Nightlife in Korea, but make it safe for all skin colors

[SHUTTERSTOCK]

Nightlife is an integral part of the student experience; however, as a foreigner, it is not uncommon to be stopped by bouncers grumbling the dreaded phrase: “This place is for Koreans only.”

Noticing an influx of discrimination at clubs and bars, foreign influencers Kirsten Keels and Patrick Ramos, known on TikTok as K.keels and theexpatpat, have taken to social media to create a list of “BIPOC foreign friendly” nightlife institutions.

The list features clubs and bars in Korea that are friendly to foreigners — more specifically, the BIPOC community, which stands for black, indigenous, and people of color — based on the users' hands-on experiences. The list underwent two rounds of revisions before its release, with updates made when users reported negative experiences from clubs and bars that made it on the list.

Patrick Ramos, left, and Kirsten Keels [PATRICK RAMOS, KIRSTEN KEELS]

The Korea JoongAng Daily spoke with the list's two creators as May came to a close, to ask what their motivation was and how they made it.

“Since Covid-19, xenophobia in Korea has magnified. In the past few weeks, I have seen a rise of discrimination in bars, lounges and restaurants,” explained Ramos. “During Covid-19 restrictions, it felt as if clubs had no problem taking money from foreigners as Koreans did not go out as much. But now, they are more selective on who they let in, but it is just my assumption.”

Discussion on creating a foreigner-friendly or unfriendly list of places has circulated in foreign circles over the past few years. Ramos, with his audience growing to over 91,000 followers on TikTok, saw Keels' initiative on Instagram as the perfect time to kickstart the project. Keel’s original idea was to post a list of “red flags” locations, but due to Korean defamation laws, people who red-flag places online can find themselves facing legal troubles. Instead, the creators signaled the safe places, aligning better with the initial intention of protecting the BIPOC community.

While universally foreigner-friendly, the list centers more around the BIPOC experience in particular. As Ramos explains, “the experience of black and brown expatriates is different from those who are white or white-passing. There have been several instances where white expatriates were allowed to enter establishments, but not expatriates of color. That is why, when creating this list, we need to make sure the places are not simply foreigner-friendly, but most importantly safe for brown and black expatriates.”

“In Korea, there is this love and admiration for Black popular culture and music, but at the same time widespread racism and xenophobia,” Keels explained. “If we were to create a ‘foreigner-friendly’ only guide, I feel like it would dull the message we are trying to get across.”

The list is named “Unique Situations: A community guide to nightlife in Korea.”

“I wanted something that would stick in people’s minds,” explained Keels, the creator of the idea. “Outside of bars and clubs [that refuse entry to foreigners,] you often see signs saying ‘please understand our unique situation’ even if nothing is unique to it. At this point, it is like an inside joke in the expatriate community.”

The list underwent two phases before its release. First, a group chat with thirteen BIPOC expatriates was created to round up an initial list of places.

“The list is a community-based, collaborative and inclusive initiative,” said Keels, emphasizing the importance of the community’s involvement in the list. On May 17, Keels and Ramos took the list to their social media, asking for feedback. If either of them received negative feedback on a place from the list, they would bump it out. A second draft was posted on May 20, before the list was officially released on June 5.

Both Ramos and Keels explain that the list has been well received, for the most part. “Everyone is excited, but there has been some backlash as people feel like their favorite place should be on the list,” Ramos said. “But even if someone might have never had an issue, another group of people might have. That is why we keep taking in feedback to ensure it is safe for everybody.” Others criticized them for letting some discriminatory places slip by in the list or missing businesses owned by Black expatriates.

Nonetheless, the project took an emotional toll. As Keels explains, “I get frustrated with some hate comments, for example, when Korean content creators try to justify 'no-foreigner allowed' without considering other factors.”

Before the list, and as a black woman herself, Keels has also faced discrimination. Apart from the standard “go back to your country” comment, her earliest recollection is being screamed at in a restaurant full of people and told she was “disgusting.” “Nobody cared, not even the friends I was with. I felt so helpless,” she recalled.

While Ramos had not encountered extreme instances of discrimination before the list’s making, on May 15, as he was live-streaming his walk through what is generally considered Seoul's foreign district, Itaewon, Ramos was held and pinned against a wall by one of a famous club’s bouncers, who saw him filming the club’s “no foreigner” sign. “While I had started the list after hearing my friend’s experiences, after the incident, I realized how important the list was to create,” Ramos explained.

The list is free to access and listed on both of the creators' social media accounts, including the names, addresses and Instagram handles of the BIPOC-friendly places that made it to the list. “I see this list as a way to protect my community here in Korea,” said Keels.

For both Keels and Ramos, the list is an opportunity to expand discussions about safety and discrimination in Korea. As Keels explained, “I wish for other people visiting Korea to feel safe, so that they do not have to do this guessing game of what is safe and what is not.”

“If we continue to have these conversations, I think it is a step in the right direction,” said Ramos. “I hope that as Korea becomes more globalized, the importance of discussing issues of discrimination is more widely understood.”

BY STUDENT REPORTER LAURA SENIOR PRIMO [kjd.kcampus@joongang.co.kr]