adameforhim:

kimchi-monster:

Signs like this make me sad. This picture is doing the rounds on Facebook so I thought I would repost it here. There are some bars in Korea that have a ‘no foreigners’ allowed policy. The one above is taken from a Ho Bar in Gangnam. Ho Bar is probably one of the biggest bar chains in Seoul. It’s kind of like a UK Wetherspoons…but louder. Me and my friends have been turned away on the grounds of being foreign by the same bar in Gangnam before. A few months ago I was also turned away from another Ho bar in Seoul because I am a foreigner. It made me laugh to think about what would happen if we put up a ‘No Asians allowed’ sign in the window of an English pub. There are still Ho bars that allow foreigners (such as in Hongdae) but after that, I have been boycotting every Ho bar I see. I don’t think I could give my custom to a place banning people on the grounds of their nationality or ethnicity.

well i mean maybe korean bars wouldn’t have to put signs like this up if the majority of western foreigners didn’t visit the country and act as if they don’t have to abide by korean customs. from what i’ve read and seen, “racism” against foreigners in korea has more to do with the lack of respect (something most asian cultures take very seriously) foreigners exhibit than the fact that they’re foreigners.

“there are still Ho bars that allow foreigners”… okay then, go there if it bothers you so much. there are places in and around seoul that have been basically taken over by foreigners and retrofitted so y’all can have some place to go. go there. asian countries, or foreign lands that have not been colonized and taken over by western culture, do not have to abide by your standards. they don’t even have to let you come into their country, but they do. you’re lucky the larger cities there even have places for you to congregate and you’re lucky natives even allow you into their country. if you don’t like it, leave.