S. Korean student in France seriously injured from racial terror attack

A South Korean student in his 20s was ridiculed racially and seriously injured after being stabbed in southern French. The hatred toward Asians following the spread of COVID-19 is causing concerns among the South Korean community in Europe.

The South Korean Embassy in France and local media reported that a South Korean student aged 29 was assaulted and stabbed by three local teenagers at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday in front of opera house Corum in the center of Montpellier.

The South Korean was walking up the stairs in front of the opera house with two friends when he encountered three teenagers. The teenagers made a racially discriminating gesture of pulling out the corners of the eyes, which is a common racist gesture against Asians. The 29-year-old complained and a scuffle broke out. As the teenagers started to become violent, the South Korean broke a glass he was holding to fight back. Then, the locals threw him to the ground before punching him and stabbing the back of his thigh twice and ran away.

The South Korean student was transferred to a hospital and is receiving treatment. The French police investigated the site and arrested the perpetrators. The South Korean Embassy in France is working to address the incident. “We will investigate the Montpellier incident site and request the police to find out the exact circumstances and take preventive measures,” Councilor Ha Won-ho said.


Youn-Jong Kim zozo@donga.com