Evil Foreigners Not Just a Japanese Problem

The problem of course being that people think foreigners are criminally inclined.

Yes in Korea, the sensationalism is spreading as well. It reads like any number of stories we have covered here on Japan Probe, sadly. Of course in Korea it is the Japanese that represent a criminal threat.

In Busan alone, foreign crime has skyrocketed 250% over the last three years. Law enforcement agencies say some 27 foreign criminal organizations are operating in the port city, including the Russian mafia, Japanese yakuza, Chinese triads, and Thai and Bengali gangs.

Read the full article in all its schlocky glory here (Korean text only it seems), or get the rundown at ROK Drop, who entreat people to actually do some research.

15 comments - What do you think? Posted by Claytonian - October 19, 2007 at 10:54 am

Categories: Discrimination Tags: foreign crime

…

This sensationalism is nothing new. Many GIs, “English teachers”, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, chinese committing crime in Korea.

James

Are they? Or is that what you saw in the latest prime time drama?
I feel like I should get disturbed by this story, but i’ve been inured to the portrayal of black people in Asia by Japanese dramas, where EVERY black person is always stabbing, robbing or otherwise committing crimes.

Dave

Bad portrayal in movies isn’t just limited to Asia. How long has the joke in America been that if you’re the black guy in a horror flick you’ll be one of the first to die?

In regards to the article I’d say it’s at least good that they’re blaming it on foreign crime organizations, as opposed to just foreigners in general (as certain racist publications in Japan have been claiming). I realize that if these claims are groundless, then it is still quite racist indeed, as it would be intended to blame Korea’s problems on foreign influence. But this in and of itself does not strike me as generalized racist propaganda. If I read an article here in America about the (insert foreign country here) mafia causing problems somewhere, I would say that’s racist. It’s an organization, not a representation of the people from that country.

Claytonian

go the original post; they aren’t just talking about organizations. Additionally, I think such talk is just a way to distance yourself from your prejudice if you write about such things.

youaredumb

Not koreans though, no way are any Koreans commiting the bulk of crime in Korea. Preposterous!

…

So foreigners should add to the problems already there making it an excuse for foreigners to commit more crimes, are they in their own country BTW?

Claytonian

Mr. dotdotdot,

I’m afraid your comment makes no sense, either logically nor syntactically.
…

You are assuming that foreigners are equal to native citizens so every country make my country and do whatever I want feeling at home and acting according to my standards no matter how corrupt it is. Did you ever heard the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”?
Claytonian

Mr. dotdotdot,
No offense, but your English is really hard to follow.
I do contend the foreigners have the same rights.
I also contend that one should not give up their culture to live in a foreign land. Obviously, compromises have to made with local laws, ethics, and mores. However, foreigners are not inheritly criminals that bring over criminal practices.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do”? This saying doesn’t mean what you think it means. It means have fun and try things the way the natives do.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

Over at ROK Drop it says:
“if you look at the actual statistics from the Korean National Police Agency serious crime by foreigners is actually less per capita than the average Korean population”

If foreigners were to follow the advice of … and do as the Romans do, they would actually have to commit MORE crimes so that they could match the per capita rate at which that country’s citizens commit crime.

http://www.rokdrop.com GI Korea

Just to echo James I went to the Korean National Police website and translated their statistics for foreigner and Korean crime rates:

http://rokdrop.com/2007/09/24/exposing-the-myth-of-foreigner-crime-in-korea/

The data is quite clear that per capita foreigners commit less crime than Koreans but such a reality never gets reflected in the Korean media.
J-ude

Not to defend Koreans ’cause most of you make a valid point, but you really should learn more on the subject of criminal statistics before you make such simplistic extrapolations of “per capita foreigners commit less crime” by way of basic arithmetic. To summarize current ideas, as you increase in population groups, crime is not linear, in general it tends to increase greatly. Look at crime rates at countries with similar per capita income but higher populations and you’ll always find higher crime percentages in the higher population groups.

If I remember correctly, there was a crime statistic released by the Japanese government about 6 months ago, and despite the rampant postings by some Japanese that Koreans apparently make up the bulk of yakuza, black van preachers, and motor theft, the actual per capita of crime was far less than Japanese (and also other foreigners). Does that mean Koreans commit less crime by nature than Japanese? No, of course not, as you can simply tell by S. Korea’s crime rates, but due to the smaller sample population, that’s simply how it comes up.

Anyway, despite the negative press foreigners tend to usually get in Asia, I am somewhat glad that they were a bit more PC and linked it to gang-type foreigners rather than just list the nationalities and data.
LSDElephant

Racism is still a problem in Asian countries. It’s a problem everywhere, but it seems to be a bigger problem in the Asian regions.

Let’s look at the statistics – what percentage of foreigners commit crimes in Korea/Japan? Now I don’t have that statistic, but all the same I don’t think it’s a very high percentage Yes, some foreigners do cause trouble. But that’s because they are people too, and every race has criminals in it.

I have to put up with some minor garbage from white people in Australia because my mother is Chinese. But I cannot begin to tell you about the hostility, the outright “I-don’t-like-you” I’ve seen in Asian communities. Some Chinese colleges of mine have been to Japan and boy let me tell you – they were not treated nicely. In Australia, you can’t put up a sign saying “No Japanese allowed”, but I see signs in Japan all the time saying “no foreigners” and”Japanese only” and other discriminatory messages displayed. That’s pure racism, plain and simple

We’re all one people. Can’t we get along?
samuel welsh

are theses figures real if so the police should add encouragement top the
forigen comunity to sort out these crimes together
samuel welsh

there a little messed up

Evil Foreigners Not Just a Japanese Problem

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