Red Velvet’s Wendy has spoken out about experiencing racism in the past, bringing renewed attention to similar incidents faced by other celebrities.
On the 26th, the YouTube channel ‘Go-eun Unnie Han Go-eun’ aired the seventh episode of its series ‘Go-eun Guest,’ titled ‘The Shocking Story of Wendy, Who Went from Being Bullied in America to Being Top of Her Class.’ Red Velvet’s Wendy appeared as a guest.
In the video, Wendy recalled her time studying in Canada, saying, “I was the only Asian, so people were very curious about me. I communicated using body language.”
Wendy, who moved from Brockville to a larger city school in Toronto, confessed, “The English level was different and they were more mature. The kids were aloof and of various races, so I couldn’t fit in. Since then, I experienced racism and began eating my meals in the restroom because there was nowhere else I felt I belonged.”
She added that even when she shared her experiences of racism with her teacher, she didn’t receive an apology and often found herself alone.
Wendy’s account has brought renewed attention to similar cases, such as that of god’s Park Joon-hyung, who also spoke about experiencing racism during his school days.
Park Joon-hyung, who appeared on the ‘Study King Jin Genius Hong Jin-kyung’ YouTube channel in 2024, shared, “In the 70s and 80s, racism was normal. I’ve gone through everything, so it’s nothing new to me.”
He recounted, “I’ve been hit, spat on, had dirt thrown at me, and people even turned our garden hose on full and rang the bell so that my mom got wet. It was diverse,” he explained, adding that he developed ways of dealing with racism.
Park Joon-hyung also faced harassment from locals in 2017 while filming JTBC’s ‘Saseogosaeng’ in Belgium, when he was surrounded by a group of locals late at night.
The issue of racism experienced by celebrities is not a thing of the past but continues today. Recently, Ha Ye-rin, a lead in Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4, faced exclusion during a promotional event in Spain, and BLACKPINK’s Rosé experienced racism when her images were cropped out of a fashion magazine’s social media account despite her status as a global ambassador for a luxury brand.
It remains to be seen when such cases of racism will disappear.
Photo Credits: XportsnewsDB, ‘Go-eun Unnie Han Go-eun’ YouTube Capture, ‘Study King Jin Genius Hong Jin-kyung’ YouTube Capture, Netflix
