By South Korean content creator JinHo Bae reflected on the challenges he faced as a foreigner growing up in the Philippines, recalling a time when Korean culture had yet to gain the widespread popularity it enjoys today.
JinHo, who has lived in the Philippines for 24 years after leaving South Korea at age 7, spoke candidly about his early experiences in an interview with Hot Takes. Known today for sharing Korean and Filipino culture with over 1.16 million YouTube subscribers and 476,000 TikTok followers, JinHo admitted that his journey toward belonging was not always easy.
“May mga times na me and my mom would order at this fast-food restaurant, as in oorder pa lang ako and hindi pa naman sobrang husay ng Tagalog ko nung time na ‘yun, [sasabihin nila] ‘Oh what Ching-Chong Chong?’ Like face to face.”
