"Actually Racist?": Korean War Memorial Goes Viral For All The Wrong Reasons

A Korean War memorial is going viral for all the wrong reasons.

Reddit user horizontalhole shared a photo to COMIC SANS GALORE (r/CrappyDesign). They showed a Korean War memorial in Veterans Memorial Park, Auburn, New York, that not only referred to it as “The Forgotten War” but used a questionable font for “Korean War.” They pointed out the strange font that is often associated with Chinese restaurants.

They chose to write ‘Korean War’ in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.

— horizontalhole/Reddit

Netizens debated whether or not the memorial’s unusual font was racist or not. Some thought it was straight-up tacky, and others even thought it was funny.

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by u/CantaloupeCamper from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/mythrilcrafter from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/LacidOnex from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/VP1 from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/framed1234 from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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One user gave a historical argument why it was not entirely racist to use the font for “Korean War.”

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by u/IndigoGouf from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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Still, the overwhelming majority said the memorial was racist and compared it to the font equivalent of every horrible stereotype against Asians. Netizens even agreed the controversial Comic Sans font would have been less problematic for this memorial.

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by u/SkippySkep from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/BeefyTacoBaby from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/FriedScrapple from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/LordFrogberry from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/tudy1311 from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/JB-from-ATL from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/DunningKrugerOnElmSt from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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One user pointed out the similarities to the offensive and racist anti-Japanese posters made ahead of when thousands of Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. A similar, if not identical, font was used.

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by u/Sacreblargh from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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If there is still doubt whether the font is racist, its official name is a giveaway. According to Wikipedia, the “ethnic typeface” is known as “wonton,” “Chinese,” “chopstick,” “chop suey,” and “kung-fu.”

A wonton font (also known as Chinese, chopstick, chop suey, or kung-fu) is an ethnic typeface with a visual style intended to express an Asian or Chinese aesthetic.

Styled to mimic the brush strokes used in Chinese characters, wonton fonts often convey a sense of Orientalism. In modern times, they are sometimes viewed as culturally insensitive or offensive.

The first commercial typeface of this style was patented in 1883 by the Cleveland Type Foundry, under the name ‘Chinese’, which became ‘Mandarin’ in the 1950s. Many variations of this style of font have been created by typeface designers since its inception

— Wikipedia

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by u/No-BrowEntertainment from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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The Wikipedia page even uses the Korean War Memorial in question as an example of the font. Like the Reddit thread, Wikipedia included a paragraph detailing the controversial aspect of the brushstroke-like font.

Some Asian-Americans find wonton fonts amusing or humorous, while others find them offensive, insulting, or racist. The font’s usage is often criticized when paired with caricatures that hark back to the Yellow Peril images of the late 19th and 20th century. In 2002, the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch faced controversy when it produced a series of T-shirts with buck-toothed images and wonton font slogans. The Chicago Cubs were hit with backlash from the Asian community after a similarly offensive T-shirt was produced by an independent vendor in 2008. The questionable use of such fonts was the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal by cultural commentator Jeff Yang.

— Wikipedia

Another Reddit user explained that the font is in severs for companies to use. Yet, their company has likely hidden it to be used by customers.

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by u/Jewfro1321 from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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Netizens were even more shocked to find out how recently the memorial was built. Some suggest that the topic should actually be brought up in a town meeting and that a plaque be added to hide the controversial aspect.

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by u/Juan_Kagawa from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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by u/Comprehensive-Fun47 from discussion They chose to write "Korean War" in the Chinese restaurant typeface. The Korean writing system doesn’t even use strokes like that.
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Interestingly, despite the 89% upvote, the r/CrappyDesign moderators removed the OP. So, no new comments can be added.

Every submission must be a bad design, otherwise it may be removed. Any design mentioned in this list of things that are not crappy design is not allowed. Other low-quality posts may be removed at moderator discretion.

— CrappyDesign/Reddit