Korean actress insults Filipino teachers

Korean actress and commercial endorser Lee Da Hae, who starred in dramas such as “My Girl” and “East of Eden,” has drawn the ire of Filipinos after a video uploaded on YouTube showed her mimicking and making fun of what she claimed as Filipino teachers’ English accent.

The actress, who was appointed this year as ambassador of the Korean government’s Presidential Committee on Green Growth, was a guest on a KBS entertainment program hosted by Shin Dong Yup. On the program, Lee tried to show how American, British and Filipino teachers speak English using the following as example: “Excuse me. I’m a little bit thirsty. Can I have a glass of water please?”

Koreans are obsessed with learning the English language and hundreds of foreign English teachers are employed by Korean schools and hagwons, or private academies that teach English. (In Korea, a number of Filipinos who are married to Koreans are allowed to teach the English language). Every year, hundreds of Koreans flock to the Philippines and enroll in English courses in colleges and universities. Lee is one of the only few Korean celebrities who can speak English. She lived and finished high school in Australia.

On the TV program, Lee tried to impress the program host and other celebrities present with her supposed skill in the English language. After imitating American and British accents, Lee made fun of Filipinos and showed her version of Fiipino teachers’ English accent and even got an “excellent” rating from the program.

Filipino netizens were not amused by Lee’s insult and slammed the actress for being racist, ignorant and even having poor English accent herself. The angry comments also included invectives against the actress.

Lee was also criticized by netizens on Twitter.

Here are some of the more than 1,400 comments on YouTube:

“She was my idol when she portrayed Jasmine in “My Girl”. She really let me down… two thumbs down to her.”

“Her British accent actually sucks. Big time.”

“(Lee Da Hae), you’re a racist.”

“I guess the lady in the video shows how ignorant she is about the Philippines and its people.”

“When you ask Korean students why they are here in the Philippines, the usual answer is that they want to learn English here. By ridiculing the way Filipinos speak English, she’s also ridiculing all those hundreds of Korean students who chose to be in the Philippines to learn English.”

“I’m so disappointed with you Lee Da Hae.”

Manila Buletin