Halfway through the drama, MBC's noir series "Big Mouth" is receiving criticism, particularly from Thai viewers, for THIS particular scene. What happened?

Thai Viewers Accuse 'Big Mouth' of Being Racist

Friday-Saturday K-drama "Big Mouth" follows the story of Park Chang Ho, played by Lee Jong Suk, a lawyer who becomes an instant genius con artist. The drama, despite not airing on large platforms like Netflix, receives rave reviews from viewers and instantly rose to become one of the most buzzworthy dramas in August.

However, a particular scene seems to break the streak of favorable feedback on Lee Jong Suk's TV show.

Thai fans expressed their concern about a particular line in "Big Mouth," which they said was offensive. In one scene shown in "Big Mouth" Episode 2, Lee Jong Suk's character is seen confronting an inmate.

As Park Chang Ho began to converse with him, he provoked the fellow inmate by asking him if his mother ate seaweed soup after he was born.

The dialogue contained, "Did your mother eat seaweed soup after giving birth to you? I am curious as to what she ate to have given birth to a psycho like you. Did she eat Tom Yum Kung? Or Seonji Soup?"

To explain its context, it is a tradition in Korean culture that mothers eat seaweed soup after giving birth.

In the scene, Park Chang Ho was suggesting what the inmate's mother ate caused her to give birth to a psychopath.

Thai Viewers Disappointed at Lee Jong Suk's Drama 'Big Mouth'

The scene made Thai viewers raise their brows as it mentioned the Thai dish, Tom Yum Kung. In a report cited by Wikitree, they started raising concerns on various online portals.

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According to them, it was racist to suggest that if the mother ate Tom Yum Kung after giving birth, the child would grow up to be a psychopath. Due to this, "Big Mouth" is under fire as Thai viewers are regretting the series for its insensitivity toward their culture.

This topic went viral in one of Korea's biggest online communities, where an author shared a tweet from a Thai fan that said:

"I am not sure, but was the K-drama 'Big Mouth' planning to be racist to Thailand? I'm not sure if it was translated correctly. But to ask, 'After giving birth to a psychopath like you, did your mother eat Tom Yum Kung?' Can someone fluent in Korean please analyze it?" (Translation from Theqoo)

Meanwhile, Koreans reacted to the post and shared their sentiments and understanding on why Thai viewers are upset.

They commented:

"I thought it was problematic when I watched the particular scene. Did they have to (really) use Tom Yum Kung?"

"I think it is offensive to South East Asians."

"If on western drama a character said the same thing asking, 'Did your mother eat Kimchi Jiggae?' we would be concerned too."

"Big Mouth" production has yet to release its statement regarding the issue.

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What are your thoughts about this issue? Tell us in the comments!

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Shai Collins reported this.