MBC premiered a new Wed-Thurs K-drama this week called Kkondae Intern starring Park Hae Jin and Kim Eun Soo but all the media attention has been on maybe problematic commercial within the drama sequence that brings back the similar issues from another MBC drama The Man Who Dies to Live. Park Hae Jin plays a product advertising executive who comes up with with an ethnic commercial to sell Hot Chicken Noodle dried ramen which actually is made from all veggies and doesn’t have any chicken in it. The CF shows an Indian woman crying that she wants chicken ramen but can’t have any because she’s vegan. Park Hae Jin then zooms out like a superhero and offers her Hot Chicken Ramen which has all the chicken spicy flavor but is vegan. She’s so happy she calls out to her friends and an entire Bollywood dance number takes place complete with elephants. Viewers can decide if you’re offended or find it humorous, I’m sure the intention was to be comical but parodying another culture’s style and entertainment needs always be done delicately.
Check out the commercial within the drama here.
South Koreans live in their bubble….this is so early 90s…world has moved kn from it yesrs ago. I don’t mind parody but this was terribly done one. A little bit of research goes a long way.
Koreams feel bad when they r mocked. Lee hyori us8ng goddess chant in hee songs with sexy dance was so offensive and now this. Then they feel bad when people mock their artists. If they cant respect a culture then they shouldn’t epxect the same
@adyjunjihyun
What Lee Hyori used was not a ‘godess chant'(seriously your lack of general knowledge is nauseating) but an ancient hymn which is part of Indian heritage and oldest continued tradition of the world so that hymn deserves some respect from ordinary folks.
While this ad film is just a silly but innocent attempt to generate a few laughs from audience.
I am not perfect in english and studied in govt schools. So pls no need to mock me when u got the gist here
And many of us r offended by stereotype. U better dont speak for all and mind ur business
@adyjunjihyun
You only need to develop habit of reading to have better comperhension.
I didn’t mock your linguistic skills.?♀️
I think it’s funny that you claimed that Gayatri mantra is some sort of ‘goddess chant’.
It is for many of us. U need to get over it and stop speaking for all indians. If it hurt my reoigious sentiments i will say. U dont own others opinions get over it. U pos
No offense to anyone, but can someone explain what is offensive about this parody? I don’t understand much Bollywood or Indian culture, so I would appreciate if anyone can enlighten me on this. Thanks
@Alexa I’m Indian and I think this commercial is not offensive but it’s certainly ridiculous. There are some genuinely offensive things that Korean entertainers said/done in the past but nobody paid heed to them.
I am not indian but i know the culture quite a bit …. so I don’t think its offensive but i think it was not very well done. A bit old fashion and trying to be comedic but instead, comes across as silly
If you are not part of the targeted group then your opinion holds no weight. You should’ve just sat there and ate your food.
Its not ur call to make. Why u want to make call on us? Lets us decide if we feel bad or not. Many of us r offended and we have right to be. Its n9t ur culture
@ lulu, ady
Just go and protest in South Korea in front of the producer then. Don’t bark here.
U dont own this blog to order me around. racist parody is funny to only racist people. U must belong there
Point is u r not from culture. It is not ur call to make. But racist like u wint understand this simple fact
Making STEREOTYPEs about a culture is uncalled for. If we start making on korean z willt they accept it? Anyways it is not ur call to make. Bw industry makes more money than korean industry anyways .
We dont dance around with elephants. Lets make a video on korean eat8ng dogs
I think part of people’s sensitively to this stems from there not being a lot of nuanced depictions of Indian culture, which is incredibly varied within itself. To most people, Indian culture gets boiled down to colorful bollywood dance sequences, but even then, they are cartoonishly rendered.
I think it would have been cool if the writer/production had parodied a critically-acclaimed Bollywood movie. Could have added a layer of nuance to the CF. Instead, they were sort of lazy and went with what they assumed to be indian.
Sharing 2 of my favorite non-historical bollywood dance sequences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuTx6Q4151s&feature=youtu.be&t=72
https://youtu.be/0WtRNGubWGA?t=57
Look at these handsome guys! Park Hae Jin didn’t need to have the mustache.
