Lee Jong-suk’s Big Mouth comes under the radar for hurting Thai sentiments

MBC’s murder mystery Big Mouth starring Lee Jong-suk has come under fire for being insensitive toward its Thai audience. In episode 10, the lead Park Chang-ho confronts a criminal on death row and asks a question that viewers believe was unnecessary as it reeked of racial undertones.

Chang-ho asks the villain what his mother ate to give birth to a “psycho” like him. He first asked if it was seaweed soup, often considered a healthy dish for new mothers. He then dismissed it and went on to mention another Korean dish, Seonji Soup, and a spicy Thai delicacy, Tom Yum Kung:

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

The dialogue was meant to take a dig at the criminal by pitting bland and spicy foods together.

In South Korea, new mothers are advised to avoid any type of spicy food and eat bland food for their breastfeeding phase. Seaweed soup, a traditional Korean dish, tops that list and is of utmost importance.

Seonji soup, aka Seonjigguk, is a rich, thick and spicy soup made from ox or beef bone. Thai delicacy Tom Yum Kung, on the other hand, is a hot and sour soup with prawns or shrimp. It is usually flavored with lemongrass and lime juice.

The mention of Thailand's traditional dish Tom Yum Kung specifically led to wide criticism from Thai audiences. The backlash was triggered by the insinuation that eating the spicy dish was the reason behind him turning out to be a psychopath.

They also believed that the addition of Tom Yum Kung was unnecessary, since Seonji Soup is enough to draw comparisons for spicy food.

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Big Mouth lands in big trouble with Thai audiences

Lee Jong-suk and Girls’ Generation’s YoonA’s crime thriller Big Mouth continues to taste success. The show premiered with high expectations and average ratings, as it was Lee Jong-suk’s comeback drama. It steadily broke into double-digit viewership ratings in its sixth episode itself. However, it has now faced a hiccup.

The latest episode of August 27 was criticized for being insensitive to Thai audience. As per Top Star News, a few comments from Thai netizens’ were:

“The statement that I became a psychopath by eating Tom Yum Kung is racist.”

“Please write the lines with care.”

The scene quickly gained attention even on theqoo, a popular South Korean online forum. A tweet of @saisdreaming asked,

“We are not sure whether the Korean series Big Mouth intends to racist Thailand? Because we are not sure if he translated correctly or not. But to say that after giving birth to a psychopath like you, your mother ate Tom Yum Kung? What is the meaning behind this? Can someone who knows Korean explain?”

South Koreans commented that the addition of Tom Yum Kung was off and it was understandable why Thai viewers felt insulted. They said that whether intentional or not, the dialog was offensive.

MBC TV is yet to release an official statement regarding the issue. Meanwhile, Big Mouth airs every Friday and Saturday at 9.50 pm KST.