SEOUL — One of South Korea's most popular YouTubers has apologised after one of her videos featured a comedian playing a caricature of a Filipina, sparking outrage from fans in the Philippines and elsewhere.

The video, which YouTuber Tzuyang has since taken down, was branded as racist by some people in the way it mocked the accent of Filipinos and presented stereotypes of their interests.

The video, posted on Tzuyang's YouTube channel on Jan 28, was titled: "🇵🇭 The Philippine subscriber(?) was surprised 🤣 Beef tripe rice noodles mukbang". It was filmed at Vietnamese restaurant Tamtam in Gangnam, Seoul.

A mukbang is a video showing a person eating food. The video featured comedian Kim Ji Young, 37, who plays a caricature of a Filipina named "Nitung" in the video.

Seated at a table in the restaurant, 27-year-old Tzuyang (born Park Jung Won), tells the camera in Korean: "I'm doing a mukbang with a subscriber. She's from the Philippines and is married to a Korean guy."

Another woman then enters the scene, introducing herself as "Nitung with a beautiful smile".

Speaking in accented Korean, "Nitung" says: "Originally, I was a farmer's wife, but now I'm a comedian!"

She currently appears in the segment "Nitung's Human Theater" on popular sketch comedy television show Gag Concert, she adds.

The pair proceeds to order their food and chat as they feast on Vietnamese dishes. At one point, Tzuyang asks "Nitung" how she ended up in South Korea.

"I came here because I wanted to get married," the supposed Filipina says. "When I first met my husband, I seduced him, haha.

"I'm versatile in various ways... I'm skilled at massage and driving. My husband fell for me when he saw that."

When Tzuyang asks why she is interested in Koreans, "Nitung" responds: "K-drama... I fantasised about Korean men after watching K-dramas."

She then confesses that she likes South Korean actor Cha Eun Woo and K-pop supergroup BTS, especially the youngest member Jung Kook.

As they continue to discuss Nitung's work, life and favourite dishes in Korea, Tzuyang suddenly asks: "But really... How do you do that? How can you mimic a Filipino accent so well?"

"Because I'm Filipino," "Nitung" responds, as both women laugh.

Shortly after, she heads to the restroom before returning in a different outfit, hairstyle and with a natural Korean accent — revealing her true identity as Korean comedian Kim Ji Young, who owns YouTube channel FokCine and indeed acts as the Filipina persona "Nitung".

Ms Kim re-introduces herself, confirming: "I am a Korean! I have never been abroad, and I don't have a passport... I'm a true Seoul native."

She then recites some lines as "Nitung" in her accented Korean, which Tzuyang tries to imitate before breaking into laughter. The video concludes with both women promoting Ms Kim's YouTube channel.

Though the video has since been removed, reposts and screenshots of it have gone viral on social media, with both Korean and international online users calling out the pair's "racist behaviour".

THE BACKLASH

On TikTok, a video clip of Ms Kim's reveal that was posted last Sunday (Feb 4) has already received two million views and 1,700 comments as of Wednesday afternoon, with many viewers calling for Tzuyang to be "cancelled" and boycotted.

Korean-American TikToker Priscilla Kwon posted a video summarising the controversy on Monday, which has received 3.1 million views and 2,600 comments.

Her caption read: "There are ACTUAL Korean documentaries on international marriages of Filipino women marrying Korean men and talking about the cultural differences and hardships of living abroad (in Korea) alone and she's cosplaying that..."

Related keywords such as "Filipino mocking accent Tzuyang", "Tzuyang Filipino issue original video" and "FokCine" are currently trending on the short-video platform.

Many Filipino fans, in particular, expressed great disappointment in their "favourite YouTuber" and declared that they would no longer be watching Tzuyang's videos.

One top comment on TikTok read: "Mocking the Filipino accent when thousands of Koreans literally go to the Philippines JUST to study and learn English? Lol Tzuyang, I expected more from you. How disappointing."

News media The Korea Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that the Philippines is the "prime source of English education for South Koreans" due to its strategic distance, affordable education and cost of living.

Apart from commenting on the irony of a Korean mocking the Filipino accent, Filipino viewers also criticised the stereotypical portrayal of the "Nitung" character, who mentions farming, massaging and driving as her various skills.

One Instagram user said: "I think it's really disappointing and distasteful making fun of Filipinos and generalising how we fetishise your K-drama and culture, and even making fun of our accent."

Others added that "no one in (the Philippines) would name their child Nitung".

Before the video was taken down, many Korean online users also said that it was racist, Ms Kwon the Korean-American TikToker noted in her TikTok video.

"I have a Filipino friend who loves Tzuyang's mukbang videos," she quoted one of the Korean comments as saying. "And I'm very upset that they have to see this."

Another wrote: "Mocking foreigners for their accent and finding it humorous and not knowing that that's racism is very disappointing.

"Imagine (football player) Son Heung Min or a BTS member being made fun of for their accent (when they're abroad). This type of humour is not it."

Social media users also claimed that Tzuyang's channel was "hiding or deleting comments calling them out for their mockery".

In response to the backlash, the offending video title was later changed to "Vietnamese restaurant where you eat in line 😃 Beef Gopchang Rice Noodles Mukbang".

THE APOLOGY

The YouTuber ultimately decided to take the video down on Monday, eight days after it had been posted, before issuing a written apology in Tagalog, English and Korean.

It stated: "I want to extend my sincere apologies to our Filipino viewers and subscribers for any concerns caused by the video uploaded on Jan 28 with a Korean comedian.

"I hold great respect for the Philippines and feel genuinely grateful to the many viewers in the Philippines who enjoy my videos. 

"However, it was a huge oversight on my part not to realise that the content we produced might unintentionally cause emotional pain, which was not our intention.

"We have already removed the video in question. I will carefully heed the criticisms and comments from our viewers and will make every effort to be thoughtful and attentive when creating content in the future."

The apology post has received 6,100 likes and 1,800 comments, mostly from Korean online users remarking that Tzuyang, her team and broadcasting company KBS — which hosts Gag Concert — should "sincerely reflect" on the incident.

Many said that they felt "embarrassed" and "sorry for the Filipino people", and that KBS should simply abolish the Gag Concert programme with its "gags that belittle others".

One top comment read: "I think this is a problem that can be solved through reverse examination. I would also be offended if Koreans were portrayed in that way in a foreign country."

Ms Kim has yet to address the video.

At the same time, social media users have pointed out that her "whole shtick" on the FoxCine channel and Gag Concert is playing Nitung and "imitating Filipinos speaking Korean" — which was only brought to wider public attention due to her appearance in Tzuyang's video.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tzuyang's subscriber count on YouTube does not seem to have dropped drastically. It now stands at 9.28 million subscribers.

Tzuyang was previously embroiled in a controversy known as the "2020 Korean YouTube backdoor advertising controversy", which involved many internet personalities promoting products without disclosing paid partnerships.