French Man Sparks Controversy After Hurling Insults at Korean Woman Taking Selfie

Professor Seo Kyungduk on Social Media:
"Reports from Koreans Never Cease"
"We Must Ensure Such Incidents Never Happen Again"

Regarding the controversy that erupted after a Korean woman was subjected to racial discrimination during a livestream on a French internet broadcast, Professor Seo Kyungduk of Sungshin Women's University criticized it as a "misguided sense of superiority."

On May 13, Professor Seo wrote on Facebook, "Such racist remarks are all too common in Europe," and added, "Reports from Koreans who have experienced similar incidents never cease."

A Korean streamer being attacked by a French man. Professor Seo Kyungduk SNS

Professor Seo pointed out that the misguided sense of superiority held by some Europeans toward Asians is the main cause of these problems. He emphasized, "The results of the investigation into this incident should be shared between both countries to ensure that such incidents never happen again."

According to the French daily Le Figaro on May 11, streamer 'Jinnytty,' who has more than one million subscribers on the internet broadcasting platform Twitch, was attacked by a local man in Toulouse, southern France, on May 7.

The publicly released livestream footage shows a man approaching Jinnytty and hurling severe insults, saying, "What do you want, dirty Chinese woman? Get lost, whore." He then struck Jinnytty's mobile phone with his hand and walked away. Jinnytty expressed her shock, saying, "I was filming my own face, not that man. Isn't this a public place?"

This scene, broadcast live in real time, spread rapidly online. French viewers who saw the footage left comments apologizing to and comforting Jinnytty. The Deputy Mayor of Toulouse also issued an official statement, saying, "I fully support Jinnytty, who was insulted and attacked while livestreaming in Toulouse," and added, "Jinnytty was subjected to unacceptable behavior. Such unjust acts must end."

Currently, this incident is causing a major controversy in France as well. After viewing the footage, prosecutors in Toulouse have launched an investigation into the male perpetrator. David Charmatz, a prosecutor at the Toulouse Prosecutor's Office, explained to Le Figaro that the case could be treated as racially aggravated assault and gender-based insult.