“upsetting some viewers” means 15 people on twitter who like to stir the pot. Bollywood and Telenovelas and old timey American soaps have been spoofed more times than I can remember.
Even bollywood itself makes fun of themselves,what’s the big deal?
So much negativity!
*itself
Black can cll themselves with n words. Others dont
People from same culture can poke fun at ourselves but when foreigners use it as subtle racism it is uncalled for.
People called blacks negative too when they called out such stereotyping. Expected. Fighting racist stereotypes makes someone negative. Then be it. Not ur culture not ur call
Kat not ur call to make. Using elephants and dancing is stereotypical. Its not ur culture. So u got no right to speak for indians
I am not speaking for Indians. I am speaking as a free person allowed to give an opinion on this site. You disagree. Fine. See how this works…
You dont have right to make a call on other culture and calling people negat8ve if they r offended. Fine ur disagree but dont take shot at indians who r offended. If people r offended u dont have to he rude about it
Negativity is here bcoz they made a stereotype. U r not an indian. Its not ir call to make what others should feel or not.
On this site, we give our opinions all the time on Korean entertainment and culture. By your standard that is not allowed because neither you nor I are Korean. @ Koala gave her opinion on this issue in this drama…why is that OK but someone else’s opinion on the thread not ok? She is not Indian after all.
Koalas gave opinion but she wasnt calling people who belong to that culture negative and said its viewers call to find it offenisve or not. On the othee hand, u from not same culture tagging people negat8ve who r offended by it when they belong ti that psrticular culture
On this site we talk about dramas and celebs not culture. Here korean writets made a mockery of other culture and people of that culture have right to call it out. You callkng them negat8ve for getying offended is just terrible. Not ur culture. Not ur call
U didnt just comment on episode but u commented on people who r finding it negative. When they belong to that culutre who r being stereotyped and calling them negative and asking them to shutup indirectly . If u dont find anything offensive ( well ur opinion is not counted anyways ) but nope u took dig at people who r offended. They have right to be. U shouldve kept it to drama and hoe u dont feel offended when u dont belong anyways. But nope u have to take digs at those who r from the culture and dont like such stereotyping. Anyways people also didnt find mocking blacks bad once upon a timr. And named them negative. I m not surprised u dont find it offensive and will call those negatives who calls the subtle ravism out. Typical
We talk about culture all the time on this site not just ratings and dramas. We will just have to agree to disagree. Hope you have a nice week. Stay safe.
I am safe ans we dont go on telling people if they feel should offended or not bcoz its not our call to make. Bye.
I never call others negative
Who call others negative?
Next time reply directly to them and not pick on all commentators randomly.
Why r u poking ur nose here. Was anyone talking to h or u have 100 ids
I am an Indian ,though i thought that the whole thing was a bit overboard;but to be offended by it? I don’t know
Why is it that even small things are blown out of proportion in Korea?
Hi. can we ask if the background music is a religious song or something as per @ladybird?
I read somewhere that the song used in that CF was a devotional song. Maybe some Indian viewers can verify it….
@ladybird I can hear someone chanting one of Indian God’s name in the background but it’s not a big deal because Indian themselves use their gods in different contexts.
Actually Indian gods themselves have great sense of humour. ?
Thank you for the explanation, none of my Indian friends found it offensive either. Their only complaint was the parody is so outdated.
Indians use bcoz hinduism is open . But clearly it is used to insult here. Its not ur call to take people for granted and millions of people r religious and take it to heart.
Its b8g deal for many. It is not a laughing matter for us
Yes religion matters to many. Yes bw industry makes fun of religion but h8ndus dont like their mantras to use as fun. Lee hyori did that back theb. Those prauers r important to us. This is not something u guys should laugh about
Sorry but who’s getting upset over this again? Hope someone let them know they make their own lives complicated.
