Paris Olympics Mistake Sparks Online Hate Attack
Korean Husband: "My Wife Loves Korea More Than Anyone"
As mistakes continued at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including introducing the Korean delegation as 'North Korea' and misspelling athletes' names, some netizens have been leaving malicious comments on a Korea-France international couple's YouTube channel.
On the 2nd, the YouTuber 'Kimchi wa Baguette,' who has about 400,000 subscribers, posted a plea on their community board. 'Kimchi wa Baguette' is a YouTube channel run by a Korean husband and a French wife. The husband, Mr. A, began his post by saying, "Recently, many issues have arisen due to various mistakes at the Paris Olympics, and we, as a couple, also feel a lot of regret about this Olympics." He continued, "However, complaining about those mistakes to our channel, or to my wife, will not change anything," adding, "My wife is neither a politician nor an Olympic official."
Malicious comments left by netizens on the Korea-France international couple's YouTube channel [Image source=Screenshot from the YouTube channel 'Kimchi wa Baguette']
Mr. A shared screenshots of some malicious comments left by netizens on their videos. The comments mainly included harsh criticisms such as "I can't stand the French anymore," "French people~ go live in your own country," and "French XXX, are you kidding? Truly typical of Europe's China." Mr. A said, "I don't know how much you love your country to come to our humble channel and spit insults like this," and added, "The insults you casually throw out are all being read by my wife's family and friends in France." He pointed out, "I fully understand the dissatisfaction with the (Paris Olympics mistakes), but directing it at the wrong person, demanding explanations and apologies from the wrong people, and insulting my wife only ends up damaging our own country."
Mr. A explained, "My wife is French. As soon as she became an adult, she became curious about Korea, came to Korea, liked it so much that she decided to study here, worked economically here, and eventually married me, a Korean man, and settled down in Korea. Now, while running the YouTube channel, she also diligently pays taxes in Korea." Finally, he appealed, "I don't know if you think you're being patriotic by throwing stones at my wife, but she loves and cares for Korea even more than you do," and added, "She was the one who felt the most regret about these mistakes, so please stop the malicious comments."
Besides Mr. A, French-born broadcaster Fabien also could not escape the 'malicious comment attacks.'
On the 28th of last month, Fabien uploaded a video titled "Olympics D-1! First swimming medal in 12 years! Feat Comment Attacks" on his YouTube channel 'Fabien Yoon.' In the video, he pointed out, "As you probably already know, something really absurd happened at the Olympic opening ceremony. When the South Korean delegation entered, the Olympic organizing committee introduced Korea as North Korea." He continued, "I was broadcasting live on SBS and didn't notice at all, but I found out only after the broadcast ended. It was so ridiculous and really made me angry. It's really embarrassing that such a thing happened at a global sporting event like the Olympics," and added, "Since this Olympics is being held in my country, as a French person who loves Korea, this situation is very upsetting, disappointing, and frustrating."
He then confessed that he was being targeted by comment attacks. Fabien said, "When I got home, I found myself under attack on Instagram, email, and comments," and added, "Actually, in a way, this isn't unfamiliar to me." Earlier, in February, Fabien was also harassed with malicious comments after news broke about a dispute between Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min during the 2023 Asian Cup held in Qatar by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This was because he is a fan of Lee Kang-in's team, Paris Saint-Germain, and a fan of Lee Kang-in himself. Fabien said, "I was also attacked with comments when Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min fought," and added, "Now that the Olympics are being held in my country, I'm getting a lot of insults again." Finally, he joked, "Since I'm currently in my hometown, I don't have to buy a plane ticket in response to comments telling me to 'go back to your country,' so that's a relief."
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