Filipina TikTok star launch Twitter debate about racism between Philippines and Korea

As of 9:00 a.m. September 9, the #CancelKorea is the top trending topic on Philippine Twitter after Filipino-Japanese TikTok star Bella Poarch, received criticism from Korean netizens about her controversial tattoo.

The ink in question is the Japanese Rising Sun flag which is linked with Japanese Imperialism and war crimes during World War II. Based on history, this flag was carried by soldiers and was raised when enemy territories fell to Japanese forces.

In South Korea, this remains to be offensive due to Japan's maltreatment to its citizens when the country was under its colonial rule.

Source: @BellaPoarch (TikTok)

This led many Korean netizens to point out Bella's mistake and the meaning behind the said tattoo.

In response, Bella apologized and said she will correct her mistake by having the tattoo removed or covered up for the time being.

She wrote on Twitter, “I apologized to Koreans because 6 months ago, I got a tattoo of the red sun with 16 rays. At that time, I didn't know the history. But when I found out, I immediately had it covered and scheduled for removal.

“I am ashamed of myself for not doing my research. I sincerely apologize.”

She said she has seen mark countless times in clothing, cars, and jewelry without knowing the meaning behind it.

“Please educate yourselves and learn more about it because it came from a terrible history,” she added.

“It's very offensive to a lot of people. Please learn from my mistake.”

While most netizens forgave her, others attacked the star with racial slurs and also the Filipinos.

One netizen wrote, “Poor country non-educated people short people.”

Source: @TaulehSarah (Twitter)

This irked a lot of Filipinos sparking nationalism online and debate about the relationship between the two countries.

Others, mostly Filipino K-pop fans, were quick to trade their lightstick for the Filipino flag.

This is a developing story.