Not ur call to make.using prauers and making stereotypes about people is offensive. Using prauets as funny background music is wrong
@anna
This is a troll person @adyjunjihyun. You can often find her/him showing unhealthy amount of hate for a few celebrities in comment section of posts in this blog.
I think this person is feeling offended just for sake of it.
If you try hard you can be offended on anything.
It’s not offensive at all but a spoof. Anyways, this show is great! It’s heart-breaking and endearing! It has such a wonderful male lead! Park Hae Jin is killing it here! His old boss is such a jerk! But I love how PHJ character overcomes it and became his new boss lol
Spoof with prayers and making stereotypes? Do u even know how important thode prayers r to us? Lee hyori did back then. Streotypes can be made about blacks koreans whites but whole world will lose sense over it. So its not ur call to make
You’re allowed your opinion but it’s a double standard if Indians can parody themselves but not other people. And most of the people in the commercial seemed Indian.
—it’s your call to be offended. But it’s also other people call not to be offended despite their ethnicity.
—also consider the intent. The show did not make this scene to go rail against Indians. They are not looking down on Indians.
It is not doublr standards. Blacks can calm themselves n word not others. People can do that to their culture not others. Who cross d line and go into direct racism. No taste at all
Nope others have no right to speak and their offense doesnt counts bcoz they dont belong to that culture
It looked mockery to me and negative
@laura, @kat, @fast, @arao, @anaa, @petedoherty, @there there
Just ignore this @adyjunjihyun. If the person is offended by the “commercial” then it’s his right to express his opinion. But the way this person is throwing hurtful words and telling us that we have no right to comment this and that and accusing us of untruthful things are unacceptable. This person’s remarks are full of intentional provocations and wrongful accusations.
This person is certainly a troll who deliberately wants to pick a bone with some people. This is the sort of person who wanna cause hurt and pain to others and would continue to claim others are racists, abusers, etc. This person would be doing the same on other platforms like Facebook etc.
His/her attitude brings more bad impressions than the advertisement stereotype discusses here….what a shame!! ??
@Alexa I’m Indian and I think this commerical is not offensive but it’s certainly ridiculous. There are genuinely offensive thing that Korea entertainers have done/said in the past but nobody paid heed to them.
I am indian and i m offended by it. Everyone have their opinions and making stereotypes and using religious music as bg is offens8ve to many of us
I am not Indian, but I found it kinda funny. The parody actually made me happy and that is what I associate Bollywood with (Bollywood=joy, singing and dancing). If they made fun of Indians as uneducated and dirty people, then I would not have liked it. If the song itself was offensive, then that is of course not good.
The commercial gives a bit of that cringey vibe that lends itself well for viral videos such as Epic Sax Guy, PPAP and Gangnam Style. Furthermore, ramen commercials are often over the top. Just check all those Nissin commercials. My favorite one is Nissin Chikin’s. You guys should check them out on Youtube. There are a few, but the Nissin Chikin Samurai Drone or something is definitely a gem.
Using elephants is a stereotype. Using prayer as spoof is offensive. Dont tell what indians shoild feel about it or not
Yes be have music that doesnt mean indians r dancing around with elephants and prayers r very important to many of us. So dont make a call bcoz its not ur place
If encouraging words to my Indian friends can hurt you so much, then I will not use them anymore. What I am trying to say, is that I found the parody (although filled with stereotypes) fun and it gave me a good feeling. It rather gave me a good image of India. If India was really like that, I would visit it each year.
The parody is what I call “positive” stereotyping. Just as British people are always portrayed as polite in the entertainment industry, which is totally opposite of reality. But it certainly does not hurt to be associated with happiness and dance. The only thing I was not unsure of was the music, as I did not understand it. If the lyrics were superoffensive than it is inexcusable.
I did not make a call btw, it is not my place. Hope my clarification is alright with you…
Lets mae parody on british killing million people around the world including my own people. And calk it out as a parody. Lets make a muhammad painting and call it parody. Oh wait genocidr will happen
This parody was offensive as simple as that
I would be offended if some other race did makeup and pretended to be me. Cultural appropriation is a no no when producers can hire people of a certain race.
