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Nearly all non-Koreans living in Seoul have experienced discrimination based on their nationality, appearance, or level of education, a recent survey showed. Only 5.5% of respondents said that they had never experienced discrimination.

According to a survey released on May 24 by the Seoul Institute, which is affiliated with Seoul Metropolitan Government, the most common reason that non-Koreans were discriminated against while living in Seoul was nationality (62.2%). This was followed by physical appearance (28.8%), education level (18.7%), income level (14.4%), occupation (12.9%), and place of origin (12.4%). 2,500 non-Koreans living in Seoul took part in the survey, which was conducted in October of last year.

Respondents were asked to rank the two most common kinds of discrimination.

Respondents from China (70.3%) and Vietnam (70%) were most likely to cite nationality as a reason for their discrimination, while it was common for Anglo-Americans to face discrimination because of their appearance (56%) and Vietnamese because of their level of education (30%).

When asked about the quality of life in Seoul, non-Koreans living in the city gave it an average score of 69.7 points out of a maximum of 100. Respondents were very satisfied with the residential environment (76.0) and urban safety (74.4) but had more complaints about communication (61.7) and economic conditions (65.8).

When sorted by nationality, Chinese respondents were the most satisfied, giving the city 73.4 points, and Japanese were the least satisfied with 56.7 points. Japanese were particularly unhappy with urban safety (43.6) and economic conditions (53.0).

Foreigners feel that the price of goods is quite high in Seoul, with respondents ranking prices at 132.3% on average (presuming that prices in their home country are 100%). The survey found that Europeans (100.95%) and Anglo-Americans (104.78%) feel that prices in Seoul are similar to prices at home.

By Lee Ji-eun, staff reporter

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