I'm at my wits end with no-foreigner systems and bureaucracy
For context, I have been in Korea for 5 years. I graduated from a university here and have an F2 visa, applying for an F5 next year. Despite being on a "long term residency" visa, it means nothing. Foreigners are the same regardless if you are D4, F5 or F6, it seems.
I didn't notice most of the issues as a student. I blindly assumed that there would be hurdles due to being a student but boy was I wrong. Working full time in Korea, paying taxes and all the insurances more than many Koreans do, I have to spend about 5x as long with basic processes.
When we go on vacation, most companies do not insure foreigners.
When we make a bank account, we cannot use online systems and must go in person, often having to use annual leave for these matters. My new job signed me up to a pension who then informed me that as a foreigner I cannot sign up without taking the day off to verify my identity in person.
I ordered a sim card last night and got a text earlier that they are sorry but foreigners are not allowed to sign up. I decide I will just use my current provider for my work number but run into an error. I spend 20 minutes on hold, am troubleshooting with customer service, and as soon as they hear I am foreign, they hit me with "Sorry, only Koreans can make two accounts."
Apartments can say no thanks to foreigners. Some banks dont allow foreigners to make an account at all. Some nationalities are blocked from certain apps. Only foreign residents get tested for diseases. Sometimes people tell you foreigners are banned from X but in reality it's just that they don't want to deal with you.
While I do not expect to be treated as a Korean, I am really losing my mind with every time I need to make an official account somewhere, being foreign automatically means I have to go through hurdles, call someone and troubleshoot because nothing was designed to include us. We have valid visas to live here and we are not tourists, for what reason must you block foreigners from basic services or decide to offer at an inflated price?
And then even benefits from the government only cover F6, F5 and refugees. And then some lunatic online decides to blame foreigners for draining public finances.
It's 2026, Korea is trying to sell a global image. What's it going to take for them to stop making life here difficult? I get the vibe only if they were embarrassed publicly online would they finally say something.