From Korean-only bars to egg attacks in Australia: Tourists share their worst experiences of racism while on holiday

Travellers of all nationalities have spoken about racism faced on holiday, from Spain and South Korea, to Austria and Australia. Photo / 123RF

There are many benefits to visiting a foreign country - tourists can experience new flavours, learn about different cultures and visit jaw-dropping attractions.

But for those setting foot in a country where the nation's skin colour is different to their own, it can also be an unsettling experience.

Seasoned travellers have been sharing their worst experiences of racism encountered in various countries around the world, in a shocking online thread.

In the accounts shared on the online forum Quora, women and men of all nationalities have spoken about difficulties faced in every country from Spain and South Korea, to Austria and Australia.

Read on to find out where people have experienced these unsavoury episodes.

South Korea

One woman who describes herself as 'brown' had a far from pleasant experience in Seoul. Photo / 123RF

South Korea has become a very popular tourist destination thanks to their thriving arts and food scene, but one woman who describes herself as 'brown' had a far from pleasant experience.

Senjuti Kundu said: "Seoul is filled with 'Korean-only' bars... a case of false advertising that would make the Ku Klux Klan proud.

"They ought to market themselves as paper-bag-test bars - if your skin is pale enough and you don't appear to have South Asian or African features, you're welcome. Otherwise, its oh so sorry, Korean-only.

"The pitying backward glances I received even in a 'cosmopolitan' mega-metropolis like Seoul were ubiquitous and extremely hurtful."

Austria

One visitor was shocked to encounter racist abuse on public transport en route to Austria's Schönbrunn Palace. Photo / 123RF

Austria's geographical location mean its cities are very cosmopolitan, but one visitor was shocked to encounter racist abuse on public transport.

Erman Idil said: "In summer 2014, we were headed to Schönbrunn Palace when a well-groomed Sikh man got on the train.

"Within five seconds, an old lady had stood up and started to yell at him and the only words I could understand from her discourse were 'mörder (murderer)' and 'raus (get) out)'.

"Thankfully, in the following minutes a young couple stepped into this ignominy and managed to silence her."

Australia

Australia is a popular country for tourists of all nationalities, but one woman from Singapore found herself the target of racist attacks when visiting Down Under.

Eleanor Foong said: "I love Australia. I was there for university and I've also visited as a tourist.

"As a tourist, it was lovely. I visited Perth and I didn't experience anything horrible.

"But as student, our group was filming a scene at our group mate's driveway for Screen Production unit and a group of white male teenagers drove past us really fast and threw a rotten egg at us.

"A few weeks later, another white male teenager attempted to throw a stone at me."

India

One African traveller found herself treated differently from other foreigners because of her skin colour when in India. Photo / 123RF

One African traveller found herself treated differently from other foreigners because of her skin colour while travelling in India.

A Quora user called Kaleke of Nigerian-Ugandan heritage said: "India is the most racist country I've experienced - although a magnificently beautiful country, with lovely people may I add - the racism was overt and blunt.

"I was stared at a lot, this may not always imply racism but simply curiosity [but] there were several occasions where I received disgusting remarks."

Spain

The Spanish are some of the most well-travelled people in the world, but one black American found that not everyone from the country is open-minded.

Eric Johnson said: "I am a black American who decided to study abroad on two separate occasions while in college.

In Madrid, there were no issues. My first moment of racism came when I went to Zaragoza and my father and I were on our way back to our hotel when we passed by a group of about six people at a table eating tapas at a restaurant.

"As we passed by, a woman (I'm guessing in her 30s) yelled, "Monos negros!" (black monkeys, in Spanish) and the other people at the table burst into laughter."