"Don't Bring Your Passport, Bring a Spoon When Going to Jeolla-do"... Home Shopping Faces Regional Discrimination Controversy

Home Shopping Company Explains
"No Intent to Disparage Any Region"

A home shopping company has become embroiled in controversy amid allegations that it used regionally discriminatory language for marketing on its official YouTube channel and social media accounts.

H Home Shopping has been embroiled in controversy for using region-disparaging language in content posted on its official YouTube channel and other platforms. JTBC Incident Chief

According to JTBC's "Incident Chief" on May 26, H Home Shopping recently faced backlash after posting phrases such as "Don't bring your passport when going to Jeolla Province" and "Bring a spoon instead of a passport" in content uploaded to its YouTube channel and Instagram, sparking accusations of regional bias.

In content introducing travel destinations in the Chungcheong, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Gangwon regions on the official H Home Shopping YouTube channel, the presenter included the phrase "Don't bring your passport, just bring a spoon" while introducing destinations in Gwangju Metropolitan City and Damyang in South Jeolla Province.

On Instagram, the post titled "Four Meals a Day in Jeolla—Just Trust Me and Follow" included the caption, "When traveling to Jeolla Province, take a spoon instead of a passport."

Some have pointed out that this language is the same regional slur used in far-right online communities such as Ilbe Storage. The term "passport" is used to ridicule the Honam region by likening Jeolla Province to a foreign country, thereby disparaging the area.

In fact, in 2020, SBS Sports baseball commentator Ahn Kyunghyun became embroiled in a similar controversy after saying, "I always have my passport in my bag. It's for going to Gwangju." At the time, Ahn apologized, saying, "I did not realize that the word 'passport' could have a connotation of regional discrimination."

H Home Shopping has denied any intention of regional disparagement. The company explained through "Incident Chief" that "the phrase was borrowed from a promotional post titled 'Exotic Destinations in South Jeolla' on the official blog of the South Jeolla Provincial Government," and added, "The content was intended to recommend domestic travel instead of overseas trips due to rising fuel surcharges."

They further stated, "The use of the word 'passport' was meant to be natural," and added, "The staff responsible for the content had no idea that the phrase was used as a regional slur."

After the controversy erupted, the video in question was deleted from social media.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.