 Do Koreans think that they are the superior Asian at least visually? Well, that's what this TikToker who lives in South Korea is saying. Oh man, this is going viral right now. There is a TikToker who is a Vietnamese American living in South Korea. Her name is Phong VV. Yeah, Andrew. She made some big accusations in this clip about South Korea. Let's drop it. We all know how Koreans feel about Vietnamese people. And it's because she is East Asian passing or Korean passing. Like when she first debuted a bunch of Koreans were like, Oh, I didn't even know that you're Vietnamese because you look Korean. And by saying that is such a backhand and compliment because it's basically saying that because you look like us, who they proceed to be like this visually superior race, you look good. Long story short, Andrew. She's saying through K-pop, understanding the Southeast Asian K-pop members and how they're treated, you can see that South Korea is extremely racist and look at society. They look down on Southeast Asians and especially any Asians that do not look Korean and that all East Asians in general think that Southeast Asians are below them. So of course, Andrew, we got to get into the internet comments. Our own takeaways. Make sure you like, subscribe and turn on your notifications. Andrew, I will say this, the comments section went all around the world and back. It went way beyond the scope of what she was talking about, just like K-pop or whatever. I mean, why do you think that this just set the internet on fire? I think this is actually something that a lot of people have thought about. And I do think a lot of people agree with her to an extent. First of all, not all Korean people think like this. Not on an individual base. I can't speak for everybody. However, this is a stereotype about Korea and even a lot of Koreans would acknowledge, and if you've talked to enough Koreans, you can kind of see what she's trying to say, although her accusations were maybe a little too harsh and I don't fully know what she meant by, well, you know how South Korea thinks about Vietnamese people. I don't know. I don't know what they think about Vietnamese people. Yeah. I mean, I think she addressed some dynamics like you said that have been brought up on the internet for 10, 20 years. However, you know, there's just something about TikToks when you're just talking to the camera. It's so visceral. It's not a writer. It's not an academic. It's just like somebody saying it. So let's get into the internet comments. Somebody said, uh, it's true, though, a lot of Koreans do believe that. Yeah, I basically do believe that they are the superior Asian, at least visually. Not all, but obviously, and given what they've put out in the past few years, I could see why people think that. I mean, there's even other Asians that think Koreans are the best looking too. So guys, the work is there. I'm just saying, right? You're saying that what do you think about her comparison to saying that like the equivalent of being Korean passing in Asia is being white passing in America? Uh, yeah, I mean, I don't like comparing things to the dynamics in America exactly. But if we had to, it's because this is their country that Korea is more of a Korean country than even America is even a white country, in my opinion, way more. Yeah, I believe that Korea is 99% Korean, whereas America, obviously right now, I believe is only like 63% white. Yeah. So of course, yeah, Korea is even more pure blood than America is by far. I'm moving on to America. Somebody's like, yeah, see, it goes to show you everybody always complaining in America, saying how racist and bad a place America is. But racism exists everywhere. Hierarchy exists everywhere. You'd be a fool to think anyplace else is different. In fact, America does better with racism and lookism because there's more diversity here than countries back in Asia. So why is everybody always complaining about America? No, that's an interesting question. And I would ask people who think like her or would say it the way she does and say, Hey, well, what do you think about America's racism or discrimination history? Like what do you think about comparing it to do? Would you appreciate America more? I think it's very, very difficult to compare different histories with discrimination, prejudice and racism, though. It's like hyper layered and hyper complex. For example, Andrew, what if like Asian East Asian countries in particular are more judgmental, but they're less likely to act on any sort of violence in that judgmentalness and it more comes in stairs and comments or something like that. Which one will you take? Will you take the words and the side comments and the side looks or you want to take the potential where someone's going to like punch you in the face for looking a certain way? Also, it is difficult to compare new world countries that are like 250 to 300 years old with things that are like 3,000 years old with just one group of people. But, you know, everybody is free to make the comparisons they can. That was a point made. Somebody said, you know, like everybody's saying that Koreans are arrogant and cocky, but that cool smug attitude. It's just how we have been taught to act. It's not really like us trying to be that way against you guys, but that's how we are even are amongst ourselves. That's really interesting. I would like to hear the more historical or I guess cultural context for that, but that's an interesting point. Somebody said, come on, man. Every culture thinks they're the best, man. Literally, you go to Greece. They think they're the best. You go to Mexico. They think they're the best. Everybody thinks they're the best. Do you agree with this statement? So it sort of absolves everybody of thinking that they're the best in their own country or is there something where you go, nah, that's not true. Some countries definitely think more like that than others. No. First of all, some countries feel more proud than others. However, I think a lot of people who are not Korean that move to Korea have certain expectations about what their life is going to be like in Korea. Do you think they think they're going to get treated like a K-pop star? I'm not saying that they're going to get treated like a K-pop star, but I think that they view Korea a certain way due to the media and their expectations. And then they get there. And it is kind of like that, but not really. And I think that whole