Korean students seek ‘digital undertakers’ amid US visa social media screening

The US Embassy in Seoul resumed accepting applications for student and exchange visas but requested that applicants make any private social media accounts public, prompting some South Korean students pursuing studies in the US to seek the help of “digital undertakers.”

On June 20, the US Embassy in Seoul announced that it will resume taking in applications for its F, M and J nonimmigrant visas, saying it will conduct “thorough vetting” of applicants’ presence on social media.

In a notice posted on X, the embassy announced that all applicants should “adjust the privacy setting on all their social media profiles to ‘public.’”

Seeing the US Embassy’s recent announcement, 28-year-old Kim, who wished to be identified only by her last name, told The Korea Herald that she felt “stressed.” It felt like the recent announcement was just another “daunting task” she was required to complete as part of her preparation in pursuing a Ph.D. at a US university.

“I’ve been preparing to further my studies by applying to a graduate school in the US for about a year and a half — writing up personal statements, taking language proficiency exams and speaking with professors at schools I was interested in,” said Kim.

“I felt like I was ready this year and was going to apply. But knowing that my social media accounts and the stuff I posted in the past could be an obstacle to me studying in the States and not something like my school grades, is really stressful to me.”

While the US has mandated that visa applicants list their social media accounts on their applications since 2019, Kim stated that the screenings conducted under the current administration feel “different” to her.

“I don’t know how strictly they handled the screening of social media accounts in the past, but seeing the current administration’s stance against illegal immigration and national security, this year feels different, more intense,” Kim continued. “I’ve looked into online reputation firms in Korea to help me permanently delete data that could work against me, as I’ve voiced opinions on political and social issues on social media in the past that oppose the current US administration’s stance.”

Often called digital undertakers, these services are offered by online reputation firms and specialize in curating or scrubbing an individual’s online presence by removing posts, photos or comments that may be considered controversial in the eyes of others — such as employers, or more recently, immigration authorities.

Kim isn’t the only Korean student seeking such services in Korea.

According to a representative from Santa Cruise Company, an online reputation firm offering digital undertaker services, the firm has begun receiving more requests from clients claiming they were planning to apply to schools in the US in recent months.

“While personal requests we received from individual clients were mostly springing from those wanting to delete personal data before applying to a company, these days, we’ve seen a growing number of individual clients seeking assistance before they apply for a visa to study in the US,” said the representative.

With the cost of the company’s services ranging from 100,000 won ($72) to millions of won depending on the number of posts the client asks to delete, the company representative added that some of the posts the firm deleted “ranged from politically sensitive content to some that were rather personal, including posts confessing personal struggles or photos of them partying, to avoid damaging their image.”

lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com

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