Thanku. Someone with sense. Gow about making parody of korean eating dogs? And making sterotype using korean mans as feminine to insult them? Using prayers is offensive
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I m Indian and I think it was just silly and kinda cringe.. But I m not offended.. We don’t hv to take everything that seriously coz it is just like a parody (although nothing like that happens in our movies lol).. However He looked cute in our traditional Indian groom look haha..could’ve done without that mustache lol
U r not offended. Good but dont tell other Indians to not to feel bad.
Stereotyping people and making a mockery of it is offens8ve to many of us.
Not everyone needs to agree with u. Dont preach
Every country wants to fight STEREOTYPE. Korean r so close minded and so offensive all the time. Using elephants and dancing like this is used to make a mockery , using god and stereotyping. And all posters here who r telling dont mind. Its not ur call to make. Preaching here. Some r offended some r not. That is our call to make. Not urs
ady, who are you? special protester? ockoala’s spokeperson? look at you, you’re abnormally dominating the comment sections. Please watch KBS2TV’s ‘Soul Repairer’ instead, you need this for yourself~
And who r u? Who cares about what ockala think? I m person from that culture. U dont own this blog to order me around
And my soul is very much good. Worry about urs
for god sake, she needs to be stopped. She likes to throw tantrums every now and then. I’ve always been a silent reader of this blog hut seeing her blowing things out of proportion annoys me. If you’re reading this, just stop.
Who d hell r u to order me around? Ignore thr comments if they hurt ur online emotions
@belle, @lucy,
Just ignore this @adyjunjihyun. He/she is deliberately putting words in others’ mouths/comments.
Look at the way this person “nags”… two to three replies to every posts. This person won’t stop until someone is driven to suicide… be careful not to fall for his/her Devilish schemes.
meh, she’s mad that somebody asked her to stop but she herself won’t stop “nagging” and shoving her opinions to others. Hell, this is not the first time I’ve seen you throwing tantrums on every koala’s post. Maybe you could just take a break from the internet and go watch your LMH oppar ? as that could make you feel more happy.
Schools still have United Nations week where school kids dress up in other nation’s costumes. The goal is to foster unity among nations. When adults do it,depending on the context, some are offended, some are not – it’s a delicate subject matter. Best to have consultants from that culture in the show who can provide feedback.
I am Indian and I would say this is not offensive but super ridiculous and subpar ,they should do some research before putting something out, this is tacky at best
@sumee
It’s a certainly tacky advertisement. And you made a very good and civil reply.
Oh sheesh so many hate comments for a funny scene!! I’m an Indian did not find anything offensive rather it was hilarious and the accent was cute – you can see them trying. Also their intent is pure it was targeted to the Indian audiences – it was not racist nor offensive. People are stupid they get offended by every lil thing just like how they will get triggered by my comment now ? Pfft this is my opinion just like how you gave yours ?♀️
So the song jaya jaya shankar and most of the other devotional songs are now used in a music genre called Psy trance and this one was definitely that – so many Indians listen to that kinda song TBH they like it too it totally depends on a person’s perspective.
Also the ones that get triggered are the people who talk shit about people and artist in general especially the Koreans artists – they call all the k-pop idols gay and what not.
If you get triggered by these contents all you have to do is stop watching it Lmao ? no one’s forcing the content on you!!!
I have been a kdrama fan since along time and I noticed that Korean drama writers have a thing for Indians they try to include something about them in their drama . Sometimes in some dramas they mention about India and in another you see someone speaking in Hindi. I know they don’t do much research on this but so is our whole Indian film industry ?♀️ They make fun of their own culture by making shitty movies/dramas based on cultures and what not so before pointing fingers at another country just see how things are in our country ??♀️ Anyway no one gives a damn about what sensitive religious people think about this. If you’re a Korean drama watcher you’d atleast know they didn’t mean to hurt your sentiment simple as that
I thought it was fine. I do believe that they actually did do some research about our culture. I think Park Hae Jin looks great and made an effort. I am biased as he is one of my all time kdrama favourites.