

By Jhoo Dong-chan

The fear over the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa hasn't put the collective Korean intelligence in a positive light.



First it was a university in Seoul disinviting Nigerian students for an international event.



Now, a restaurant in Itaewon, a bustling leisure district in the capital, is refusing to accept black customers, who it referred to as "Africans," over worries that they would spread the virus.



A pair of handwritten signs posted at JR Pub, a popular place for beer and chicken wings, read "We apologize, but due to Ebola Virus, we are not accepting Africans at the moment."



It was unclear how the restaurant planned to judge whether a person was African. Eye tests, of course, were likelier than ID screening.



A photo of the signs made rounds on social media late Saturday, touching off angry reactions from Internet users, including some who threatened to boycott the restaurant.



When reached by The Korea Times on phone, JR Pub's associate did not want to discuss his restaurant's new policy or whether he believed Ebola was a disease exclusive to black people.

"I really don't want to talk about this," he said. He also refused to say whether he will reverse his ban on black customers.