Yemeni Refugees in Korea
Hee Eun Shin
The Yemeni Civil War has driven thousands of people out of their homeland, leading to a massive surge of refugees. In 2018, South Korea saw a spike of Yemeni refugees attempting to enter the country through Jeju Island, where tourist visas valid up to three months are freely available but limits their travel to the main peninsula. Since the influx, the South Korean public has been severely divided on whether to accept the asylum seekers, or to deport those who exploit the visa loopholes to claim asylum and overstay their visas.
Why the Yemeni refugees have chosen South Korea as their destination has come into question. According to the refugees, the largest factor that allows their travel to one of the most Eastern country of Asia is the direct route from Malaysia to South Korea. Malaysia has been one of the countries that has been accepting Yemeni refugees, and many Yemenis have found safety in the Muslim country. However, it has been increasingly difficult for Malaysia to accept more refugees from Yemen, and with the closer European countries closing their borders, Yemeni refugees have started to travel all the way to Korea, a politically and economically stable country with comparably open borders and more accepting refugee laws than its neighbors.
Those who support accepting the Yemeni refugees argue that as an advanced country that owes much of its rapid growth to the international community, it is only appropriate for the South Korean government to accept refugees who are running away from the war-torn condition that Korea also has been in 5 decades ago. Since the South Korean people have history of seeking asylum in China and America during the Japanese occupation and the Korean War, many pro-refugee supporters argue that it is unethical and immoral for the Korean people to deny refugees also running from an oppressive regime and a violent civil war. Some also point out that South Korea is already accepting refugees from North Korea, and to deny the Yemenis asylum purely based on their origin and religion is an Islamophobic double standard and a violation of Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the rights of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries. Many pro-refugee supporters worry that denying Yemenis of asylum will result in negative impact on South Korea’s reputation in the international community as one of the well-established and advanced nation.
People against accepting the refugees worry that some Yemenis are not actually running away from religious or political persecution but are taking advantage of the situation to find financial opportunities in Korea. The fact that the South Korean government has no bona fide process of vetting the asylum seekers to determine whether they are ‘true refugees’ or ‘fake refugees’ concerns people as well. Some people also worry that like Europe, South Korea may become subject to a spike of terrorist attacks and other social issues regarding the assimilation of Muslims. Anti-refugee supporters argue that there is no need to risk Korea’s national security for foreigners if there is even a 1% chance that there might be a terrorist. Many also worry that the addition of refugees from the middle east, in addition to the North Korean refugees we are annually taking in will worsen the economy. With President Trump’s decision to continue US’s arms deal with Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest weapons providers in the Yemeni Civil War, it is unlikely that Yemen’s condition will be resolved soon, and Korea will not be able to endlessly accept refugees when South Korea’s economy is already in decline.
