Koreatown nightclub accused of racist policies

Sept. 16, 2019

NEW YORK — Five blocks south of Koreatown, Mission NYC emulates the image of South Korean nightclubs with bass-pulsing electronic dance music, dapper male bottle servers, and, most noticeably, its clientele.

On Friday and Saturday nights, Mission serves as an Asian nightlife hub, but while it provides a unique space that caters to a specific ethnic community, the nightclub also faces allegations of racial discrimination that would violate state and city laws.

Customer experiences and reviews on social media platforms indicate that Mission’s staff and club admission policies act chiefly favorable toward Asian patrons, especially those of Korean background. Historically, people of cultural minorities are often subject to mistreatment in the larger institutional issue of discriminatory club practices within New York nightlife. In this case, however, the nightclub exhibits racial selectivity and biases that favor a particular minority subculture and often mistreat others outside of that ethnic group.

Manny Islam, a Bangladeshi-American network engineer from Queens, joined a group of ten friends and his wife at Mission on Saturday, Sept. 7. Accompanied by several of his friends of Indonesian descent, Islam was let into the club.

Later that night, the bouncer denied Islam’s Bangladeshi friend entrance when he tried to join his friend group inside, blaming it on his flannel shirt that was against dress code. Islam was shocked, because his Indonesian-American friends had been let in wearing plain T-shirts. Following that, the bouncer would not admit another one of Islam’s friends, who is Indian, unless he paid double entrance fee at $40.

“It seems like the nightclub discriminates against people of color or perhaps anyone that’s not East Asian,” Islam said. “After looking at reviews, turns out I wasn’t the only one.”

In February, Karen Kosasi, a Chinese-American from Atlanta, visited Mission on recommendations from Georgia. Joined by a diverse group of friends, including a Filipino-American female, white male, white female, and two African-American males, Kosasi trekked from her downtown Airbnb to the nightclub on a Saturday night.

Once they got to the front of the line, the bouncer told the group they could not come inside because they were wearing sneakers. As she stepped aside, Kosasi watched as a group of young Korean women wearing sneakers got out of taxis and walked straight into the club.

“This is absolutely insane and nothing but racial prejudice,” she said. “I mean, come on, the people they were letting in were Asians or Koreans, but I guess it was because half of our group aren’t Asians.”

Standing outside for a few more minutes before leaving for a bar a street over, she observed the crowd of Koreans wearing neon green admission wristbands outside of the club smoking cigarettes, nearly all of them wearing sneakers. She was fuming.

“The fact that they think that they have to have this exclusively for them instead of other people is messed up,” she said. “It’s just not fair and it’s shocking to be in a place that’s so liberal.”

Islam and Kosasi’s experiences mirror many others’ that claim to exhibit discrimination at Mission. In many instances, the nightclub seemingly covers blatant prejudicial policies with dress codes that are inconsistently and arbitrarily followed based on the ethnicity of customers. Others claim the nightclub works around outright racism by effectively pricing customers out, allowing them access only if they buy $500 bottle service.

By favoring Asian patrons, especially those of Korean background, and practicing racial and ethnic selectivity, Mission would be violating both the New York City Human Rights Law and New York State Civil Rights Law.

Before Mission, the club’s owners operated another Korean-American nightclub near Times Square, called Circle NYC. The club was known as a mecca for Asian-Americans in New York for years, but closed due to rising Manhattan rent costs. It also held a reputation for having racist policies.

In 2013, the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau investigated and fined Circle $20,000 for barring patrons on the basis of race and ethnicity. As part of the agreement, the nightclub vowed to update its discriminatory admission policies in accordance to state law. Shutting down in early 2018, Circle’s legacy seemingly endures at Mission.

On Yelp, 60 out of the 79 reviewers rated Mission two stars or below. Similar negative sentiments are posted on Facebook and Google Reviews. Other complaints include money added to bar tips by employees, the mandatory $4 coat and bag check after paying $20 admission, and physical and verbal assault by the bouncers.

Mission refused comment for this story. Management at the nightclub demanded that no one be interviewed and no footage be taken of its customers inside the venue, with the reasoning that many of its patrons are Korean and Chinese international students who do not want to be documented out clubbing while they are supposed to be inside studying.

In addition to the flashing strobe lights and lasers, however, the dancefloor lit up with cellphones recording the entire night. Mission’s private Instagram account also frequently posts photos of its partying patrons accompanied by the #asiannightlifenyc hashtag.

Despite the negative accounts of Mission, its club-goers inside visibly enjoy their weekend nights there. From around midnight until 4 a.m. on a Friday, the venue flashed with colors and buzzed with a crowd of dancing cocktail-sippers and groups of friends celebrating as sparkler-adorned bottles of champagne were delivered to their tables.

Andrew Lee and Matt He, both 22-year-olds working in finance, decided that Mission’s niche community rightfully has its place in New York nightlife. Respectively Korean- and Chinese-American, the two spoke of how the nightclub’s atmosphere allowed them to feel relaxed and free from judgement.

From earlier in the day, He recalled their white friend turning down the invitation to join them at Mission that Friday night, because there were “too many Asians,” and headed to a Meatpacking District nightclub instead.

“Asians get shit on all the time for our antics, so to have a place to be comfortable is valid,” Lee said. “I mean, I feel like, yeah, it’s Asian privilege, but to not have privilege in so many other places and situations, I feel like this is acceptable.”