Popular YouTuber apologizes for racism

A screenshot of Tzuyang's most recent video on her YouTube channel (YouTube)

Tzuyang, one of the most popular internet celebrities in South Korea, issued a public apology late Monday after being accused of racism for featuring a comedian doing an offensive portrayal of a Filipino character in one of her videos, Jan. 28.

"It was a huge oversight on my part not to realize that the content we produced might unintentionally cause emotional pain, which was not our intention. I sincerely apologize once again to the Filipino viewers and to anyone who felt uncomfortable watching the video," the 26-year-old said in her apology posted on her channel, issued in Tagalog, English and Korean.

Tzuyang has garnered over 9 million subscribers for "mukbang," referring to content that features someone simply eating food. In her case, she gained popularity by eating extreme amounts of food.

In the video accused of racism, Tzuyang hosted a woman who was introduced as Filipino fan "Nitung," married to a South Korean farmer. The woman was actually comedian Kim Ji-young, who has frequently used the Nitung character in her other comedic sketches.

But the portrayal of the character sparked controversy for being racist among viewers, particularly Filipino fans offended by the comedian's depiction. Nitung is a character Kim has portrayed since November 2023 in the local TV comedy show Gag Concert, aired on KBS 2TV, but had previously not stirred controversy until she appeared in Tzuyang's YouTube video.

The YouTuber erased the video shortly after it was accused of being racist, although the controversy has since spread among her sizeable international audience.

Tzuyang posted a public apology in Tagalog for her video that included what viewers criticized was a racist portrayal of a Filipino, on her YouTube channel, Monday. (YouTube)

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)