Anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea reignited by violent incidents, stereotypes

Violent crimes by ethnic Korean Chinese suspects fuelled anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea, revealing stereotypes and misconceptions about crime rates

A chilling emergency alert was issued across Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea on Monday afternoon, warning residents: “A stabbing has occurred. Police are searching the area. Please stay indoors and remain cautious.”

Just hours later, a photo of the suspect, an ethnic Korean Chinese man named Cha Cheol-nam, dominated the front pages of major Korean news websites, as police issued a nationwide search for his capture.

That afternoon, Cha allegedly stabbed a woman in her 60s – the owner of a convenience store he often visited – and fled. When officers traced him back to his one-room flat, they discovered a severely decomposed body believed to have been dead for several days.

Cha had also stabbed a man in his 70s about two kilometres from the store, and police later discovered another body near his residence. Police arrested him just an hour after starting the open search. Between Sunday and Monday, three knife-related incidents involving Chinese nationals occurred across southern Gyeonggi Province.

Two triggered a “Code Zero” alert – the police’s highest-level emergency response. The incidents quickly reignited a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment online and reinforced long-standing stereotypes about ethnic Korean Chinese, known as Joseonjok.

Comment sections on YouTube videos were flooded with remarks like “Deport all Chinese nationals” and “Don’t call Joseonjok our fellow Koreans.” The origins of the Joseonjok date back to the 1860s, when many Koreans migrated to Manchuria to escape famine, forming close-knit communities – particularly in what is now China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.

After Seoul and Beijing normalised diplomatic ties in 1992, many began returning to South Korea in search of better opportunities. According to Statistics Korea, 532,100 ethnic Koreans of Chinese nationality were living in South Korea as of 2023. South Korean society often holds unfavourable views of the Joseonjok community.

In a 2022 survey featuring in-depth interviews with 127 Korean university students, 83.5 per cent described their image of the Joseonjok as “rough” or “dangerous.” When asked if they would accept help from a Joseonjok individual while studying, travelling or doing business in China, 58.3 per cent said no – 16.6 percentage points more than those who said yes.

Films have played a major role in fuelling negative perceptions. The survey found 70.9 per cent of respondents said films and television dramas were a key influence in shaping their image of ethnic Korean Chinese. In Korean cinema, they are often portrayed as ruthless villains. In the 2010 film The Yellow Sea, the protagonist beats dozens of thugs to death with an animal bone. In The Outlaws, which drew more than 6.8 million viewers in 2017, gang members casually mutilate debtors.

However, in reality, the crime rate among Chinese nationals, including ethnic Korean Chinese, is not higher than Korean nationals. In 2023, they accounted for just 1.2 per cent of all criminal suspects, according to the National Police Agency. Even when using apprehension rates per 100,000 people – a metric that allows for more balanced comparisons – the proportion of Chinese nationals engaged in crimes is low. According to the 2020 data from the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, Chinese nationals had an apprehension rate only 59 per cent that of Korean nationals.

“Foreign nationals may be more hesitant to commit crimes due to unstable legal status, fear of deportation or language barriers,” said Park Seong-hoon, a senior research associate at the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice.

He added that people native to the country often have broader personal networks – including school ties, hometown connections and family – which can be leveraged when motivated to commit a crime. In contrast, foreigners typically have limited social networks, making it harder to act on criminal intent due to lack of necessary information. Experts warn that focusing on a perpetrator’s nationality rather than the causes of a crime can distort public understanding.

“In the United States – a country long grappling with racism – a suspect’s nationality or ethnicity is typically omitted in news reports, as it’s seen as irrelevant,” said Kim Hee-gyeo, a professor of Northeast Asian Cultural Industries at Kwangwoon University.

“Their Chinese identity has no connection to the crimes themselves. This should be treated as a criminal matter – not framed as a ‘Joseonjok problem,’” Kim said. “This kind of thinking plays a major role in driving our society toward racial prejudice.”