Actor Jung Woo-sung Speaks out Against Xenophobia

Jung Woo-sung poses with a Yemeni child at a refugee shelter in Djibouti on Nov. 20. /Courtesy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

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Actor Jung Woo-sung, who has been a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees since 2014, has spoken out for continuing to accept refugees in Korea.

"Some politicians are trying to abolish the asylum laws, but they need to be able to explain why they are trying to do that", Jung told the Chosun Ilbo last week. "Politicians need to think about what kind of relationship future generations will form with other countries and should not make such narrow-minded choices and be so insular".   

Korea has taken in a minute number of refugees compared to many other countries even if North Korean defectors are included. Yet recently the main opposition Liberty Korea Party formed a committee opposing asylum rights after 500 Yemenis entered Jeju Island on a visa waiver and applied for refugee status.

There have been a series of rallies in downtown Seoul on weekends opposing Korea's policy of welcoming refugees. Jung spoke to the Chosun Ilbo by telephone from the tiny African nation of Djibouti, where he met with Yemeni refugees.

"The situation facing refugees is no different from the painful past of our own people", he said. "Many people died during the Korean War, including many innocent people. I understand the perplexity and concerns over many refugees arriving on Jeju out of nowhere, but the refugees I met up close are just like us and they only suffer from war or other extreme circumstances".

Some of the Yemenis were eventually granted temporary permission to stay but were not recognized as refugees despite the civil war and famine devastating their country.

Jung urged Koreans to reflect on their xenophobia. "Our country is not a military or economic powerhouse by global standards", he said. "I don't want to imagine Korea facing a crisis, but we too could end up requiring the help of the international community, and if we keep that in mind we shouldn't be so hostile to refugees".

"I think my role is to try and change these negative views toward refugees into positive ones", he added.