When Eric Knight walked into a sushi restaurant in downtown London this month, he didn't expect to come back the next day – armed with a Bluetooth microphone and iPhone camera – to confront the business owner.

"Which one of you gentlemen called me a faggot last night?" Knight asked two men who were standing outside of Kokame Express in a confrontational video that was watched more than 12,000 times.

"I did," admitted owner, Joe Wang.

What started off as small talk spiraled into an altercation over menu options, and eventually concluded with Knight throwing away his order.

Frustrated, Wang called Knight a "faggot".

Eric Knight (left) next to his new friend Joe Wang, who called him a faggot after an altercation at a downtown London restaurant. (Hala Ghonaim/CBC)

Initially, Knight was upset and planned to attend a protest that was organized by members of the LGBTQ community to raise awareness of the incident.

The 30-year-old reached out to Wang over Facebook a day before the protest and asked the business owner to call him. A subsequent apology from Wang sparked an insightful conversation about cultural differences.

"If you don't talk to somebody, you're never going to know their side of the story," said Knight. "He apologized to me and I apologized to him. We just talked and I think we could be friends…We all bleed the same blood and we all have feelings at the end of the day."

Courtney McIntosh (left), Ashley Sandham (middle) and Katu Azzya showed up to Kokame Express to protest after the business owner made a homophobic slur to a member of the LGBTQ community. (Hala Ghoniam/CBC)

Cultural differences

Wang grew up in a small village in Korea just south of Seoul, where homosexuality wasn't a topic of discussion at home or among a circle or friends.

"We just ignored it," said Wang. "We didn't know and some people and some teachers mentioned (homosexuality) in a bad way so we had that kind of image."

Upon moving to London in 1990, Wang remained reserved, within his own circle of friends, until the incident with Knight, which opened his eyes.

"I was looking at the other side but now (Eric and I are) looking together. I've been looking at websites and YouTube clips that touched me. I want to learn I want to educate myself," he said. "There has to be some point that we all get to know each other as well and this is the point."

Knight went back to Kokame Express to attend the protest that turned into a peaceful demonstration.

He gave Wang a rose, and both exchanges hugs and snapshots.

"I really think we can be friends," said Knight.

As for Wang, the 40-year-old said he's learning more about the LGBTQ community to start a dialogue with his 14-year-old son – an opportunity Wang didn't have throughout his own upbringing.