Restaurant in Itaewon names fried chickens with racial connotation

By Kim Da-ye





Chicken fried in dark batter, which an Itaewon restaurant is calling "heukhyeong chicken."

A restaurant in Itaewon caused a stir over the weekend as people debated if naming its chicken dish fried in dark batter "heukhyeong chicken" was an act of racism.

"Heukhyeong," a slang term that became popular on the Internet, literally translates as "black bro."

The irony of the brouhaha over heukhyeong chicken is that the term "heukhyeong" was created in online communities by young Koreans who like the African-American culture, including hip-hop music, and admire black people who are good at sports, singing or dancing.

According to the Korean site of Wikipedia ― the only source that defines the term ― heukhyeong refers to a black person who has "superior abilities" to others. The Korean word "heukin" means a black person, and "hyeong" is brother. Koreans use the latter for someone older than them, and those they feel close to or respect. By dropping "in," unknown creators made the term sound friendly.

The youth culture behind the creation of the word marks quite a contrast to that of the older generations who often call other races by derogatory terms.

Regardless of the good intentions behind the term, however, it reveals the cultural insensitivity of some Koreans, observers said.

Park Hyong-dong, a 28-year-old who spent a few years in the U.S., and likes hip-hop music, isn't happy with the term "heukhyeong."

"Although heukhyeong is supposed to carry positive connotations, the word makes a caricature of black people and categorizes them into a group rather than respecting each individual," Park said.

Park pointed out that "heukhyeong" is often mentioned together with another online slang term "jongteuk" which translates as a characteristic of a race.

A black person living in Seoul, who wanted to be identified by only his first name Omar, shares a similar opinion. Omar said that he was called "heukhyeong" a few weeks ago when he was dancing. When he asked his friend its meaning, the friend told him not to be mad because it is a positive term for black people.

"I accepted it from her at the time, but I do not think I like any term like this. I do not like my skin color to be mentioned in a positive or negative context. My skin color is something that is not in my control. It has no bearing on me as a person," Omar said via an email.

"Referring to African-Americans as ‘Black Bros' is divisive and, in my opinion, any word that makes divisions along the lines of skin color, I cannot accept."

Furthermore, as the word is now widely used, its meaning is perceived differently by different people. Some say it just because it is trendy, while culturally sensitive people find it racist.

The heukhyeong chicken incident shows how the term has evolved.

Many were appalled by the name of the dish at Jungle Pocha, the restaurant in Itaewon. Not only is it offensive to name the visually unattractive chicken "heukhyeong," but also there has long been a negative stereotype of African-Americans being fond of fried chicken. Associating the two is considered taboo in the U.S.

Attempts by The Korea Times to reach a representative of the restaurant for comment were unsuccessful.

Some people on Twitter compared the case to an incident in the U.S. in which the staff of a Starbucks coffee shop drew "chink eyes" on Asian customers' orders.

Omar and an African national interviewed by The Korea Times acknowledged that while the name of the dish is offensive, they do not think it was done with racist intentions.

"It is an American stereotype. We are not in America. So, I feel the guy is a misinformed entrepreneur and should seek to do a bit more research on what labels he places on his foodstuffs," Omar said.