The current status of a Nigerian mixed-race model who was teased by friends because of her dark skin
On the Oct 26th broadcast of tvN’s “You Quiz on the Block”, model Bae Yoo-jin appeared as a guest.
Bae Yoo-jin, who is a mixed Nigerian and boasts a slim height of 176cm, made it clear that she acquired “Korean citizenship” when introducing herself, “I’m a Korean model, Bae Yoo-jin.”
She said, “I’m still going to school. I skip school when I have shoots, but on days I don’t, I go to school and do two part-time jobs at cafe and pizza place.”
Bae Yoo-jin, who debuted as a fashion magazine model in 2017 at the age of a middle school student, was noticed after Seoul Fashion Week in 2018.
Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho were surprised to hear that she is working part-time besides modeling. Bae Yoo-jin attracted attention by revealing the reason, “I give my mom the money I earned while working as a model. The money I earned from my part-time jobs is used as my pocket money or living expenses.”
Bae Yoo-jin, who grew up in a single-mother family, shared, “When I was in elementary school, a friend told me that it was difficult for people with a lot of melanin pigment to work in Korea. My body is all melanin pigment and I look different from Koreans, so I thought about what kind of job I could get.”
Yoo Jae-suk responded, “That’s racism. We need to change our perception. We have to feel that it’s a story that hurts people and shouldn’t talk about it.”
Bae Yoo-jin went on to say, “When I went home after school, my mom was doing the laundry. My friends teased me as ‘nigga’ from behind. Seeing this, my mom got angry and cried.”
Bae Yoo-jin continued, “The more they do that, the stronger you need to be. If you get hurt because of those words, you’ll be the only one who loses.”
Bae Yoo-jin expressed respect for her mother, who raised her alone. She said, “I want to fulfill my filial duty. I want to make money quickly and let her spend it comfortably.”
Bae Yoo-jin sent a video letter to her mother in tears, “I really love you. Let’s live happily ever after. I’ll be a good daughter.”
Bae Yoo-jin confessed, “My mom opposed my modeling job at first, but she cheered me on because I focused on what I wanted to do. The friends who always bullied me pretended to be close, saying ‘You’re a model now’.”
Meanwhile, Bae Yoo-jin, who has interacted with Han Hyun-min, a Nigerian mixed-race model like her, is nicknamed “female Han Hyun-min”. However, she expressed her ambition to work harder in the future in order to be called “model Bae Yoo-jin”.
Source: daum
