South Korean content creator JinHo Bae reflected on the challenges he faced as a foreigner growing up in the Philippines, recalling a time when Korean culture had yet to gain the widespread popularity it enjoys today.
JinHo, who has lived in the Philippines for 24 years after leaving South Korea at age 7, spoke candidly about his early experiences in an interview with Hot Takes. Known today for sharing Korean and Filipino culture with over 1.16 million YouTube subscribers and 476,000 TikTok followers, JinHo admitted that his journey toward belonging was not always easy.
When asked if he experienced being treated differently during his early years in the country as a full-blooded Korean, JinHo expressed: “Absolutely.”
He explained that when he first arrived in the Philippines more than two decades ago, Korean entertainment and beauty culture had not yet become part of mainstream local consciousness.
“24 years ago, wala pa masyadong [Korean] culture dito eh. Wala pang K-Pop. Hindi pa uso ang K-Beauty, K-Pop, K-Food, K-Drama. I was just any other Asian here.”
Because of this, JinHo said he often became the target of mockery, including being called “Ching-Chong,” a slur commonly directed toward East Asians.
“’Ching-Chong’, they would call me. Hindi ko ito sinasabi para lang gumawa ng issue pero [tinatawag nila akong] ‘Ching-Chong,’” he recalled.
“May mga times na me and my mom would order at this fast-food restaurant, as in oorder pa lang ako and hindi pa naman sobrang husay ng Tagalog ko nung time na ‘yun, [sasabihin nila] ‘Oh what Ching-Chong Chong?’ Like face to face.”
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For JinHo, those incidents reflected a different era, long before social media fostered greater awareness and accountability.
“Kasi walang kinakatakutan din yung mga tao nung time na yun kasi walang social media. Bukod sa walang K-Drama or K-Pop, wala rin WiFi.”
Yet rather than allowing those experiences to define him, JinHo said they became part of a larger story, one that eventually led him to embrace both his Korean roots and the Philippines as the place that nurtured his growth.
After finishing college, JinHo attempted to pursue opportunities in South Korea, including corporate work and auditions to become a K-pop idol. But he admitted that both his personality and mindset felt more aligned with life in the Philippines.
He also encountered setbacks in the Korean entertainment industry, where agencies told him he had started too late.
“They always tell me, ‘You’re too late. You’re too old to audition’... I tried in Korea. I started covering songs while I’m auditioning. Siyempre, pag maga-audition ka, gagawa ka ng mga cover songs or clips para i-send sa email nila. So, when I was making those songs, sabi ko sayang naman, pabida-bida rin naman na ako sa Facebook so in-upload ko na.”
What began as audition materials soon turned into an unexpected career path.
“Nung in-upload ko ang unang lumapit sa akin is Philippine agency... So, I was already in Korea trying to penetrate the Korean market, but [the one] who reached out was Filipinos.”
JinHo emphasized that he never viewed the opportunity as calculated or opportunistic. Instead, he described it as simply responding to where doors opened.
Today, as Korean culture enjoys massive popularity worldwide, JinHo acknowledged that being Korean carries certain advantages in content creation. But he said he remains conscious of that privilege and careful not to take it for granted.
“Sobra. It would be a lie if I say na wala kaming advantage. Like I said, it’s already there, we’re already all watching. Dati wala namang may pakialam sa Korea eh...That’s a privilege that I don’t want to take for granted because there was a time na ‘Ching-Chong’ lang ang tawag sa akin.”
More than building a career, JinHo said he sees his platform as a responsibility centered on helping Filipinos and Koreans understand one another better.
“I don’t think myself as isang creator na umaangat kasi nga Koreano ako...but rather I always try to remind myself and humble down myself into thinking na ‘Baka kaya ka tinanim ni Lord dito sa [Philippines] para ikaw ang gagamitin na medium everytime there’s a misunderstanding between the two countries. If one country wants to learn something about the other, baka ikaw yung pinaka-magaling na paraan to communicate or educate people.”
“If Korea gave birth to me, Philippines ang nag-nurture sa akin,” he maintained.
Apart from content creation, JinHo also captured public attention through television. In 2019, he joined It’s Showtime’s “KapareWho” segment, where playful banter about “replacing” Korean host Ryan Bang sparked an online buzz. The episode started trending worldwide at #5 then eventually went on to the top spot.