Popular Comedian Under Fire For Mocking The Chinese Language… In Front of A Chinese Person
South Korean comedian Lee Su Ji gained massive fame in 2013 when her Gag Concert skit as a Korean Chinese voice phishing scammer became a hit.
Since then, she has remained one of the most popular female comedians in the nation—with her imitation of regional accents being her best-selling talent.
Since her latest appearance on YouTube‘s “bbungkurt” series, however, Lee Su Ji is receiving some backlash for being insensitive and racist.
At the beginning of the episode, Lee Su Ji and co-host MIRAE‘s SON DONGPYO are seen interacting with random citizens on the streets of Seoul—getting them to guess the guest’s identity.
The two flag down a man and he tells them he “can’t speak Korean well.” When the man reveals that he’s from China, Lee Su Ji starts speaking gibberish Chinese.
Sorry. I can’t speak Korean well. I’m from China.
— Man
Upon hearing the comedian’s nonsense Chinese, the man tries to laugh it off—but is later seen sighing. The interaction comes to an end with Lee Su Ji telling the man, “You’re not that good at Chinese.”
Lee Su Ji: (Gibberish in Chinese-like accent)
Man: That’s… not Chinese.
Lee Su Ji: (Gibberish in Chinese-like accent)
Man: [sighs]
Lee Su Ji: You’re not that good at Chinese, I see. Your Korean is good, though.
While the situation had intended to be comedic, Korean viewers pointed out that it’s no longer acceptable to mock another language—in her 2013 Gag Concert era humor.
- “Imagine if foreigners stopped a Korean person overseas and started talking to them in fake Korean after hearing their background. Would we be able to laugh about it then? Come on. We know how frustrating it is to be met with the clueless ‘ni hao’ and ‘gonnichiwa’ when we’re outside Korea.”
- “Isn’t this kind of rude…? (Just sayin’)”
- “I’m sure she meant no harm. But what she’s doing is so rude and embarrassing for her. Even if she didn’t intend on being racist, it is considered racist. She needs to be more thoughtful.”
- “There isn’t a single Chinese word in what she said. But she nailed the intonations, I guess… It’s kind of rude, though.”
- “These comments pass the vibe check for sure. It makes me relieved to know that we’ve become more aware of what is considered racist humor.”
- “It was OK the first time. But she keeps going… It’s disrespectful.”
Lee Su Ji has not responded to the concerns shared.
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