Hate crime in a traditionally homogeneous society: Factors associated with fear of hate crime against racial/ethnic minorities in South Korea

Abstract

For decades, researchers have studied hate crimes against racial/ethnic minorities in the United States and, to a much lesser extent, Western countries. However, Asian countries have received much less attention despite the growing prevalence of hate crime due to increased immigration. This study aims to explore factors associated with the fear of hate crime and compare their effects on students and workers among racial/ethnic minorities in South Korea. The results showed that 5% of respondents and their family/friends had experienced hate crimes; while 65.41% expressed fear of hate crime. Among students, older individuals and those of Chinese ethnicity were more likely to fear hate crime, while male students and long-term residents were less likely to. Among workers, male, Chinese, the married, those with higher income, and Korean citizens were less likely to fear hate crimes. These findings carry important implications for addressing hate crime among racial/ethnic minorities in Asian countries.