#SEAblings, South Korea, and an issue of economically motivated racism
In today’s edition of internet drama that shouldn’t really matter, but does: A Day6 concert in Malaysia became the hotbed for ingrained biases and racially motivated discussions between South Korean and Southeast Asian netizens.
Insults targeted at the normalization of plastic surgery and the high incidence of suicide were hurled toward South Koreans. At the same time, Southeast Asians were criticized for their physical appearance and for disrespecting idol culture.
From the outside looking in, this all looks like stupid internet drama that’s simply a waste of everyone’s time and energy. But look at it this way: Filipinos spend up to tens of thousands of pesos for their favorite K-pop groups—and in that same breath, South Korea tends toward economically motivated racism. Take it how you will, but it does leave a bad taste when you’re viewed as second-class citizens in the country of your favorite idols.
A Day6 concert of all things
What exactly happened? After a Day6 concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, several Malaysian fans noted how South Korean fansites brought venue-prohibited professional cameras and lenses into the concert. Fansites are known for taking unofficial but high-quality photos and videos of K-pop groups, including their overseas appearances.
Malaysian netizens criticized the fansites present at the concert, with one video going as far as showing the face of one of the camera holders. And so it began: Malaysians criticized the disrespect shown toward their rules, while South Koreans opposed the disregard for a private individual’s identity.
While it should have stopped there, instead, the already heated discussions devolved to racially motivated insults and stereotypes, prompting Filipino, Indonesian, and other Southeast Asian netizens to step in.
What are some of the exchanged insults? For one, a South Korean netizen likened Southeast Asians to chimpanzees. In another instance, when Indonesian girl group No Na was brought up to highlight growing regional talent, another South Korean took the rural setting of the group’s music video as an indication of their budget, or lack thereof. “Were they so broke they couldn’t rent a set and had to film it in a rice field?” the netizen says.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian camp pointed fun at the heavy and widespread use of plastic surgery in South Korea. Some also noted the country’s deficiency in speaking English.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, and unfortunately, this all had to happen on the backdrop of a K-pop concert—K-pop, after all, has been instrumental in bridging cultures, standing proof that music transcends borders. And South Korea, which has gained billions of dollars through K-pop, has been the greatest beneficiary of this globalized openness.
Beyond K-pop
This, however, goes far beyond K-pop and is but a symptom of South Korea’s racism problem.
In November last year, Kim Chul-soo, the head of South Korea’s Red Cross, was forced to resign after a recording of him speaking ill of “dark-skinned” foreign diplomats surfaced. He voiced displeasure with a recent Red Cross gala and instructed staff not to invite “dark-faced people” to future events.
In 2018, The Korea Times noted that multicultural children faced discrimination at school, leading to a high incidence of dropouts. Not to mention, also last year, Permanent Habitat, a cafe in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong district, drew criticism for posting “We’re sorry. We do not accept Chinese guests” on Instagram.
According to a study reviewing the history of racism in South Korea, in the early 1900s, the Japanese propagated a sense of racial superiority over the Koreans to justify colonizing them. In response to this, ethnic nationalism developed as an ideology aimed at fostering patriotism and securing a national identity, encapsulated by the concept of “one single nation (Hanminjok).”
“This steadfast adherence to ethnic homogeneity in modern Korean society now manifests in discrimination against other ethnic groups and the perception of multicultural youths as individuals who do not fit into the category of pure Koreans,” explains the study, illustrating how the political ideology persisted in modern Korea.
The study also explains that Korean intellectuals encountered the concept of white supremacy and later embraced the notion of racial superiority. “This discriminatory mindset persisted into the 21st century, and contributes to ongoing discrimination against people of color, especially those from lower-income countries in comparison to South Korea,” notes the study titled, “Racism and health in South Korea: History, concept, and systematic review.”
Economically motivated racism
In a 2019 survey by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), among 338 migrants, 68.4 percent agreed that racial discrimination exists in Korea. Korean language proficiency, nationality, race, and skin color were highlighted as main causes for discrimination.
Meanwhile, the 2025 Survey on Korean Attitudes and Values, identified that 43.7 percent of foreign residents experience discrimination while living in Korea.
The survey highlighted the growing acceptance of multiculturalism among Koreans. However, 66 percent of respondents agreed on it on the assumption that it will help address labor shortages—Korea’s working population is projected to plummet within the next 50 years, prompting its government to seek migrant workers.
In short, tolerated, not accepted, and on the premise that you’ll help their economy. Though this may prove to be beneficial for our overseas workers on the hunt for employment, if anything, all that could do is further reinforce the belief in racial and economic superiority.
But Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs’ YoonKyung Kwak puts it best: “What truly matters is whether Koreans see migrants as equal members of society—not merely as temporary workers or economic tools.”
