cosmic cosmicdaze
6:00 pm - 06/13/2019

"asking koreans the 'korean n word' | social experiment" video



what happens when a foreigner asks average young koreans about the korean equivalent of the n word?

source: JAYKEEOUT x VWVB on youtube

i like this channel and their social experiment videos and recently on twitter i've seen arguments about what ggamdoongi (깜둥이) ~really~ means so i thought this video being posted a couple days ago happened at a really good/relevant time! also, as someone who is half black, these topics/issues are very important to me.
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gigabytexx 14th-Jun-2019 03:14 am (UTC)
The first time I heard about the word kkamdongi is during EXO debut lol. I dont really remember at that time but i thinn it was all over broadcast so I didn't think it was that bad..? So now they realized it's a really bad word? Or is it because they're talking to an actual black person and not just a fellow korean with darker skin?

I want to know these Korean's reaction if it was another race/foreigner who conducted this social experiment asking about the same questions, will it be different?

Anyway the one who legit got mad and the girl crying is indeed touching..
lil_poisonfrog 14th-Jun-2019 03:29 am (UTC)
Yeah I initially thought it was a colorist pejorative, instead of something that referred specifically to black people but is also used to insult darker skinned Koreans. I feel like I've seen Korean speakers either here or on other Kpop sites explain it the former way. Watching this makes me think they were full of shit lol

I'd also like to see the same experiment with a white foreigner
cosmicdaze 14th-Jun-2019 03:33 am (UTC)
i think it can be both. i remember asking one of my korean friends (a guy with absolutely zero interest in kpop) what the word meant, pretending i already didn't know, and his first reaction was of shock and outrage lmao. he was like "where did you see that word? did someone say it to you?" and i said no, it was in a broadcast but the person was talking about another korean person and he was like ah, yeah, sometimes it's used like that too. so i think it just depends on who the ~recipient is but either way it's not a nice word
gigabytexx 14th-Jun-2019 10:05 am (UTC)
Ah yeah this is also what I meant, is it possible that he's reacting like that knowing that you're half black? Also is he korean living in Korea or a korean living in overseas, making friends with international people?
Everything really affects someone's answer imo.

While we're all agree it's not a nice word, but yeah you're right that it depends on who the recipient is lol
lightframes 15th-Jun-2019 04:34 pm (UTC)
I wonder how it originated? Like was it first used as an anti-black term or did it become that over time? I'm trying to think of a similar term in U.S. English (can be insulting to dark-skinned people but not necessarily aimed specifically at black people, while also being an anti-black insult) and I can't think of anything. Everything I can think of is either meant specifically to attack black people or not aimed at us at all.

Edited at 2019-06-15 04:37 pm (UTC)
jyusou 14th-Jun-2019 03:31 am (UTC)
I agree that they should do a comparison. A black person asked it here, maybe next time have an Asian with a darker skin-tone ask the question, and put it back-to-back. I'm inclined to believe the responses would be different; saying it to a black person makes it racism, while saying it to a darker-toned Asian person makes it socially-accepted colorism. It would make for interesting commentary.
gigabytexx 14th-Jun-2019 10:08 am (UTC)
yeah because this question came to mind when 1 dude literally just blurted out the N word casually in front of a black person, indicating it's ~not that serious~ among their society. Which later on he tried to explain it nicely about the word (i'm not sure if it's really nicely or he's just having a hard time thinking the english sentences)
torontok 14th-Jun-2019 07:48 am (UTC)
EXO used to call Kai kkamjong, not kkamdoongi. Not much better since it's still a colorist nickname
gigabytexx 14th-Jun-2019 09:58 am (UTC)
Ahh right!! I remember it wrongly. I only remember the kkam word OTL
lil_poisonfrog 14th-Jun-2019 03:26 am (UTC)
Ah yes that word Jimin said that Armys have collective amnesia about 🤔

What other K-celebs have said it? Let's expose them.
mallmouse 15th-Jun-2019 07:31 am (UTC)
Armys can be scary.
But yeah, I too want to know which other idols have said this word.

Edited at 2019-06-15 07:36 am (UTC)
lightframes 15th-Jun-2019 04:36 pm (UTC)
Last time that got posted here some users got so defensive like "why bring this up again?" Not realizing there are new BTS fans every day who might not know and need to be informed.
lil_poisonfrog 15th-Jun-2019 06:19 pm (UTC)
Lol yup it's a silencing tactic. Esp w/ something that most ppl legitimately don't know since it was 4 years ago when they were still a mid-tier group
lightframes 16th-Jun-2019 12:57 am (UTC)
Yeah, it's really an education issue. People need to know what they're getting into. Hiding things doesn't do anyone any good.
shalottlady07 14th-Jun-2019 04:14 am (UTC)
This was very interesting. Thanks for posting, OP!
prlsb4swiine 14th-Jun-2019 06:36 pm (UTC)
very interesting and touching, thanks for sharing op
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