Tzuyang, a Korean food vlogger apologizes for the racist portrayal of Filipinas in content
TZUYANG – A South Korean food vlogger was heavily criticized for her racist portrayal of Filipinas in content.
In her recent food content, Tzuyang pretended to have a Filipino subscriber as her guest. Then she referred to her guest as Korean comedian Kim Ji Young. However, Kim Ji Young introduced herself as “Nitong,” a Filipina.
“Nitong” spoke in broken Korean with an exaggerated accent, portraying the character as a Filipina trying to converse in Korean. Nitong said she’s a Filipina who went to Korea and married a Korean farmer to experience life there. According to allkpop.com, this wasn’t the first time Kim Ji Young portrayed Nitong. She has also played this character in some shows in South Korea.
Tzuyang received intense backlash for this content, prompting her to delete the video. A Pinoy fan of Tzuyang commented: “Inviting a ‘comedian’ to portray stereotypes of Filipinas, and imitate the accent is so disrespectful. Racism at its finest.”
Another said, “This is such a very disrespectful way of pinoy-baiting. Apparently, the woman is not a real Filipino; not even a quarter! Tzuyang should be called-out for this cuz this is not okay.”
According to PEP.ph, a Korean vlogger also discussed this on TikTok, translating Korean comments as reactions to Tzuyang’s video. One translated comment said: “Imagine someone else was depicting global stars such as Son Heung Min and BTS with an exaggerated Korean accent.”
Because of this, Tzuyang issued an apology statement. She even made an effort to translate it into Tagalog. “Gusto ko po mag express ng aking sincerest apology regarding sa video na i-upload noong 28thh ng Enero kasama ng mga Komedyans na Koreano para sa mga Filipino viewers at mga subscribers po. Gusto ko po mag sabi na marami po akong respeto kay Pilipinas at lagi naman po akong mag sasalamat sa mga lahat ng viewers ko sa Pilipinas. Pero hindi po ako na pansin na itong content ngayon ay pwede maging offensive sa ibang viewers.”
