KOREAN NATIONALS QUARANTINED IN CHINA

[Anchor Lead]

A growing number of Korean nationals are being quarantined in China upon entry. Some areas of China are taking quite excessive measures against Korean expatriates, causing concerns about the growing anti-Korean sentiment in the country.

[Pkg]

​A Chinese passenger who arrived at Nanjing Airport on an Asiana flight at 3 p.m. Thursday showed symptoms of a sore throat. The first thing local authorities did was isolate 25 Korean passengers who sat near the Chinese person at a hotel. The rest of the passengers were allowed to quarantine themselves at home in Xian Lin - only to face protest from the residents of their apartment building.

[Soundbite] (KOREAN EXPATRIATE IN NANJING(VOICE ALTERED)) : "The Chinese residents set up barricades today and they keep shouting at us. We'd better leave."

Officials from the Nanjing City government showed the locals, documents permitting the Korean residents to quarantine themselves, but to no avail. The Koreans waited in a bus until late at night but eventually were unable to enter their homes. They headed to a quarantine facility run by the Chinese government. Some neighborhoods are even showing signs of anti-Korean sentiment, with locals demanding that their Korean neighbors move away their cars in parking lots.

[Soundbite] (KOREAN EXPATRIATE IN NANJING(VOICE ALTERED)) : "The Chinese residents shared a list and now know which apartment units Koreans live in."

China's provincial governments are also demanding that self-quarantined Korean expats relocate to hotels for isolation. If someone refuses to comply, a siren or a surveillance camera is installed in front of their doors. More than 300 Koreans are believed to have been quarantined in China since February 24. Notices written in Korean can be seen in Koreatowns across China including Beijing and on the doors of apartments where the Koreans live. The South Korean government expressed regret over such excessive measures, but the Chinese state media brushed away Seoul's concerns, saying it's a matter of quarantine, not diplomacy. Meanwhile, anti-Korean sentiment in the Chinese public has reached concerning levels.