LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Anger over the visa anger
With regard to the misdirected tirade by Hin Chung regarding U.S. visas ("More anger over U.S. visas" Jan. 3), I wish your paper had not given a platform to such an ignorant, racist and homophobic person. Surely, if he does not accept U.S. visa requirements, then he does not have to travel there. Furthermore, if he believes that the Korean government should develop reciprocal visa requirements for U.S. citizens, then he should direct his comments to the Korean government and not to the expatriate community. Finally, whatever sympathy that I may have had for his position was lost when he started his ranting against homosexuals. Although Mr. Chung obviously prefers the Korean society of old where such bitter and hate-filled attacks on minorities were accepted, he is an embarrassment to the modern Republic of Korea.
by Frederick E. Ferguson
2004.01.05
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: More anger over U.S. visas
With regard to your article on U.S. visas ("U.S. visa law is insulting" Dec. 24), I wish that you had written more. To question 38 on the U.S. visa application, an applicant has to disclose whether he or she has engaged in prostitution. Do Americans think that a great number of Koreans, especially women, may possibly want to become a prostitute in America, or that Korean men are likely procurers of American prostitutes? Koreans need to demand that the U.S. Embassy in Seoul stop asking such a trivial, yet insulting, question on such an important document like a visa application. Moreover, item 41 allows the U.S. government to revoke the visas of those who have made false or misleading statements. How many Korean men have honestly ticked "yes" on item 38 and still get their visas? Perhaps a great many men would have their visas revoked in no time for not disclosing to the US government their extramarital activities. A visa is an eye-for-an-eye thing. Why do Koreans allow Americans or Japanese to travel to Korea without a visa? Koreans should establish visas for U.S. and Japanese citizens. Korea should maintain its dignity; Korea is not desperate for Japanese and American money that it allows them to come so easily to Korea while the reverse is not true. And if one day Korea were to establish visa requirement for Americans, the Korean visa form for Americans should include questions like: "Have you ever been convicted of molesting a child? Convicted of rape?" because many American child molesters and rapists are found everywhere in Asia.
Also, since homosexuality is not a norm acceptable in Korea, the visa application should also ask a question like "Have you ever engaged in homosexuality?" to prevent leftover American homosexuals from flocking to Korea to seduce young boys and men. And for Russia and China, I think they are doing fine in requiring visas for Korean citizens since Korea also requires visas for the citizens of those countries.
by Hin Chung
Sir – I have been reading the Economist religiously since college. The ability of some of your writers to command and demonstrate the English language is truly without question. I must admit however that your article detailing the death of an African American teenager in a state run prison camp in Florida [1] in referring to the youngster as ‘a black’ (in the nominative case) made me wonder what ever did you mean and why is it that you never refer to any other visible minority (or majority for that matter) group member with the same choice of grammar. 
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