Vaccine Pass: What foreigners have to go through in Korea.

From Monday, restaurants, cafes, cinemas and other public places in Korea will ask for proof of vaccination or a negative test for entry, as South Korea brings back stricter social distancing rules in the face of growing daily cases and the new omicron variant. This means foreign nationals vaccinated overseas are highly likely to be denied access to such venues. 

Currently, the country’s vaccination verification system, the Health Ministry-run mobile app COOV, does not recognize foreigners who have been fully vaccinated overseas and entered Korea without a quarantine exemption. South Koreans in a similar situation, however, easily get the exemption and are able to use the COOV app. 

There is no data available on the number of foreign residents who are considered “unvaccinated” here despite having been fully inoculated overseas. We talked to one among them.

Andrew, 32, English teacher
Andrew, a 32-year-old American who teaches English at an international school for elementary, middle and high school students in southern Seoul, also returned to work 10 days later than expected after arriving here in August from a three-month stay in Atlanta to spend his summer break with family and attend his best friend‘s wedding. He got both shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine there, but has been unable to register his vaccine status here.

“Stuck at home due to the self-quarantine, I couldn‘t hold an orientation session before classes begin in early September. Before returning to Korea, I called the Korean Embassy in Atlanta and explained that I was fully vaccinated, but officials told me that I would not be eligible for the quarantine exemption certificate unless I had immediate family to visit in Korea.

“I would not say it was difficult for me to comply with the conditions for quarantine exemption -- it was literally impossible. This is further stifling as I really wanted to visit my family this holiday season as my grandmother is in poor health,” he said.

“I‘ve lived in Korea for a little over six years now with a working visa. This is home to me. This discrimination against foreigners in terms of the quarantine exemption as well as vaccination verification irritates me as I have been extremely careful and followed the government’s social distancing rules very closely.”

By Choi Jae-hee (cjh@heraldcorp.com)

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20211205000172