“Are you still lining up at the foreigner inspection counter? I got through the Korean inspection counter in five minutes as a Korean citizen.”
The satisfaction level of overseas Koreans, including Korean Americans, who have used the immigration inspection counters at Incheon International Airport and other locations is increasing.
The Ministry of Justice and the Overseas Koreans Agency of Korea have strengthened the policy of ‘treating overseas Koreans as local citizens when entering and leaving South Korea’ to welcome overseas Koreans to visit their motherland and to boost their pride.
Jeff Lee, 42, a second-generation Korean who arrived at Incheon Airport last week, was about to line up at the foreign passport inspection area (Foreign Passport) when a friend suggested that he line up at the domestic passport inspection area (Korean Passport/Overseas Korean).
Lee, who is not fluent in Korean, said, “A friend of mine told me that I could get through the line for Korean citizens, but I had never tried it before.” He added, “I was nervous until I met the inspector, but he let me in right away when he saw my U.S. passport with my English name on it. I used to wait more than an hour in the line for foreigners, but this time it was really easy.”
“An older woman in the line in front of me said she had heard that if you are of Korean descent, you can go through the domestic immigration checkpoint,” said Lee. “The immigration checkpoint for foreigners had a long line, so overseas Korean descendants were able to save a lot of time.”
Since last year, the Ministry of Justice and the Overseas Koreans Agency have stepped up their efforts to improve the treatment of overseas Koreans when they enter and leave the country. The policy of treating overseas Koreans as Korean citizens at immigration has been in place for more than 10 years.
However, there were complaints that the policy was not well publicized, causing confusion at the airport. In response, staff were trained, official documents distributed, and electronic information boards installed, displaying information on Korean passports and procedures for overseas Koreans. As a result, staff at the immigration inspection site are now familiar with the policy and guide overseas Koreans to the appropriate checkpoint.
On Korean-American internet portals, reviews praising the quick processing at the immigration inspection for overseas Koreans are gaining popularity. A U.S. citizen of Korean descent who posted on a portal expressed satisfaction, saying, “When I arrived at Incheon Airport, the line for foreign passports was longer than I expected. Fortunately, I was able to get through the line for Koreans at immigration inspection in less than a minute.”
Meanwhile, overseas Koreans—whether they hold Korean citizenship or are direct descendants of Korean citizens who have acquired foreign citizenship—must use the “face-to-face screening” at Incheon International Airport to be treated as Korean citizens. They can also use the unmanned automated immigration checkpoints.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
