Fears about refugees are spreading quickly across Korea after news that the number of asylum seekers on Jeju Island has soared.
More than 250,000 Koreans have signed a petition against the Jeju Provincial Government’s (JPG) refugee-friendly policy that allows foreigners to stay for several months without a visa and, in the meantime, helps them find jobs.
“I call on the government to put Koreans’ safety and other important issues first,” the person who posted the petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website wrote. “I’m doubtful whether they really are refugees. Think about it. Why would they come all the way here to seek asylum?”
“If we continue to allow them, what is happening in Europe today could become our future,” another petitioner wrote.
Judging by comments from news articles and social media, the dominant voice here doesn’t support the visa-waiver policy, which many locals think draws more refugees there.
According to the Jeju Immigration Office Tuesday, more than 940 foreigners have applied for legal refugee status so far this year, compared with 312 for the whole of last year.
Yemenis, whose country has been devastated by a civil war, account for about 54.7 percent, followed by Chinese (30.9 percent).
Many asylum seekers choose Korea’s southernmost island because the JPG allows them to stay there up to a month without a visa. If they apply for legal refugee status, they can earn an additional few months until the end of the screening process. If they bring the case to the court, it could be years.
With rising public concern about a flood of new asylum seekers from Yemen, the JPG said it has listed the country as one of 12 exceptions to its visa-waiver program.
Many locals are concerned about faiths they are not familiar with and safety problems new people might bring to their neighborhood.
There is insufficient data on whether refugees affect the number of crimes in Korea, but when a Kenyan asylum seeker murdered a Korean employee with chopsticks at a cafe in Gwangju two years ago, it caused a sensation ― and many still talk about it.
Meanwhile, some Koreans help asylum seekers by offering jobs and other support.
The Korean Red Cross has started providing medical help. Christian groups and human rights activists have also been active.
Korea is known as one of the most rigid countries when it comes to granting legal refugee status to foreigners. Among 32,733 applicants between 1994 and 2017, only 792 were successful.
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