Popular South Korean YouTuber Tzuyang, known for her mukbang or eating videos, has come under fire along with comedian Kim Ji Young for their recent vlog that was deemed racially insensitive and offensive towards Filipinos.
In the video titled “Vietnamese Restaurant Where You Eat In Line,” Tzuyang was joined by Kim Ji Young, who portrayed a character named Ni Tong, purportedly from the Philippines, based on Filipino stereotypes commonly seen in Korea. In the video, Kim Ji Young spoke in broken Korean and mocked Filipino accents, perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
The video sparked outrage among both Korean and international viewers, who expressed their disappointment and called out the insensitivity in Tzuyang’s content. Many viewers felt that making fun of Filipino accents and promoting stereotypes was inappropriate and offensive.
One viewer commented, “As a Filipino, I felt proud when I saw that she is a Filipino. But the moment it is revealed that she is not and she is copying or mocking the Filipino accent, it made me bothered. Our accent is not a joke and should never be laughed at.”
Another viewer questioned the humor in the video, saying, “So you got a ‘comedian’ who’s not even Filipino to pretend to be Filipino and act out harmful Filipino stereotypes, such as the accent when speaking Korean, coming to Korea to ‘seduce men and get married’ because of Kdramas. I don’t understand why you guys think this is funny.”
In response to the backlash, Tzuyang promptly set the video to private and issued a public apology in three languages, including Tagalog. She expressed her “sincere apologies to our Filipino viewers and subscribers for any concerns caused by the video uploaded on January 28th with a Korean comedian.” Tzuyang also stated that she holds great respect for the Philippines and did not realize the harm her content may have caused.
“I hold great respect for the Philippines and feel genuinely grateful to the many viewers in the Philippines who enjoy my videos. However, it was a huge oversight on my part not to realize that the content we produced might unintentionally cause emotional pain, which was not our intention,” Tzuyang admitted. “I sincerely apologize once again to the Filipino viewers and to anyone who felt uncomfortable watching the video. I will carefully heed the criticisms and comments from our viewers and will make every effort to be thoughtful and attentive when creating content in the future.”