SEOUL — One of South Korea's most popular YouTubers has apologized after one of his videos featured the comedian playing a caricature of a Filipino woman, sparking outrage from fans in the Philippines and elsewhere.
The video, which YouTuber Tuyang has since deleted, was branded racist by some for mocking Filipino accents and presenting stereotypes about Filipino interests. .
The video, posted on Tsuyang's YouTube channel on January 28th, is titled, “🇵🇭 Filipino subscribers (?) were surprised 🤣 Beef Stomach Rice Noodles Mukbang” and was posted at Tam Tam, a Vietnamese restaurant in Gangnam District, Seoul. It was photographed in
A mukbang is a video of people eating food. The video features comedian Kim Ji-young, in which she plays a caricature of a Filipino woman named “Nitung.”
Sitting at a restaurant table, the 27-year-old YouTuber told the camera in Korean: She said, “She's doing mukbang with her subscribers. She's from the Philippines and is married to a Korean man.''
Another woman then enters the scene and introduces herself as “Nitun with a beautiful smile.”
“I used to be a farmer's wife, but now I'm a comedian!” she said in accented Korean.
She added that she is currently appearing in the segment “Nitun's Human Theater” on the popular sketch comedy TV show “Gag Concert”.
The two order food and continue their conversation while tasting Vietnamese food. At one point, Tsuyang asks Nithun why he came to Korea.
“I came here because I wanted to get married,” says the man, who appears to be Filipino. “The first time I met her husband, I seduced her husband (laughs).
“I'm multi-talented…I'm good at massaging and driving. My husband saw that and fell in love with me.”
When Tsuyang asks why he is interested in Koreans, “Nitung” replies: “Korean dramas… After watching Korean dramas, I fantasized about Korean men.”
She then confessed that she likes Korean actor Cha Eun Woo and the K-pop supergroup BTS, especially the youngest member Jungkook.
As they continued to talk about Nithun's work in Korea, his life, and his favorite dishes, Tsuyang suddenly asked: “But actually… how do you do that? How do you imitate a Filipino accent so well?”
“Because I'm Filipino,” “Nitung” replied, and the two women laughed.
Shortly after, she heads to the bathroom, but comes back with a different outfit and hairstyle and a natural Korean accent, featuring Kim Ji-young, a Korean comedian who owns the YouTube channel FokCine and actually plays the Filipino persona “Nitung.” It was revealed that.
“She is actively acting as a Filipino daughter-in-law,” reads the supertext on a video montage of her performing various scenes as Nithung on stage and screen.
When she returned to the restaurant, Kim introduced herself again and confirmed, “I'm Korean! I've never been abroad and I don't have a passport…I'm a true Seoulite.''
She then recites some lines as Nittung in accented Korean, which Tsuyang tries to imitate before bursting into laughter. The video ends with the two women promoting Kim's YouTube channel.
The video has since been deleted, but reposts and screenshots of it quickly spread on social media, with netizens in South Korea and abroad condemning the pair's “racist behavior.”