disappointment is what also draws out some of these emotions. Yeah. I mean, some people say that same thing when they go to Paris. Like, they just imagine that Paris was going to be like, oh, oh, oh, and baguettes. And everybody's saying, love, and they just find cigarettes. I would say this, any country that has all three things banging, their economics, their culture, which is like their foods and their shows, as well as their looks, anything that they got all three of these cylinders booming is going to feel a type of way about themselves. Because I remember America. Oh, bro, in the 90s, it felt like America was the only country that had the economics, the cultural power, and the looks just booming, which is like the soft power. Somebody said, I used to live in Japan. And let me tell you, they truly think they are the elite superior Asians. So I don't know what she's talking about when she says Koreans think they are. Yeah, I definitely still think Japanese do, but they have such a culture of being polite and not telling you that. But a lot of people would say who've actually lived in Japan, they would say Japan is even more low key racist than all the other countries. Yeah, it's just not high key. I think because of the Omo Tenashi. I would have this analogy, Andrew. Let's say, for example, Asia was the Asian Student Union at a university. Oh, and by the way, guys, everything we're talking about is Asia-Asia right now, not Asian-American. But let's say, for example, Andrew, you had the Asian Student Union. Like the Koreans, they might show up and be extra proud and say some comments that like make people go, oh man, they think they're the best. But the Japanese student group might not even show up because they're like, we would not go to a Pan-Asian event, we are different. By the way, guys, of course, these are just stereotypes. Somebody said, I lived in all three Asian countries and Japan and Korea actually have the same hierarchical ranking. But China, I'll tell you, that place is just real mishmash, man, you don't know what they like. Hey, China does not care as much about looks. Let's be honest. Oh, China's more about money. Yeah, now I think on a media level, a lot of the media stars will kind of have a similar look in China. But I think when you go to China, you actually see that everybody has seen all different types of looks. Like there's people who look Southeast Asian. There's people who look very, very East Asian. There's people who look like, oh, you get the whole thing. Oh, there's people in China who look almost like more Western, you know, more towards the Middle East. I would say this, Korea, if you look at it historically, is one tribe of people. Japan is three. And China is literally made up of 200 tribes coalesced over time. So obviously that is going to lead to a larger spectrum. But interestingly enough, she said, Fong Viviam, that she was more accepted in China. But also a lot of people would not want to move to China because it doesn't have all three, you know, the looks, the culture, and the economics, banging like South Korea does. Somebody says, from me observing Koreans in Asia, I have to say they're the most vain and appearance-focused people I've been around. They drink a lot, their lookism is very high, and they're kind of like acting like a bunch of partying models or frat or sorority types together. By the way, guys, I think this is a absolute stereotype. I think that maybe if you party in Hongdae or you party in Itaewon or Gangnam, you might get more exposed to like that segment of the population. Well, like why does everybody like to come to K-town? Why does everybody want to party at the Pochas? Everybody like, look at the scoreboard. Look at what we put out. Like you want to come hang out with us. So like, we're like the cool kids, you know? Yeah, I would say that Koreans, and even Korean-Americans, but Koreans in Korea, they sort of have this popular kid in high school persona right now. Andrew, what do you think? If Koreans have that stereotype right now, Japanese have sort of the robot, polite, pervert stereotype. Chinese have the annoyingly cheap and bad manners as international tourist stereotypes. Vietts have the one that is gangsta. Filipinos have the entertainer stereotype. What do you think about all of these stereotypes, essentially that exist in Asia for every group? Yeah, I mean, they come from somewhere. So obviously there's more stereotypes to go around. I think each country would have 10 or five, at least major stereotypes about them. But yeah, I mean. I mean, these are just the stories that emerge from that country. I'll say this, I think a lot of it has to do with the exposure that the foreigners have to your group. Like I said, when foreigners go to South Korea, they're going to go to the party zones. When you go to the party zones, you're more likely to meet a certain slice of the population. So that population mentally in people's minds gets overrepresented. Somebody said, man, there's so many different rankings. For example, Chinese are the dirty East Asians when it comes to cleanliness, but then they might also become the next world superpower. So they could either feel bad about that or they could feel good about that. Man, it's so complicated, man. You can feel bad and good for so many different reasons, to be honest. Somebody said, no one is more racist toward Asians than other Asians. I don't really think that that is true. I really, I always disagree with that. Always disagree with that. You know what it is? I think that they know the most about each other. I always say this, Asians are kind of like different brands of Android phones where like, you know how the Androids are always like, oh no, Samsung is better than LG is better than OPPO was better than OnePlus. But then to iPhone users, which are like Western people, all the Androids, they're just all the same. Yeah, I think giving like racism a grade or a metric is always very hard. Measuring it is very hard because do you go by the most extreme possibilities in that country? Which I think actually America is a country of extremes. So I think we have extreme racism, but also on the other end, people are very open and rewarding to each other, right? So I think it's just more, a little bit compressed in the middle for Asia. Yeah, America is very roller coaster. It's up and it's down. Somebody said, why are all East Asians just so hierarchical and just whether it's within