Korean Cosmetic Brand Under Fire For Allegedly Stereotyping A Specific Race

Recently, a Korean cosmetic brand has become a hot topic over the labeling of a specific product.

An online community post garnered much attention regarding makeup brand Tooq, which mentioned a Mongolian baby to describe a new blush shade.

“W06. Mocha Pop #WARM

A deep mocha rose like a lovely Mongol baby.”

In Korea, a documentary about Mongolian babies was a hot topic for their cute, rosy cheeks.

However, although it was most likely posted with no bad intent, some wondered if this was appropriate for a product page.

An Instagram reel of someone who was Mongolian expressed disappointment that a professional brand was using something like this.

Korean netizens agreed that, despite the intent, a professional brand should have known better.

• “I thought, ‘They must be crazy’, as soon as I saw it.”
• “This is racism.”
• “This is just stupid…why are they using a country’s name?”
• “This reminds me of some brand saying ‘foreign kid’s hair color’.”
• “This is not good. We’d all be furious if they used ‘Korean blah blah’ for something.”
• “I agree. Although it was without bad intent, stereotyping a certain race due to its environment is racism.”
• “They could’ve compared it to a fruit? But a certain race? If you aren’t certain, don’t use it.”