‘Treated like criminals’: Indian influencer claims being detained for 38 hours in South Korea, China for ‘no reason’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Treated like criminals’: Indian influencer claims being detained for 38 hours in South Korea, China for ‘no reason’")
Screengrab from video shared by Sachin Awasthi on social media. Photograph: (Instagram/@sachinawasthiunscripted)
Indian influencer Sachin Awasthi alleged he and his wife were detained for 38 hours in South Korea and China, denied entry, restricted from phones or food, and forced to buy costly return tickets.
Indian social media influencer Sachin Awasthi alleged that he and his wife were detained in South Korea and China for nearly 38 hours and denied entry on their international trip. Awasthi claimed that he was treated like “criminals” during the detention and was “blackmailed” to book a return ticket costing ten times the normal price. He recalled that they were “mentally drained” and “just wanted to get out safely”.
In a post on Instagram, Awasthi detailed his distressing experience during his trip to South Korea, “We landed in Jeju Island, South Korea excited and ready for our trip. Within a few hours, everything changed. We were denied entry and taken to a holding area. No proper explanation just told to wait. And we waited.”
“Hours passed without clarity. They kept us in their detention centre (it was similar to a jail with no sunlight & no access to outside) and also gave us jail food. Nobody told us what was going to happen. They blackmailed us to booking a really expensive return ticket,” he added.
He added that he was later moved through China, where they did not have access to phone and food, with limited water. He described the sleeping conditions as “worst” and said that even use of restrooms was monitored by police official, who wore a bodycam and accompanied them.
“Later, during transit through China, it continued. More waiting. More supervision. Communication was restricted. No use of phone and no food and limited water. sleeping conditions were worst. Even the use of restrooms was monitored with a police official who had a bodycam and went to washroom with us.”
The Indian influencer said that he is not sharing the incident for “sympathy or drama,” adding that “Immigration decisions are their authority. But they did not have any right to treat us like CRIMINALS.”
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He cautioned travellers that “Travel looks glamorous online. But sometimes, things change in a few hours and test you emotionally in ways you never expect.”