themselves as individuals or as in larger groupings? Why are they so hierarchical? Is it Confucianism? Is it Tiger Parenting or Tiger Societies? What is it? Yeah, I think it's all those things, man. I think it's achievement oriented. I think it's the whole test taking culture. I think it's Confucianism. It's everything, bro, everything. I think it's the national exams too. Just that national exam dynastic system is really like actually sort of perpetuated over the years but of course in more modern formats. Somebody said, man, I'm beard, but I respect Koreans more than my own people, man, because they do the right things. They have the good manners. They build their country up and they have nothing to be ashamed of. So why wouldn't they be cocky, man? It's their place. They build it up. I think the truth is, listen, if you're like a non-Korean and you're into Korean pop culture, like why do you like all the K dramas? Why do you like physical 100? Why do you like all these pop stars? Because they are good looking because it's highly curated because they are highly trained because they go through a crazy skincare regimen. Japan and Korea are a very high-powered economic system. You like the product, but you don't like the process. Or you don't like how you're getting treated once you enter that product. Yeah, and so because you have all these extractations and yada, yada, I'm not saying that there's not a lot of fun things about it but it also comes with a cost. So just so you know that. So you're saying you gotta be more, I guess, aware or realistic about what you're buying into possibly, right? What I'm saying is like if we do the work and we put out the product and everybody liked the product and then you come to the factory and you're mad at the factory, like that doesn't make any sense. Somebody said, I'm Korean and I noticed that since we are doing so good lately are all across our own technical metrics. There is a lot of backlash hate against us. It is because we leapfrogged a lot of other countries in like our proximity and our ability to create like culture that is very similar but even more different and similar to America. Do you think that's true? Because right now, Andrew, somebody said that there's a huge backlash because a lot of the K-pop sites are posting more negative news about Korea just to get clicks because that whole group of people whether you say positive or negative things is just like rabid and the click farms wanna get more engagement. Ah, that's really interesting. Ah, I guess, I mean it's kind of like the whole attitude of punching up, you know, anytime you get on or you get famous or everybody knows your stuff there's also gonna be, there's not only positive news about you. I mean, that's just what it is. And I think for a long time, if you talk to South Koreans like 10, 12 years ago they were like, oh, like everybody still thinks we're Chinese. I mean, this is even Korean-Americans. They were like, man, everybody still thinks we're Chinese. And then now everybody knows Koreans but now also everybody is gonna have a negative A as well as positive opinion about Korea. Right, because they just way more exposed getting way more pings. People thinking about it way more in positive and negative ways. If you've ever traveled the world back, you know, five, 10 years ago everybody says Americans are loud and noisy and act a certain way. They run the world, right? But then America also is the coolest country. We have Hollywood. We have all the trends. We have a lot of innovation here. Somebody said, you gotta ask yourself, if your tribe was killing it as hard as Koreans are would you be any different? That kind of goes back to your like, if you did the work, would you be? I don't know. Yeah. Somebody said, why is she having a victim mentality? If she looked like a Vietnamese model she would not think like that. Because when people look like models all that like bigger stuff it doesn't even matter because they themselves is beautiful. Now I don't think that's essentially true. I think that even models are good looking people. It's not like they don't see the dynamics. They might feel differently about it. Maybe it doesn't affect them as much or maybe they even benefit from it in a different way a lot more. So it will skew, but it doesn't mean they don't see it. Yeah, that's a good point. Last but not least Andrew, why did this comment section just go so crazy all around the world and back? We're talking about Asian history. I'm talking about Japan. This was just a Vietnamese-American girl pointing out something that she noticed in her life. I'm not even saying it's true, but like true-ish or whatever. Like, and it just exploded. And it's still going viral right now. I think it's because it's partially true. It is partially true. And if you know any Koreans like to say that they don't talk about looks in a different way like I remember I've had conversations where I was like, whoa man these regular people are talking about looks in a whole different level than I was used to. You know? It's like everybody has a PhD in analyzing each other's faces. Now I think at the end of the day everybody can be very nice and respectful to each other. But yes, I mean that is a culture that is largely especially when you talk about things that come from the pop culture. They are focused on looks. And that's why their shows are so good partially because they're concerned with media. It's not that their stories aren't good or that the acting's not good, but they focus a lot on media and media is largely about looks. So that's what it is, you know? And I think that if you're gonna go there I mean you can say whatever you want about Korea but like I guess I'm not shocked at what she said. I don't, I think a lot of people disagree on the percentages and the extent of what it's true. Do you think they also disagree on why she pointed it out? Yeah I do, I think people disagree on her intent and the extent of how true it is but a lot of people agree that it is somewhat true. Anyway guys, let us know what you think in the comments section below. Like we said, always stereotypes, archetypes you know, percentages. These things are all real, right? For every, like the stereotypes are real. People believe in stereotypes. Let us know how true or untrue you think they are. We just went through the internet comments and this is going viral right now. So until next time, we're the Hop Hop Boys, we out. Peace.