Controversy Over King Jung's Remark: "Yellow Hair and Nose Surgery Won't Make You Western"

Emphasizing Trilateral Cooperation Among Korea, China, and Japan, Mentioning Racial Characteristics
Concerns Raised Over Sensitivity and Potential Controversy

Wang Yi, the top diplomat of China and a member of the Communist Party Central Political Bureau as well as the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office, recently sparked controversy by mentioning racial characteristics while emphasizing cooperation among China, South Korea, and Japan at a trilateral exchange event.

The king is a member of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office.
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

According to a video posted on the WeChat channel of Global Times (China's version of KakaoTalk) on the 5th, Commissioner Wang met with guests including former South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee during the China-Japan-South Korea Cooperation International Forum held in Qingdao, China, on the 2nd and 3rd. He said, "When our Chinese, Japanese, and Korean friends go to the United States, Americans cannot distinguish who is Chinese, Japanese, or Korean." He added, "It is the same when we go to Europe," and stated, "No matter how much you dye your hair yellow or shape your nose pointedly, you cannot become a Westerner or a Western person," emphasizing, "You must know where your roots lie."

This was a metaphor to stress the importance of trilateral cooperation by highlighting the racial similarities among the three nations' peoples. However, given the sensitivity of racial issues, there are criticisms that this could be controversial. On the same day, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to questions about this at a regular briefing by saying, "We cannot agree at all with Commissioner Wang Yi's remarks."

He emphasized, "What we want to stress is that the three countries should strengthen mutual trust, practice genuine multilateralism and open regionalism, oppose any words or actions that could push the region into a Cold War or hot war, and oppose bringing geopolitical conflicts and collective confrontations into the region."