Netizens have reacted strongly to what has been interpreted as offensive pictures and remarks from models at the opening of the first Hollister clothing store in South Korea.

Images of models making “squinty eyes” faces, flipping their middle finger to photographers, and mocking Asian pronunciation of English appeared on their Twitter accounts. Major Korean newspapers covered the scandal, as online comments called for a boycott and promised to return clothing they had bought. Other netizens have tracked down the models’ personal details and published them online.

From Daum:

Scandal Erupts as American Models Take “Squinty Eyes” Photos at Gyeongbokkung to Insult Asians

Foreign models visiting Korea to advertise the opening of an American clothing company have taken pictures that make fun of Asians and started a controversy about racial discrimination.

On August 30, famous American clothing brand Hollister brought in four foreign models to attend the opening of their first Korean store at the Yeouido location, where they took photos with customers. The event, which lasted until September 2nd, is part of Hollister’s distinct marketing campaign whenever it opens a new store. Customers are able to take photos with the models, all of them robust foreign men dressed like lifeguards, wearing nothing on their chests but whistles.

The four-day event has been overshadowed by an unexpected controversy.

One of the models who attended the opening posted a picture to his twitter (@vin_****) of himself taken in front of Gyeongbokkung Palace with his eyes squinted closed and his lips open. Netizens who saw the photo pointed out how it was making fun of Asians with “squinty eyes”. Another model from the same Hollister event posted similar photos to his Twitter account.

One Twitter user who seems to have worked with the Hollister model before commented on his photo, “please look at how many Asians liked that picture… impressive.” The problem lies in the fact that the original poster of the photo replied with another comment making fun of Asians. The model mocked Asians’ typical English pronunciation, saying, “Hahahaha they ruhhvvvv itttt!”

Yet another model has also been involved in a scandal. The third model was captured exposing his middle finger in an insulting gesture during photos. Furthermore, the same model was photographed in poses that mocked Asians during his visit to Hong Kong which took place before he came to South Korea.

Having heard about the issue through social media, Korean netizens are showing their displeasure. One comment online read “I feel like we must at the very least start a boycott of Hollister. How deep is their discrimination against Asians if they have no problem taking such pictures and uploading them to social media for a laugh?” Another netizen stated with dismay, “I’ve got to go and return the clothes that I bought.” Other users online were so enraged that they sought out the online profiles for the first Hollister model and posted the personal information online.

From Daum:

깜냥:

There was a report about this a few days ago, right? In some store the models took off their shirts and took pictures with women? It was such a pathetic sight to see those women giggling and hanging on the models

로맨티스트:

Pathetic Korean women who liked these bastards and couldn’t keep their mouths shut, just had to post the photos online for people to see~ I think I know what you [implying the models] would have been thinking if those people were taking pictures with you

asdf:

People talk about how Hollister’s mother company Abercombie also discriminates against Asians and they have been in a ton of lawsuits, I can’t help but laugh as watching Asians give their money to such a brand.

제트의세상:

That should be the end for American clothes brand “Hollister” ke ke ke“…Hollister opened its first domestic store on August 30 in the Yeouido IFC Mall. In honor of the opening, Hollister prepared an unusual event. Men who had taken off their shirts and wore just a whistle and shorts in the outfit of a lifeguard were available for taking pictures. This event went on until September 2…” I heard that there was a huge line of Korean women who wanted to get their picture with those guys? Ke ke ke ke

청년폭도맹진가:

Those beanpaste girls who salivate every time they see a whitey are so embarrassing

핵폭탄:

White saekki who smell like fat

marine:

Does anyone know which store this was??? It’s not the fault of the clothing company but it seems like we should react somehow, maybe starting a boycott so that the company can demand compensation from the models…

이엘:

Hollister is a subsidiary of Abercrombie and it opened a store in Yeouido… in any event, as a Korean I feel really offended… those people who stood in a line hundreds of meters long, they can’t say anything bad about the company just because it is Western

사랑하는 사람

Go and return everything you bought… say it is because of those saekki models

lki:

Rats, they look like Lee Myung-Bak

THE ONE 05:

We’ve got to kick people like that out… Anyway Americans are really ignorant and there are a lot of knuckle-draggers among them. nice outsides but their heads are empty

EZK:

I knew something like this would happen. Something changed after the passing of the Korea-US and Korea-Europe FTA… Our country got no benefits and is now just drowning in scandals. Next we have people acting sexy in the streets and calling that marketing… The Naju incident is also the result of not having a pure society… Our nation has to turn away from being motivated by sex and money, first we should put a stop to all of Hollister’s business in the country and arrest their representative under the sexual assault law.

곰삼백마리:

What, were they on drugs?

하늘한을:

Beanpaste girls wouldn’t even care about behavior like this.

솔봉이

I don’t think it would be such a bad idea for Hollister to release the real names…

melodi:

Westerners? They seem more like Cro-magnons… just because they look impressive doesn’t mean they are pretty… Personally I think Asians are prettier…

하늘나그네:

Bunch of cheating monkeys, Yankee saekki!

청년폭도맹진가:

Foreign bastards with no history come into a country with 5000 years of history, don’t learn anything and act like slobs. Yankee spawn who go to British historical sites and piss everywhere. They even come to our country, savage whitey saekki. Grovelers in our country need to stop and get some self-respect



From Nate:

김한울:

They look like anyone I might run into on the street, how are they models?

송기선: