點讚辱華言論,韓國網紅博主Hamzy被解約

最近，一位在海外和國內社交網絡上都小有名氣的網紅博主「翻車」了。

在YouTube上坐擁超過528萬訂閱者的Hamzy是一名「吃播網紅」。在韓國走紅後，Hamzy與中國一家傳媒公司籤約，開始進軍國內的社交平臺。憑藉直爽的風格，很快，她在小紅書、bilibili（B站）等平臺也都積累了過百萬的粉絲。

A popular South Korean Mukbang host has found herself in a pickle with her fans in China after being sucked into a months-long spat over kimchi between the two countries' internet users.

Hamzy posts on social media videos of herself eating while making loud noises of chewing and swallowing in what is known as ASMR Mukbangs. She's a well-known figure in this genre which marries two of the biggest online trends: eating broadcasts or Mukbangs and ASMR videos which focus on auditory experiences through a variety of sounds to trigger a pleasurable sensory response among viewers.

Hamzy's YouTube channel. /YouTube screenshot

On YouTube, the South Korean has amassed 5.3 million followers since she started uploading videos of herself slurping noodles and sinking her teeth into burgers since mid-2019. Hamzy is equally big on Chinese social networks, boasting some 3 million followers on Weibo, a Chinese twitter-like platform, and over 1 million on each of Little Red Book, a social shopping app, and bilibili, a video sharing platform.

然而，這樣的好勢頭停止在了2021年伊始。

這場風波說來話長。

去年11月24日，由中國（眉山）主導制訂、眉山市市場監管局牽頭負責的國際標準ISO 24220《泡菜（鹽漬發酵蔬菜）規範和試驗方法》順利通過國際標準化組織最終國際標準草案階段（批准階段）為期2個月的投票，成為中國在ISO框架下制定的第6個食品標準。

儘管ISO特別指出這套標準並不適用於韓國泡菜，但許多韓國人仍舊對這一標準表示不滿，甚至指責中國是「文化小偷」。

But the vlogger has come under fire by her Chinese fans over the weekend after being caught in the crossfire of an ongoing row over fermented cabbage.

The food fight began last November when the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued regulations for the production of pao cai or Chinese salted fermented vegetables. Pao cai in Mandarin also refers to kimchi, the culinary pride and joy of South Koreans. Despite ISO specifically noting that "the document does not apply to kimchi," confusion over the name soured the mood of South Korean online users, who accused China of "cultural theft" much to the discontent and protest of their Chinese counterparts.

Vegetables pickled in jars. /CFP

今年1月15日，Hamzy在自己的社交帳號上發布了一段吃辣白菜的視頻，這個時間點正好是中國博主李子柒因為發布了製作泡菜的視頻而被韓國網友攻擊之後，此舉引起了中國網友的不滿。

In Hamzy's clip in question, uploaded on January 15, the YouTuber pairs her pork bibimbap, a traditional Korean rice dish, with what she referred to as "white kimchi." Chinese netizens, however, took issue with that designation because the fermented cabbage featured in the video looked similar to what Chinese food vlogger Li Ziqi had made in a clip she posted just days earlier.

Li's video, titled "The life of white radish," was uploaded on YouTube on January 9. It shows her preparing different types of fermented vegetables. Interestingly, the Chinese social media influencer also received flak from South Korean users for including a kimchi-like preparation while using the hashtag #ChineseFood for the video.

Li Ziqi prepared fermented cabbage in a January 9 YouTube video. /YouTube screenshot

Two kinds of fermented cabbage by Li Ziqi. /YouTube screenshot

Hamzy chops fermented cabbage made in her January 15 video. /YouTube screenshot

Hamzy holds fermented cabbage close to her mouth during a Mukbang. /YouTube screenshot

在15日發布的視頻中，Hamzy相當反常地把自己平時視頻中經常出現的紅色辣椒泡菜，換成了與李子柒視頻中高度類似的泡白菜，在視頻的標題簡介中，Hamzy也強調了「白泡菜」的標籤。

更糟糕的是，有網友發現，這位韓國吃播點讚過不少在她的YouTube視頻下發布的，侮辱中國人的評論。

Hamzy labeling the fermented cabbage as kimchi was perceived by Chinese netizens as an assertion that this pickled dish is South Korean instead of Chinese.

To make matters worse, critics pointed out that the South Korean vlogger had liked comments posted under her YouTube video that insulted Chinese people.

Hamzy liked YouTube comments under her video that are offensive to Chinese people. /YouTube screenshot

其中一條被Hamzy點讚的，來自韓國用戶的評論寫道：「我真生中國鬼子的氣。他們怎麼能把包飯（指的是用生菜包裹的米飯）當成他們的傳統食物呢？」

很快，憤怒的中國網民開始呼籲抵制Hamzy，並要求從國內平臺上刪除她的視頻。

One comment, apparently from a South Korean user, reads "I'm so angry with the Chinese guizi. How can they consider ssambap as their traditional food?" referring to a lettuce-wrapped rice dish. "Guizi" is a derogatory term in Mandarin that means devilish or evil people.

Soon, angry Chinese netizens began calling for Hamzy to be boycotted and her videos be removed from Chinese platforms.

Hamzy said on YouTube that her agency had asked her to make apologize to angry Chinese netizens over the fermented cabbage controversy. /YouTube screenshot

16日，Hamzy在微博直播中發表道歉聲明，並表示點讚這些冒犯性言論並非故意。但她的道歉又激怒了韓國網友，為了安撫他們，Hamzy聲稱道歉是中國公司的要求，被中國網友斥為「兩面三刀」。在B站，Hamzy的粉絲迅速地從180餘萬下降至130萬。
17日晚，與Hamzy籤約的中國公司發布聲明，決定正式終止與她的合作關係。聲明表示：我方公司堅決反對任何的辱華行為，堅決不允許所籤約博主有任何辱華的態度及言論。目前，Hamzy在國內平臺上發布的視頻以及在淘寶上售賣的周邊商品均已下架。

Hamzy on Saturday issued an apology during a livestream on Weibo and said liking the offensive comment was unintentional. Her regretful comments angered South Korean users on YouTube and the internet celebrity sought to calm them, claiming that her agency had asked her to apologize to the Chinese fans, who were then enraged at the seeming hypocrisy of the YouTuber.

On bilibili, a Chinese video sharing platform similar to YouTube, Hamzy's followers dropped from 1.8 million to 1.3 million overnight. And on Sunday night, the Chinese company that represents Hamzy in China announced it is discontinuing business with the vlogger.

"We believe that Hamzy had no intention of hurting her Chinese fans. That is why we worked together with her to apologize to Chinese netizens. However, without letting us know, Hamzy responded to comments that are unfriendly to Chinese netizens, which hurt Chinese netizens again," Shanghai Suxian Advertising Media Co., Ltd. said in a statement.

Hamzy's videos on her official Chinese social media accounts have since been removed.