On February 4, a topic titled “Why is TWS’s Dohoon’s skin so dark” was published on the Korean forum Pann Nate, attracting almost 90,000 views and over 100 comments.
In this topic, TWS’s Dohoon was attacked by K-netizens for his darker skin color compared to other members, with many even leaving downright derogatory and discriminatory comments such as “He looks like a mango seller in the Philippines”, “Is he not Korean”, and “He is very ugly”.
In fact, these comments not only criticize Dohoon, but also carry a tone of undermining South East Asian people for their darker skin and deeming Koreans as “superior”.
Against these negative comments, international fans have not been silent. In particular, fans are flooding SNS with praise, calling Dohoon’s skin “unwhitewashed”, “health”, and “sexy”.
Many have also taken to calling out K-netizens for their “colorist” behavior, calling the comments on the original topic “r*cist” and “disgusting”.
On the other hand, Korea’s obsession with fair and pale skin has always been an ick to international fans. There have been numerous Korean fansites called out for over-editing idols’ photos until their skin appears pale.
Source: Pann Nate, Krb
