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Today’s Internet Kalat: #CancelKorea Trends, Sparks Arguments on Racism

There is not a day that goes by that local Twitter trends isn’t occupied with topics about Korea. K-Pop is permanently cemented to the top 5, whichever idol group Filipinos are fawning over at the moment. We love binge-watching K-Dramas and inviting our friends to watch with us too. Heck, we even have two of Korea’s biggest stars (Son Ye-Jin and Hyun Bin) as endorsers for one of the biggest telecommunications companies in the Philippines. Needless to say we like Korea and appreciate everything they have to offer. So it’s definitely a big deal when a hashtag like #CancelKorea trends.


What even started it in the first place?

 

It all started with a video and a tattoo

A few days ago, Filipino Tiktok star Bella Poarch posted a video of her dancing to a funky banjo beat. It looked harmless enough until Japan’s rising sun flag was seen tattooed on her arm, displayed for all her 16 million followers to see. Koreans swarmed the comments section saying the tattoo was offensive and that she should be aware of the history behind it.

The rising sun is associated with Japanese imperialism and was the flag of the Japanese military when it occupied Korea and part of China. During World War II, it also became the flag of the navy and was heavily associated with Japan’s heinous war crimes against those forced under its rule. As one comment pointed out, getting a tattoo of that symbol could be comparable to having a swastika inked on you, and nobody in their right mind would dare do that.

 


Bella’s apology

Shortly after backlash and criticism from her video, Bella posted an apology on Tiktok.

“I’m very sorry if my tattoo offends you,” she wrote. “I love Korea, please forgive me.” Additionally, her caption read, “I would never do anything to hurt anyone.”

Bella also explained that she got the tattoo back in March but has already scheduled it for removal.  She also promised to learn more about the symbol’s history and help educate those who are clueless about it so they don’t make the same mistakes.

 

But the demeaning comments keep coming

Understandably, Koreans were upset. Here comes a TikToker who has tattooed a giant offensive symbol on her arm without knowing what it means. But the thing is, Bella has already apologized and is actually making amends. This, however, did not stop some Koreans from insulting her in the comments section going so far as insulting the rest of the Filipinos too. The issue soon spilled over Twitter sparking an argument on racism and the long history between South Korea and the Philippines.

 


Along with #CancelKorea, the hashtag #ApologizetoFilipinos also trended with Twitter with Filipino users airing out their anger at the insults.

 


Some people are even digging up history


Many Filipinos are so riled up they did their own research on the history between South Korea and the Philippines. It reminded everyone of the helping hand the Philippines lent South Korea, in the form of Filipino soldiers who died to fight alongside them during the war with communist North Korea.

 


But are we fighting racism with more racism?


Many Filipinos said that Koreans have been racist toward us long before the comments on Bella’s Tiktok video. There’s the Hello Counselor game show where Koreans used “Filipino” as an insult for a participant having dark skin. There are also testimonials of Filipinos experiencing racism when they visited Korea for vacation. But as one Twitter user said, some Filipinos aren’t exactly clean. Some have always made fun of K-Pop idols and looked down on the plastic surgery culture in the country. Even if it stings to admit, Filipinos overlook acts of casual racism too.

 

You can’t stop Pinoy pride

Tan skin? We rock that.

 

Filo K-Pop stans are “putting their light sticks down”


Filipinos love Korea and that’s a fact but this issue has prompted many to set their fondness aside and step up for their country. Along with the hurt expressed from hateful comments, Filipinos flooded the hashtag with Pinoy achievements, photos of the beautiful Philippines, and are calling Filipinos to spread love instead. Yes, the world might never be rid of racists but what we can do is make sure we don’t stoop to their level.

 

What are your thoughts on #CancelKorea?


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Kyzia spends most of her time capturing the world around her through photos, paragraphs, and playlists. She is constantly on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and a great paperback thriller to pair with it.

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