[Report] "It's Not Just One or Two Days" Anti-China Sentiment Amid 'Biased Judging' Controversy... Chinese Koreans Sigh

Cultural Invasion and Biased Judging Spark Controversies at Chinese Olympics
Rising Anti-China Sentiment... Hate Voices Like "Just Seeing Chinese is Enough"
Seoul Daerim-dong Commercial Area with Chinese Residents Also Deeply Sighs
Experts Say "Korean-Chinese Are Also Minorities Domestically"
"Racism Must Never Be Tolerated in Any Case"

Early morning on the 9th, a view of the shops near Daerim Central Market in Seoul. / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in China has been plagued by various controversies such as cultural invasion and biased judgments, fueling public outrage. There are concerns that it could act as a catalyst for the 'anti-China sentiment' that has been rising since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fallout from the Korea-China conflict is not limited to emotional clashes between citizens of the two countries. Hatred may also spill over onto ethnic Koreans from China and Chinese residents living in Korea. On the 9th, Chinese residents met in Daerim-dong Chinatown in Seoul showed signs of anxiety.

◆"Being insulted is nothing new" Persistent Prejudice... Resigned Daerim-dong Merchants

Daerim-dong Chinatown is a commercial district stretching from outside Exit 12 of Daerim Station to Daerim Central Market. Known as the 'Little China within Seoul,' it has long been recognized as the largest Chinatown in Korea.

Even in the early morning hours when customers were scarce, shops and the central market were busy preparing for business. Trucks loaded with goods moved through narrow alleys, and exotic songs in Chinese flowed from open restaurants.

Merchants unanimously said that the hateful gaze felt by Chinese residents is nothing new. Mr. Park, in his 50s, who runs a grocery store in Daerim Central Market, said, "Is it just a day or two that people from Yanbian get insulted? It's no longer surprising. As long as they don't interfere with business, we are grateful."

Regarding the recent intensification of anti-China sentiment in Korea due to the Winter Olympics controversy, Mr. Park said, "I don't know much about it," but added, "We've been misunderstood for strange reasons more than once or twice. Even though we work honestly, many people didn't trust us."

A quiet scene of a Daerim-dong store preparing for business / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@

Another Daerim-dong resident, Mr. B, said, "There have always been many prejudiced views about people here, but with the recent chaos starting from COVID-19, I worry it might get worse," and added, "There have been countless times when we were insulted because of China. Now, everything just feels numb," showing a resigned reaction.

There were also comments expressing difficulty in understanding the 'cultural invasion' controversy that arose during the Olympic opening ceremony. Mr. B said, "People from Yanbian also wear jeogori (Korean traditional jacket) a lot during holidays," adding, "Hanbok is Korean, but the traditional costume of ethnic Koreans living in China is also jeogori, so what else would they wear? I don't understand why Koreans get angry about that."

◆"Chinese, Don't Cross My Eyes" Boiling Anti-China Sentiment

The Olympic controversy intensified from the opening ceremony on the 4th. During the ceremony, representatives from 56 ethnic minorities in China held a giant five-starred red flag together, and a woman wearing a white jeogori and pink skirt, traditional Korean dress, appeared, causing issues.

On the 7th, a controversy over biased judgments erupted. In the men's short track event held at the Beijing Capital Indoor Stadium, Korean national team athletes Hwang Dae-heon (23, Gangwon Province Office) and Lee Jun-seo (22, Korea National Sport University) were consecutively disqualified due to penalty calls.

Hwang Daeheon of the Korean short track speed skating national team overtaking in the men's 1000m short track semifinal heat 1 on the afternoon of the 7th, the third day of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China / Photo by Yonhap News

Anti-China sentiment in Korea is not new. After the deployment of the U.S. THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system in Korea in 2017, China retaliated with measures such as the ban on Korean Wave (Hallyu), worsening Korea-China relations. Also, when COVID-19 first spread in Korea in 2020, many critical posts about China appeared mainly on online platforms.

The problem is that anti-China sentiment often spreads into hatred against Chinese residents or ethnic Koreans from China living in Korea.

On the 8th, rumors spread on some social networking services (SNS) that a brawl broke out between Chinese merchants who hung banners congratulating a Chinese short track gold medalist in Guro-gu, Seoul, and Korean merchants trying to stop them, causing controversy. However, according to the police, this rumor was found to be false.

On a university community on Facebook, a post saying "Chinese international students should drop out on their own" was uploaded, sparking controversy. / Photo by Online Community Capture

Meanwhile, on a Facebook page of a domestic university, a post translated into Chinese saying "If there are Chinese international students, please voluntarily withdraw" caused a stir. Some students urged restraint, saying, "Isn't this too harsh?" and "What wrong have the international students done?" but some posts supported violence, saying, "If I see a Chinese person in front of me, I'll throw a punch immediately."

Experts pointed out that ethnic Koreans from China living in Korea are clearly a minority, and hatred against them also constitutes racial discrimination.

Kim Ji-hak, director of the Korea Diversity Research Institute, said, "Ethnic Koreans from China, Chinese residents, and Korean-Chinese living in Korea all belong to minority groups," adding, "If anti-China sentiment leads to hatred against them, the damage will inevitably be significant."

He emphasized, "We must ensure that civil society firmly establishes the fact that racial discrimination against any race or ethnicity should never occur under any circumstances."