French TV series 'Nouvelle Star' is being criticized by the French and non-French alike for the judging panelists' ignorant attitude toward a Korean contestant on its recent broadcast.
The contestant, a 19-year-old foreign exchange student named Kim Duk Hwan, had introduced himself in Korean, saying, "Hello, my name is Kim Duk Hwan and I'm from South Korea." The judges, who were silent after Kim made his introductions, proceeded to ridicule and make fun of him.
The contestant, a 19-year-old foreign exchange student named Kim Duk Hwan, had introduced himself in Korean, saying, "Hello, my name is Kim Duk Hwan and I'm from South Korea." The judges, who were silent after Kim made his introductions, proceeded to ridicule and make fun of him.
Joey Starr, who is one of the judges on the show snidely remarked, "Are you going to sing 'Gangnam Style' because you're Korean?" Kim calmly replied, "I'll be singing Edith Piaf's 'Non je ne regrette rien.'"
Even as Kim was singing, the judges continued to ridicule him, laughing all throughout his audition. Though the judges may not have maintained their courtesies, Kim managed not to lose his composure and was polite until the very end.
Many indignant French people have stepped forward to criticize the crass behavior of the judges, leaving comments along the lines of, "So embarrassing," "I don't know why they judge [contestants] like that," "If it was meant to be funny, it wasn't at all," and, "Not all French people are like that."
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