Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pokesplort]

hey all, i was just curious how many of you have been stopped randomly on the street by immigration officers and told to produce your id card. by which i mean, some man shoved a badge in your face and said "immigration" and "id card" over and over. well that happened to me and i was very confused since i didn't know they could do that although i suppose its not too surprising. also part of me was worried because i really have no way of knowing if they are "legit", just my innate sense of paranoia i guess. what really freaked me out was that i had JUST gotten my arc card the day before so i was all stressing about what if i hadnt had it? anyways just curious if this is a normal thing and anyone else experienced it.

[ed4444]

No. This had never happened to me here.

Happened me all the time in Russia though.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

I hear that sort of thing was normal in the late 90's, but has never happened to me in 7.5 years here.

[ttompatz]

more than 7 years and never asked... my wife has never been asked either and she is Asian but not Korean.

[Bibbitybop]

I heard, through word of mouth of course, that they are supposed to give you a reason and aren't supposed to stop you just for the heck of it.

[Baummer]

Just smile and walk away. Pretend like you don't speak Korean or English.

[sojourner1]

No, that's not normal, but maybe someone is just throwing the book at you, the foreigner, because that individual doesn't like foreigners. This happens the world over so you have to be careful and maintain a respectful bearing just as you would with your home police. This is one of the risks of going around police and out in places where they see you. We just all hope they play fair as getting a fine and police record stinks, because it destroys your chance at employment opportunities.

Where did this happen?

It's more common in other countries to get ID'd and easily get in trouble over something stupid so I'm not giving Korea a bad rap on it.

How many times in America do police ID you and look for something to charge you with? Quite often as it's a common norm over there for them to pull you aside and look for a reason for you to be in trouble.

I got stopped in Korea several times so far by the police while walking, but never ID'd. They just were curious as to what I was doing.

[xingyiman]

In any country I have ever visited or lived I have never been asked for paper. I was asked for my ID once by a GI roaming the streets up at Uijongbu because he thought I might have been a soldier violating curfew.

[xingyiman]

[quote="sojourner1"]

How many times in America do police ID you and look for something to charge you with? Quite often as it's a common norm over there for them to pull you aside and look for a reason for you to be in trouble.

[quote]

I had a cop pull me over once because I had a tail light out and then he started interrogating me pretty rough. Lots of questions that didn't seem to be related to anything. I just gave him a puzzled look as if I wondered why he was so inquisitive. After about 30 minutes of him radioing back to his HQ he let me go.

[bluelake]

In the nearly twenty-five years since I first came to Korea, I have never been carded by immigration. However, my first year here I did get a visit by a police detective who was in charge of foreigners in my town; as I was the only foreigner at the time, I pretty much got all the attention. The first time he came over to the school where I taught, it was the day after I had listened to a NK radio broadcast on a shortwave radio (curiosity), and I thought he was there to bust me for that. When I started blathering on about it, he couldn't understand what I was talking about, so he said, "I'm just here to see how things are going for you." I was pretty red-faced and shut up quickly. After that, he and I went out and had lunch together. Nice fellow.

[pokesplort]

so its not the norm...hmm i have no idea why they would stop me. it seemed like they were asking this one other person, who was asian, as well, but i wasnt sure. and i did try to keep walking, mostly because at first i thought they were trying to sell me something and i had headphones on but they were persistant. i was walking the same street i walk every day, right next to the emart. i dont know how or why someone would have called them at that particular time of day to find ME, that seems a bit much so maybe it was just coincidence? i had been in the pc room all day anyways i was on my way home. so maybe i'm just the exception? either way i was pretty freaked out afterward. i kept remembering all those law and order episodes where someone has a badge so they just assume they are the police and its ok. i was thinking, "how would i know if this was for real?" ha i guess once they took me away in the van i'd have known. thanks for the info everyone.

[Chamchiman]

[pokesplort]

i live in siheung city, near ansan about an hour southwest of seoul. i was at the emart, i dont know if its the only one in this city as i'm still pretty new. honestly i'm around there almost every day just getting groceries or visiting the pc room nearby, so maybe someone got tired of looking at my face? who knows, i hope it was a freak accident. if there is a next time i will direct immi to the creepy groups of indonesians/indian people that stare at me in their little groups. they are the only people that have stared at me, i was prepared for the korean stares but its just really gross somehow when they do it.

[R-Seoul]

[Newbie]