campus as well. Of the 70 students who have had part-time jobs, 23 or 32.9 percent said they were paid less than the minimum hourly wage of 4,320 won (3.79 dollars). A Chinese student at Hanyang University in Seoul worked 10 hours a day without a break at a convenience store near the campus, but was only paid 4,000 won (3.50 dollars) an hour. When he was hospitalized due to illness, the owner only paid 400,000 won (350 dollars) of the 1.2 million won (1,050 dollars) as monthly wage, saying “You failed to keep your promise.” Only 22 foreign students were aware of the Labor Standard Law and the minimum wage.

Kim Hye-sook, a psychology professor at Ajou University in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, said, “Koreans have strong tendency of ‘preferentially treating my own group’ by valuing themselves more than foreigners,” adding, “Such symptoms include avoiding sitting by or making comments despising foreigners.”

Shin Gwang-yeong, a sociology professor at ChungAng University in Seoul, said, “A study found that many foreign students who are studying in the U.S. return to their countries with an anti-American attitude due to exclusivism in American society,” adding, “Excessive discrimination in Korean society will cause even smart young foreigners who came to Korea for positive reasons, such as Hallyu (Korean pop culture), to dislike Korea."

jhk85@donga.com