Asian netizens defended Lee Min Ho against comments that criticized the actor for his poor English pronunciation skills at the promotion of the movie Pachinko in the US.
Asia’s leading actor Lee Min Ho is one of the talented actors of Korean and Asian cinema. Especially recently, an interview between actor Lee Min Ho and young actress Kim Min Ha at a promotional event for the movie Pachinko in the US caused a lot of controversy.
While many American netizens think that Lee Min Ho’s English pronunciation and proficiency needs to be improved, Asian netizens defended the actor.
Here are some comments from Asian netizens in response to US netizens’ silly criticism:
“I’m not sure who would criticize him for his English. English is one of the hardest languages to learn. I apologize for my nation. Right now we are a full of reasons to be ashamed. Please give us your grace and understanding .”
“He was born in Korea and I feel it okay to not fluent 2nd language some body can speak English not sure can act or have a better talent like him.”
“English is not his mother tongue. At least he is bi-lingual, though not fluent but better than any of them who probably can only speak and understand English.”
“American people!! he speaks his native language Korean not American English.”
“His acting is phenomenal. He is learning English and should not be for it.”
I think it’s true that not everyone is that good at english. English is main language for the whole world to communicate when going to travel or business. Lee Min Ho can improve his english just like Jackie Chan. Nobody’s perfect. I’m not taking side though.
The interviewer obviously didn’t know how Korean names are written (last name then first name) and kept calling Min-ho, “Lee” thinking that was his first name, did the American Neitzens say anything about the interviews’ lack of knowledge about Min-ho’s correct name and not that he couldn’t speak English fluently?
I speak English and wish I could speak Korean 😀
What’s funny is the host mispronounced Lee Min Ho’s name from the getgo. No one criticized him for not knowing fluent Korean. People are toxic nowadays. They allow no margin for error; however they apply this principle willy nilly to people, in general. They ask for perfection from some people and give others a pass.The host kept calling him Lee (pronouncing the L sound) and isn’t Lee the surname? It’s like me calling Tom Cruise, “Cruise”. lol
I love Lee Min Ho acting hs a great actor , he always do his best , I always watch hs episodes , more Lee Min Hos series pls , I enjoy watching it ,more Netflix.
It’s sad to criticize Lee Min Ho for speaking Korean while promoting Pachinko when the story is literally about a time in history when Koreans were denied their language and culture. Do we now expect everyone to speak English? I was impressed with his acting and having to speak Japanese too. And I liked the in depth answers he could give to interviewers using Korean.