"Why Are Southeast Asian Netizens Flooding TikTok With 'Korea Is the Plastic Surgery Capital'?"

Dispute Ignited by K-pop Band Concert

Controversy Grows as Hateful Content Spreads

The dispute between Southeast Asian K-pop fans and Korean netizens surrounding a K-pop band concert is intensifying. Some Southeast Asian netizens have begun actively spreading content that disparages Korea's image.

Recently, short-form videos mocking Korea have been posted on social networking services (SNS) such as TikTok, attracting significant attention. These videos have gained popularity in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, and they claim that Koreans are addicted to plastic surgery.

Foreign netizen who posted an artificial intelligence (AI) generated video mocking Korea. TikTok screenshot

The videos are generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and show women dressed in white patient gowns standing in a row. The women have pressure bandages wrapped around their faces, making it appear as though they have just undergone plastic surgery.

In another popular video, Southeast Asian countries appear to be stopping Korea. In this video, a man covers another man's mouth, and the flags of several Southeast Asian countries are attached to the person doing the silencing. The netizen who posted the video described it as "SEAbling and Knetz."

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SEAbling is a neologism that combines the English word "sibling" (meaning brother or sister) with "Southeast Asia" (SEA). Knetz is a slang term referring to Korean netizens.

This anti-Korean sentiment among Southeast Asian netizens began at a K-pop band concert held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month. Some Korean fans were stopped for using large telephoto lens cameras, which were prohibited at the event, to film the concert. When footage of the incident was shared online, it sparked widespread criticism.

Subsequently, the Korean attendee who had secretly brought in the telephoto lens camera posted an apology online. This post became a catalyst for controversy between Southeast Asian and Korean netizens. As the dispute has intensified, it has escalated into cultural criticism and even racial discrimination between the two communities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.