‘No Filipinos allowed’ sign in South Korea sparks debate

A TikTok video describing venues in South Korea that allegedly barred Filipinos and other Southeast Asians from entering has ignited renewed debate over discrimination in the country’s nightlife scene. Posted March 14 by creator @callmebelly, the clip has amassed more than 770,000 views and spread widely across social media, where users shared similar accounts involving nationality-based entry restrictions.

In the video, @callmebelly said he encountered one establishment displaying a sign that read “No Filipinos Allowed.” He also described visiting another venue that allegedly posted a list specifying which nationalities could enter, saying Americans, Europeans, Koreans, Japanese and Taiwanese patrons were permitted while Filipinos, Chinese and Vietnamese guests were excluded.

“They weren’t letting Filipino people, or Chinese people or Vietnamese people into this party thing,” he said in the clip. “For this place I was at, they check your ID, so they check to make sure that you’re not from that country.”

The creator said he had previously encountered “No foreigners” policies in Japan but was surprised by restrictions targeting specific nationalities.

“If you were to put that on a store in the United States, that store would be burnt to the ground the next day, probably,” he added. “That store ain’t surviving the night.” He shared that he had visited South Korea before but had never seen anything like it. “I didn’t think this was a thing,” he said. “Can somebody let me know if this is a common thing in Korea?”

After the video was reposted to Reddit’s TikTokCringe subreddit, many commenters described similar experiences involving nightlife venues and public attitudes toward Southeast Asians in South Korea. Several users linked the alleged restrictions to longstanding economic and social hierarchies affecting migrant workers from Southeast Asia.

One commenter who said they spent two years stationed in South Korea as a U.S. soldier wrote: “Sri Lankans in Korea mostly did factory work. Filipinos were mostly women who worked in clubs and were called juicy girls. Sri Lankans & Filipinos were seen as lower class by many South Koreans, & were discriminated against for mostly that reason.”

Another commenter pointed to the Philippines’ role in the Korean War, writing, “Which is ironic since Filipinos aided them in the Korean war along with the Americans.” A separate user added: “And is also ironic as the Japanese look at Koreans like the Koreans look at Filipinos.”

Filipinos represent one of the largest Southeast Asian communities in South Korea, with many working in manufacturing, shipping, caregiving and service industries. Researchers and migrant advocacy groups have previously documented stereotypes directed toward Southeast Asian migrants, including assumptions tied to economic status and labor sectors.

South Korea does not currently have a comprehensive anti-discrimination law covering all forms of discrimination in public accommodations, an issue United Nations human rights bodies have repeatedly criticized.

In 2024, Indian travel vlogger Deepanshu Sangwan, known online as Nomadic Indian, described uncomfortable stares, hostile public encounters and claims that some clubs barred Indian and Pakistani patrons during a visit to the country.

A Statistics Korea survey released last year found that 17.4% of foreign residents reported experiencing discrimination in South Korea, with the figure rising to 27.7% among international students. Earlier findings from the country’s National Human Rights Commission showed that 56.8% of immigrant respondents believed Koreans discriminate based on country of origin. Meanwhile a 2020 Segye Ilbo survey found that nearly 7 in 10 foreign residents surveyed said they had experienced discrimination or hate-related treatment.