Korean Tourists Spat On and Insulted... Outrage Over Inconsiderate Australian Teenagers

Sprayed Ms. A's Family and Spat on Bus
Continued Behavior Despite Bus Driver's Intervention
Another Victim Shares a Similar Experience

A Korean family claimed they were subjected to racial discrimination by local teenage girls during their trip to Australia. On the 5th, JTBC's 'Sageonbanjang' reported the story of a woman in her 50s, Ms. A, her husband, and their college-aged son and daughter, who went on a family trip to Sydney, Australia, where her sister-in-law's family lives, and experienced racial discrimination. In mid-last month, Ms. A's family visited a famous tourist spot in Sydney and was harassed by Australian teenage girls while taking a city bus back to their accommodation. The students sitting in the back seats were laughing and making noise, then sprayed a foul-smelling spray toward Ms. A's family.

Shortly after reporting Mr. A's story, the program "Sageon Banjang" also shared the story of another informant. Informant Mr. B stated that he too experienced the same racial discrimination and shared the video from that time. JTBC Sageon Banjang

Startled, Ms. A protested in English, asking, "What are you doing?" In response to her protest, the girls laughed and continued their behavior. "Even though I was watching with my eyes, they kept spraying toward us," Ms. A said. The bus driver, who witnessed the scene, approached the girls and warned, "You used to behave like this before," and said, "Get off the bus immediately." However, the girls cursed at the bus driver and asked, "Why should we get off?" The bus driver firmly replied, "I will not move until you get off, and I will call the police."

The bus driver opened the door and stopped the bus for 10 minutes without moving. Even after getting off, the girls spat toward Ms. A's family and hurled insults. They also mocked them by making V signs with their hands. The bus driver told Ms. A's family, "Everything was recorded, so if you need the footage, contact me. I will help you." Grateful for the bus driver's kindness, Ms. A said, "Although my sister-in-law's family lives in Australia, they said they had never experienced such an incident. Thanks to the bus driver's help, we were able to get out of the situation." She added, "I think we were targeted because we were foreigners and Korean-speaking tourists."

A Korean family claimed they experienced racial discrimination from local teenage girls during their trip to Australia. On the 5th, JTBC's Case Banjang reported that around January, a woman in her 50s, Ms. A, her husband, and their college-aged son and daughter went on a family trip to Sydney, Australia, where her sister-in-law's family lives, and encountered racial discrimination. JTBC Case Banjang

Shortly after reporting Ms. A's story, 'Sageonbanjang' shared another tip from a different informant. Informant B said they also experienced the same racial discrimination and shared a video from the time. The video shows the same teenage girls who cursed and spat at Ms. A doing the exact same actions toward B. Netizens who watched the video praised the bus driver's response but also pointed out the serious racial discrimination problem in Australia. One netizen commented, "Racial discrimination is a serious crime in Australia. They must be found and punished."

According to a research report released last year by Victoria State in Australia, 76.2% of 703 respondents answered that they had experienced racial discrimination. Especially, two-thirds of the victims experienced discrimination at least once in the past year, and one-quarter reported suffering from frequent discrimination, revealing that racial discrimination is a serious issue in Australian society.