Korean actress Lee Da Hae’s claimed ‘misunderstanding’ about her obvious demeaning of Filipinos speaking in English has enraged Filipinos over her action. The said actress who appeared in “East of Eden”, “Hello, Miss”, “Slave Hunter” and “My Girl” said to have apologized for her Filipino fans (if there are still) blaming the now inoperative Korean TV program "Sweet Night"’s debacle.
I’m an English language teacher in the Philippines and I don’t speak that way. As far as I know, even the most illiterate Filipino that you could meet doesn’t speak the way she mimicked Filipino accent on national TV.
Apologizing and denying that she didn’t specify “PHILIPPINES” is another crime which she just did. This is not just to degrade Filipinos’ understanding, but to underestimate their capacities in apprehending which was shown obvious. Shin Dong Yup, one of the hosts said ‘Philippines’ in his own ‘accent’. This negated Lee's claim.
Here is the entire apology letter of Lee Da Hae posted November 3 on Twitter:
“First, I’d like to give you my sincere apologies for what seems to be a misunderstanding.
“It has come to my attention that many of you from the Philippines have posted comments protesting that i was being derisive by mimicking Filipinos when they speak English.
“Therefore, in light of this matter I’d like to take this opportunity to clear the air.
“In spite of what many people believe, I myself did NOT mention anything about the Philippines or Filipino accent whilst on the TV Show.
“On the other hand, I recall bringing up Southeast Asia and not the Philippines, and the subtitles were inserted when the show was being edited, of which I was not aware of until it was aired.
“The TV Show where this footage was taken from was designed to amuse its audience and my sole purpose was to entertain the viewers by coming up with lighthearted stories.
“Since the producer knows that i speak English he asked me if I could share any episodes that touch upon the English language.
“As we all know every country has a typical accent when its people speak English (including myself) so after giving it some thought, I came up with a few lines where I simply tried to compare different English accents: the somewhat rigid British accent and beginners in Southeast Asia whose English tends to be a little hard-edged. No pun or ridicule was intended.
“As an individual who used to take English classes over the phone with a Filipino instructor, I give you my word that even the mere thought of mocking Filipinos would never cross my mind.
“I cannot tell you how much Filipino fans mean to me and as much as I love them, I would in no way hurt or upset them.
“I hope I have clarified any misunderstandings and once again I am truly sorry if I inadvertently hurt anyone’s feelings.
“I really love you, my Filipino fans.”
If she really intended to bemocked Filipino teachers, she had nerve. There are a lot of Korean students who enroll in the Philippines just to learn English because they don't even know how to distinguish /r/ and /l/ sounds. I am pitiful for my kind Korean students for this Lee has done, because she has painted a bad image for Korean people.
This is a lesson for foreign actors and actresses not to insult any Filipino.
They should really know who Filipinos really are.
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