Chinese Agency Fires This Korean Mukbang Vlogger After Claiming 'Kimchi Is Chinese Food'
South Korean YouTuber Hamzy has been trending online this week after getting fired from her Chinese agency due to claiming that kimchi is a Korean food. Hamzy posts content on the video-sharing platform, mostly on mukbang and other vlogs.
The world got accustomed to kimchi being a Korean dish, but the Chinese are continuously claiming this staple fermented vegetable food is actually originating from their country.
Hamzy's YouTube video
The Korean mukbang vloggers posted a video on January 15th featuring her eating octopus Bibimbap and white kimchi. She got fired out of this video due to the claims the vlogger made, saying that kimchi is indeed a Korean dish.
How did the conflict start between her and the Chinese agency start? There was a comment on the video written by a netizen saying, "I was angry that Chinese people claimed that Ssam was theirs, but I'm happy that you posted a video of you eating vegetable wraps."
Hamzy liked this comment from the netizen. However, the Chinese fans of her channel seemed to have been offended and tagged it as slander. They even said that the comment was insulting the Chinese people. It seemingly implied that she is saying kimchi is a Korean food, despite the Chinese having claims on it as well.
Terminating the contract
"If I have to call traditional Korean food as a Chinese food only to work in China, then I would not work in China. Same can apply to Chinese people, they should not call a Chinese food a Korean food to work in Korea," the Korean vlogger pointed out. "That I am sure Chinese people can understand well."
However, her Chinese agency has decided to officially terminate their relationships with Hamzy because of the alleged insult and controversy the media is saying caused a serious impact upon the Chinese viewers.
"If Chinese subscribers feel offended and betrayed because I appeared to approve the comment by pressing the 'like' button, then I apologize," Hamzy further pointed out.