Crossposted at Chris in South Korea
Today Americans around the world celebrate a day that has been marked and celebrated as a reminder of our democratic heritage. Even half a world away from the country I was born in, I am reminded of the democratic freedoms Americans – and many others in many countries – enjoy. We are not there in Korea, however. The appearence of a free and democratic society are certainly here, yes – an elected president, a National Assembly that argues (and occasionally brawls) about bills, and a public that doesn’t fear protesting over an important issue. But there’s more to it than that.
Today I feel a little less free than I did a year ago. Not because I’m in Korea (I’ve been here since March 2008), or because my job requires a different schedule (I actually prefer my new schedule to my old one). The reports of the so-called ‘Poker 8′ have left me confused, cynical, and much more likely to be watching everything I say or do, whether in public or the supposed privacy of my own apartment.
The story has been talked about on Brian in Jeollanam-do, Korea Beat, the Chosun Ilbo (Korean only), and Korean Media Watch already. If you’ve not read the story – somebody posted an event on their Facebook page about a poker night at their house. An anonymous person calls in the tip, and police show up, supposedly without warrant or ID’s. Eight people were arrested and drug tested, with two of them testing positive for some kind of drugs. What might sound like a fairly simple open-and-shut case for a minor offense with a minor fine has been transformed into accusations of a drug and gambling ring, even though there’s apparently little or no evidence to support that finding. Michael Hurt, the man behind Korean Media Watch and the Metropolitician blog, got an audio interview with the accused poker players (find that here). The police procedure sounds a bit shoddy, but remember only one side of the story is being told here. In followup comments made on the aforementioned links, Mr. Hurt has made it sound like the players recognize their guilt about their minor offense, but are adamantly defending the stronger charge of organizing a gambling / drug ring.
So there’s plenty of stupid to go around. For one guy claiming to be a ‘professional poker player’ in a country where gambling outside of a casino is illegal. For putting out a ‘hey we’re playing poker’ notice on Facebook after umpteen stories have come out about people posting things that they’ve done in a public, worldwide forum. For the police for supposedly tainting evidence, moving evidence, or for implicating people for a larger crime than their evidence would support.
Korea has done quite enough to deny foreigners their freedoms – don’t attempt to assemble in public (swine flu scares, according to more than a few hagwon), speak freely (can be construed as political action), or expect protection from unreasonable search and seizure (as in this story – according to the audio interview, the police couldn’t be bothered to bring / use their own evidence bags, so they used the accused bags instead). Don’t expect due process, freedom from self-incrimination, or most of the other rights guaranteed you by the Korean Constitution.
Speaking of the Korean Constitution, it’s in English on the Constitutional Court’s website, so read it for yourself – especially Article 12, which essentially details a citizen’s rights. In short, know your rights – many of which are similar (at least on paper) to those in America. Avoid those things that are illegal, and avoid publicizing them if you do. I find myself struggling to end this post on a positive note. I’ve enjoyed my time in Korea, and hope to continue being able to do so. I hope that stories like these stop getting published. I hope that the bad apples can be seen as bad apples, not as a representative view of all foreign English teachers in Korea. I hope that reporters will spend more time telling the stories of Koreans being arrested, instead of making headlines when a foreigner commits the same crime. There is no unified voice that speaks for foreigners in this country, and there probably never will be, barring a massive change in the way we look out for ourselves. Protect yourself, know your rights, and be willing to stand up for what you believe in. Happy Independence Day.
04/07/2009 at 7:22 pm Permalink
I’ve seen that link for the English version of the Constitution. Is there a link somewhere of the Korean version? It would probably be a good idea to keep a copy of certain clauses in your wallet, to whip out and show police if you feel they are treading on your rights.
I do the same with certain Japanese rights, for times when accosted by Japanese police (I got them at debito.org)
04/07/2009 at 11:44 pm Permalink
You guys seem to operate under the assumption that showing them the Constitution will change anything. They’ll laugh at you and do exactly what they want to anyway.
05/07/2009 at 9:35 am Permalink
Jesus you’re a cynical, cynical dude. What’s the point of doing anything man? Including leaving posts?
05/07/2009 at 3:33 pm Permalink
And we will still be free not to cooperate with such tomfoolery.
06/07/2009 at 9:46 pm Permalink
“Speaking of the Korean Constitution, it’s in English on the Constitutional Court’s website, so read it for yourself – especially Article 12, which essentially details a citizen’s rights.”
Interesting but the last two words of this quote by ChrisinKorea should clue people in. The constitution of Korea offers rights to Korean citizens. We are not Korean citizens. Most foreign teachers are foreign workers on a temporary work visa. This is different from being a citizen. It is astonishing how some people seem to ignore this fact.
As for the story being told here, it is sad but the people who post their personal lives, illegal activities included on Facebook are asking for consequences. It is surprising how people post all sort of crap on Facebook and then are shocked it comes back to bite them in the butt. Facebook is public, nothing you put on there is private as per the facebook TOS.
Employers here in Canada and the US check up on applicants and employees up for promotion and this includes facebook and other online blogs. Know that what you put out there is there for a very long time. Be smart.
As for Korean media..it uses foreigners to sell papers and get ratings. Thats typical media sensationalism. It happens everywhere…
07/07/2009 at 5:58 pm Permalink
Chris, the Constitutional Court itself has said such protections under the law should be extended to those of us who live here. Sure, we are not citizens of Korea, but we are afforded such (human) rights anyway. Labor laws, pension laws, insurance laws, etc etc… all apply equally to us despite our non-citizen status.
As for Facebook, everyone is in control of how much or how little their information is made public as well as who is and who is not able to access such information. It’s your own fault if everything on your FB profile is made public and/or you accept your boss into your Friends list.
I do neither. Select friends only can see what I’ve written / photos I’ve posted, and that’s it. Even if I give you my full name, your search results will tell you nothing more than that anyway. You do not have access to anything on my page unless I explicitly give you permissions, not even what I have written on my status line.
07/07/2009 at 10:52 pm Permalink
The Fan Death Avenger you are one of the smart people when it comes to FB. Sadly, you are also one of the few people to take such precautions. It baffles me how many younger people today (I am in my late 30s) put their entire lives on FB or some other service with an expectation of privacy. They are then shocked when there are consequences for what they put up on FB.
As for the consitution, it does offer rights to foreign labour. These, logically, concern labor, pension, insurance…all WORK related issues. But we are still not citizens and that is a CRITICAL element. It has to be considered before people start discussing rights in Korea.
If a person breaks the law, they have to be ready for the possible consequences. It does not matter one bit to me if that person then says “but group X of people does worse”. The point here is that the person broke the law and got caught. End of story.
How the media approaches crime reporting is not surprising either. Korean media (some of it, not all of it) produces information for ratings…Foreigners are more headline grabbing than locals. A quick scan of other media in other countries proves this is not exclusive to Korea. It does not excuse the media behaviour but it does explain it and put in perspective….
Just my two cents…