Korean resident number

Funky Buddha · Posts: 67

Wow, it says I need this to register on a Korean website.. That sucks.

Is the U.S.A. still a beautiful country?
Is the north still an "enemy" to be killed?
How much more do we have to endure before we realize?
Now shout it out: "Yankee, go home!"

Charles · Posts: 841

Yes, most sites either require a resident number, or make foreigners go through ridiculous steps like requiring you to scan and send your passport (to someone you've never even seen), then wait a week (and assume that someone, somewhere, will actually go to the trouble to look at your passport scan and decide if you're okay or not).

This topic has been addressed on other forums, I know. The stance that some people had was "it's a private website, so they can do what they want." The thing is, this isn't about what the webmasters decide: the sites are required by law to do this (so it's not the fault of the webmasters, it's the fault of the Korean government for requiring websites to do this). Heck, if I set up a website hosted in Korea right now, I'd do the same thing to be in compliance with the law!

Think about it: it's not just one website which requires this personal information. Almost all sites hosted in Korea require this information. I'm 90% sure that it's a law that they obtain this information (it wouldn't make financial sense to require people to send their personal information, as this would decrease registration, and in turn, advertising income).

Do you know of any other country on earth that is so restrictive when it comes to foreigners registering on their sites (especially blog sites)? I don't.

Anyways, that's my two cents on Korean websites. I have a foreigner registration number, so I'm fine. For everyone else who doesn't live in Korea as a registered alien (or as a citizen), good luck.

Please take a moment to visit my website.