Sam Okyere Expresses Major Disappointment In Black Face Parody By Korean High School Students
Ghanaian TV entertainer in Korea, Sam Okyere took to his Instagram to express major disappointment in Korean high school students who did a blackface parody on their day of graduation.
Sam Okyere shared photos of the party in question and expressed his regret and sadness in a lengthy post.
I feel regret and sadness to see something like this in 2020. This is not funny! From the stance of black people, this is very insulting. Please don’t do this! I can understand you’re trying to imitate a different culture, but is there a need to paint your face black? I wish things like this didn’t happen in Korea! It’s good to respect each other’s cultures. So I’d like to speak with you if I ever get the chance.
— Sam Okyere
Following his thoughts in Korean, Sam Okyere also expressed his feelings in English as well.
Time and time again why won’t people get that blackface is very offensive and not funny at all!!!!!! There have been so many instances both on and off air where people paint their faces black here in Korea and think it’s funny! It’s not and I am highly against it and highly disappointed.
— Sam Okyere
He continued,
You put in so much effort to educate people here in Korea and make them understand that you can appreciate a culture without making mockery of the the people. This has to stop in Korea!!! This ignorance cannot continue!!!!!
— Sam Okyere
The parody that the high school students did was of a video of a funeral ceremony in Ghana that went viral online.
The students painted their faces black and posed with a coffin, stirring significant controversy.
And according to various media outlets, the high school expressed that no harm was intended.
The parody graduation photos that our students took was just a parody without any other intention. People are saying they’re looking down on black people and being racist, but if they were white, our students would’ve painted their faces white. I wonder if people would’ve said they were looking down on white people if they had done that.
— Uijeongbu High School
Netizens are showing divided opinions on the matter with comments such as “I can see how that can be insulting to those from Ghana“, “Comedy is just comedy“, and “I think they just did it because it was trending“.
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