Upon returning from a weeklong vacation in Malaysia, my excitement to return to my new home in Korea turned very ugly, very quickly. I was randomly pulled from the customs line of about 200 people and asked if my bags could be searched. Being filled with only dirty, sandy clothes, I did not see a problem. Then things turned strange.
The customs official took out every piece of clothing from my bag, leaving my roommate's untouched. My dirty underwear was now on display, and even on the floor of Incheon International Airport. But I let it go, and knew I had nothing to hide, save a few smelly bits of clothing.
Then, a man took our passports for a brief moment and asked us to go into a small side room with him and two others. When he closed the door, he claimed I had ``drug residue" of MDMA (the compound that makes ``Ecstasy") on my passport. My roommate's passport (which had been in the same bag or pocket for most of the return flight) was clear, leading me to believe it was all faked. Confused and knowingly innocent, we asked for more information and what this meant. To this, we were given no answer other than we had to give up our wallets and watches for tests, which came back ``positive" as well.
Then they framed me: They wanted to test my hands for ``drugs." After two tests that came back ``negative," they told me to hold my passport before the third test, to which I naturally refused as that would leave ``residue" on my hands. After trying to force the passport into my hands, they simply swabbed the passport, my watch, then my fingers and walked out, while I was screaming to my roommate, ``They are framing me! Look! Help!"
Monday, August 10, 2009
Trying to frame teachers at Incheon Airport?
An excerpt from an intriguing letter in the Korea Times this evening:
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18 comments:
As this is the first story of framing someone like this hat I've read I would hope that it's quite rare, but I was shocked and appalled as I read the article.
I hope it becomes big enough news for the current publicity-orientated powers-that-be to do something about it, because this sort of thing really has no place in a developed, modern nation that's constantly trying to advance.
If the traditional rural life is worthy of a laugh from some Koreans for being backwards, then what is this?
No, I'm not on a Japan kick now, but this news item did spring to mind, and I wanted to share it in the comments. Only very tangentially related, but alarming nonetheless:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080708zg.html
http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2008/07/japan-times-beware-foreigner-as-guinea.html
That's not the most racist thing I've seen at Incheon - http://koreanrumdiary.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-in-swineland-among-scum.html
with that Japanese news article Brian, i think in a way one can say that the perceived xenophobia of Koreans in general is in fact not unique to Korea. Its everywhere (at least region wise)
Wow . . . not surprising, but wow.
Not much you can do in that situation either, eh? If they've decided they want someone for the next public scam campaign to show they're doing their jobs and that foreigners are drug users to back up policy based that has no basis in statistics of arrests and convictions--hey, maybe that's it. Someone has put the word out that they need actual arrests and convictions to fit with the K-trix 'reality' view about foreigners ...
Agent Smith becomes Agent Kim and the rest of us are ... yeah, not good.
I hope the framed person is okay--anybody have some follow up info?
J
That's why I usually fly into Incheon wearing a suit and tie. While it don't completely immunize one from scrutiny, by dressing like a businessman and not a stereotypical English teacher, it makes them a little more wary to pick on someone that could be a potential investor with some useful phone numbers. I've never been searched, never had any problems simply because I am very conservative-looking when I travel into international airports. Fresh back from Malaysia, a typical tired, disheveled English teacher in sandals and cargo shorts "looks" (in the K-Customs eye) to be a "partying foreigner. It's ridiculous, but you have to know your target audience's prejudices when you travel.
Right about then is when I would want to talk to someone from my home country's embassy. I carry their number on me at all times and the moment they said "hand over your phone" is when I'd make a call.
What the airport did was extremely illegal, not only in S.Korea but it also violates a few international laws as well. I hope the hell this guy got the names of as many people as possible and made the largest stink about it as could be.
I follow the same approach as Brian Dear. My first year or two traveling in Asia - be it Hong Kong, Incheon or Japan - I was always getting the 'extra' attention treatment, including one dodgy incident at Incheon.
From that point on I wore a collared shirt and business pants, or at least wore smart causal clothing, and haven't received extra scrutiny since. Sometimes you gotta act like a local - appearance means everything here, it's not necessarily what you are that's important to locals but what you appear to be.
That said, no one deserves the treatment the individual in the story went through and this definitely needs to be investigated thoroughly.
You left out the other half of my article.
I wish the Times hadn't made the title so dramatic. And not began it with my personal message to them BEFORE the actual story-part. But oh well.
I'm glad people are talking.
As to some comments:
My style of dress was neither disshevled or sloppy. I'm fairly clean shaven and short haired. I'm not a "profile."
The US Embassy cannot help me, as they cannot entangle themselves in personal affairs of expats.
Thanks for stopping by, Alex. I don't copy, paste, and post entire articles, which is why, as I said, I had an excerpt.
I'll be interested to see how this turns out, and what course of action can be taken.
You're right that the embassy cannot be relied upon to help---as they've demonstrated time and time again---though this shouldn't be allowed to let stand.
You are correct that the embassy won't help you with personal / professional disputes. But they will assist (eventually) you if your being setup by a government entity. Because then its a foreign government (from the Embassy's point of view) trying to arrest / jail a US citizen. Drug charges are jail time in SK. I have received assistance before, it just takes some time.
Then again, most ex-pats don't register with their countries embassy when they enter / leave a country. Them knowing your legally here is a big part of getting assistance.
Anyone remember the "brilliant" sting Korean immigration or the local cops ran in some town in Korea a couple years back?
They ran ads for ESL teachers looking to pick up work in a second job. Anyone who walked through the door they then arrested for visa violations.
It had to be pointed out to them it's not a crime to interview for a second job. I interviewed for three jobs while I was in Korea. If you accept a second job without seeking the proper modification to your visa then that is illegal.
They might have even snared some married ESLs who might have a legal right to take such employment without modification to their visa.
Anyway, anyone who might be skeptical about Alex's story, just remember their last completely cocked up scheme.
(To be honest, I was moderately skeptical of the letter. This isn't the first time KT has been trolled. And please take this purely as a compliment but your photo looks like the western ideal Korean hagwons fall over each other to hire.)
It seems to me that if Customs Officials (and it would have been Customs not Immigration) really had a case to prove they would have arrested the dude and either chucked him in the slammer or deported him.
At best this rather sounds like the Japanese case Brian points to - a rather poorly executed practice, and at worst a fishing expedition that, had the writer not been so adamant / vocal might not have gone his way.
That being said, welcome to the wonderful world of racial profiling. Walk through Korean Customs/Immigration wearing a button down shirt and slacks rather than flip flops and board shorts (Or chequered pants pulled up to your nipples - you decide) and you'll walk through customs everytime without a second thought.
Remember it's all about being seen to be doing the right thing in Korea whether it's at the airport or at school.
alex wrote:
The US Embassy cannot help me, as they cannot entangle themselves in personal affairs of expats.
If they let you off scot-free, what do you need help from the US embassy for?
kushibo,
I don't think alex suggested he could or should. He was merely replying to palladin who suggested
"Right about then is when I would want to talk to someone from my home country's embassy."
I don't think alex suggested he could or should. He was merely replying to palladin who suggested
Well, okay. But the present-tense comment (cannot help me) kinda threw me off. If he's been let go without any problems, why consider it in the present tense, not the past tense (could not help me) or a hypothetical tense (could not have helped me)?
Kushibo... just consider this guy was an English teacher. At the danger of ruining my beautiful glass house by throwing stones, one would expect he'd know the difference.
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