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cheolsu
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:50 pm Post subject: |
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Cannot some foreigners engage in political activity?
I'm on an f5 and can vote... I'm curious If I can also protest. |
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GoldMember
Joined: 24 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| The problem with protesting in Korea is that you have to wear one of those silly headbands, and/or carry around a candle. |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 3:11 am Post subject: |
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If you are a public school teacher then you are considered a public servant in Korea and cannot contractually participate in any political protest.
I would imagine immigration would be more lax with a hagwon teacher but still they could kick you out of K-Land.
Engage at your own risk.
I would presume that all that would happen to F-5's if they happened to get caught or exposed would be a fine, a red mark on their record, and expulsion from their job. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 3:21 am Post subject: |
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| There are going to be plenty of stupid people who come to Korea to protest and find themselves on the losing end with the riot police. Those guys don't mess around. If you are here working avoid the areas where the protests are taking place. |
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cheolsu
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:04 am Post subject: |
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| More bothersome than the restriction is how vague it is. If it said we weren't allowed to attend a protest, rally or political gathering, that would make sense, but why is it that I bet people can be deported for a G20 protest but not a Dokdo-is-the-Korean-land protest? |
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interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 7:05 am Post subject: |
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First, let me say, I know that it's pretty obvious and I'm just being theoretical here. I know the real answer, but...
How can they be sure the demonstrator is a foreigner? Can you be arrested for demonstrating as a foreigner? How can that in of itself be enforced? A non-zero amount of people have become naturalized here. There are non-ethnic-Korean citizens here (right?). Are they going to go to the demonstrations and start asking everyone for IDs? Or just the people who look foreign? |
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cheolsu
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 7:48 am Post subject: |
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| I don't think political correctness is too big in a protest-quashing situation. I imagine they'd arrest anyone who looks non-Korean and sort it out later. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 8:35 am Post subject: |
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| interestedinhanguk wrote: |
| Are they going to go to the demonstrations and start asking everyone for IDs? |
possibly |
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Stalin84
Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Location: Haebangchon, Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 11:16 am Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
| interestedinhanguk wrote: |
| Are they going to go to the demonstrations and start asking everyone for IDs? |
possibly |
I don't think they even have to bother asking a white person for an ID. They'd just throw us in jail. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 5:11 pm Post subject: Re: Foreigners and political activity |
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First of all that is not true. F-2's and F-5's can vote. E-2's are banned and I would imagine the rationale is somewhat along the same lines as America's restriction on who can run for president. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 5:19 pm Post subject: Re: Foreigners and political activity |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
First of all that is not true. F-2's and F-5's can vote. E-2's are banned and I would imagine the rationale is somewhat along the same lines as America's restriction on who can run for president. |
It's all about the visa. F series visas are Korean "green cards," you can do pretty much whatever you want. E series visas are, as we all know, indentured servitude. Much more restrictive.
I think TUM's comparison to running for President is a bit off, but it's the countries prerogative. If you're here on an E2, then Korea let you in here to be a language instructor, NOT a protester. If you're here on an F series visa, then Korea has let you be here as a much larger part of society, i.e. voting and protesting.
You want to protest, go nuts. But remember, it doesn't matter what color you are or what letter is on your visa; you get stuck in the middle of something, the riot police won't care two licks about your immigration status as they are busting your head. |
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cheolsu
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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But the immigration website says "political activity", not "raucous protest". It's intentionally ambiguous. I understand that an E2 visa is not the equivalent of an American green card, but since when does America require a green card for someone to go on a political march?
This presumably applies to student visas as well, and I imagine all those Chinese students who took a pro-China stance during Olympic torch relays probably weren't deported (though those who assaulted police were aggressively targeted, from what I read). |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:24 pm Post subject: Re: Foreigners and political activity |
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| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
First of all that is not true. F-2's and F-5's can vote. E-2's are banned and I would imagine the rationale is somewhat along the same lines as America's restriction on who can run for president. |
It's all about the visa. F series visas are Korean "green cards," you can do pretty much whatever you want. E series visas are, as we all know, indentured servitude. Much more restrictive.
I think TUM's comparison to running for President is a bit off, but it's the countries prerogative. . |
Speaking of apt comparison your criticism would have greater force had you you not then turned around and done the same thing by calling E-series visas indentured servitude. Indentured servants could not quit at will whether they gave notice or not. Runaway indentured servants could be sent back and made to work with additional time added on for the time they were absent. Most were not paid (they were given room and board). And most worked more than 22-30 hours a week. And their work tended to be hard physical labor rather than sitting in a cushioned chair in an-air conditioned room and teaching the ABC's. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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TUM - I think your comparison was off the mark because being President is leading a country/constitutional issue. Visas are an entirely other story. The only link I see between the two is that the government/people made decisions regarding implementation.
My comparison is not meant to be taken literally. When you compare all of the visas, and when you compare the visa policy of Korea to that of other countries, I think most people would agree that the policy here is pretty strict and favors the employer over the employee.
I'm not knocking what you said, I'm just saying I think the comparison is a little skewed.
Cheolsu - What is ambiguous about "political activity"? Anything related to politics would fall under that category. Why worry about it, though? How many foreigners do you know/have you heard of that have ever been punished for that particular violation? Unless you're really stirring up trouble, you'll probably never be noticed. |
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