Korean TikToker’s Viral Video Triggers Heated Debate Over “Yellow Fever”
Online content creator IamfromKorea (@iam.from.korea on TikTok) is known for his street interviews, during which he often asks foreigners their opinions about South Korea.
In one of his recent videos, he approached two Black women and asked them for their unpopular opinions about Korea. Instantly, one responded, “Korean men are overhyped,” to which her friend agreed, “Very true.” IamfromKorea asked why they consider Korean men to be overhyped. They explained, “The thing is people keep forgetting that they are men,” and “Men are all the same everywhere around the world.”
The women also noticed an online trend of foreigners “dabbing up 10s” while in Korea, and they felt most of the men were “subpar.” They think that persons with “yellow fever” believe that men look better than they really do.
Some people… They got a little yellow fever. Any dude look good, a 3 looks like a 7.
— Woman 1
The video went viral with 167K views at the time of writing on TikTok. Naturally, it triggered divided reactions.
@iam.from.korea Korean men are over hyped?!😭😭 #unpopularopinion
Some took offense to the usage of the phrase “yellow fever,” believing the woman was being racist. Calling Asians “yellow” has been historically a racial slur.
Many had to jump to the woman’s defense, educating others on the meaning of “yellow fever.” IamfromKorea also was not aware of what “yellow fever” meant in the context of their conversation. The woman had explained it as, “If they Asian, you jumping.”
“Yellow fever” has been a longtime slang used towards a non-Asian person who has an often sexual obsession with Asian persons. Its straight-up definition would be “Asian fetishization.”
Most who understood what the woman meant by “yellow fever” agreed with her. While many agreed that “Korean men are overhyped” and glamorized by K-Dramas and K-Pop, some thought the women sounded bitter.
Unfortunately, the women in the video became the target of hate comments, including xenophobic, racist, and homophobic.
Another new IamfromKorea video triggered debate. Read more below.
Foreigner’s Critique Of Korean Men Compared To BTS’s Jimin Sparks Intense Debate
