This controversy stemmed from a statement made by Tiktoker Gói Mang Về at a press conference organized by KTO – the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam to launch a campaign promoting travel to the country. Sharing her impressions of Korean cuisine, she said she was “very impressed by the dish of monkfish.” When in Vietnam, due to the fishy smell, she couldn’t finish the whole fish. However, when she traveled to Korea, perhaps due to the cooking method, the taste of the fish was not fishy and was quite similar to chicken, allowing her to eat the entire thing.
A reporter voiced her opinion: “Travel has many aspects, every place has its beauty and uniqueness. You say you like monkfish, but you mention that you couldn’t eat fish in Vietnam, yet you could in Korea. But think about it, our coastline is 3,200 km long, does that mean our fish is not delicious? Why not talk about how the fish is prepared or the culinary culture, how they cook or preserve it so that we can learn?”
The clip capturing this incident went viral on social media on the evening of August 20, and many netizens were upset, criticizing Tiktoker Gói Mang Về for “dissing Vietnamese fish to praise Korean fish.” In response to this negative feedback, she posted an apology, explaining that due to her lack of experience and incorrect wording, she caused misunderstandings. “I have never had experience answering interviews in front of an audience, so I truly regret that my way of speaking, expressing feelings, and wording was not clear enough and may have caused misunderstandings about ‘disparaging Vietnamese cuisine.’” – Gói Mang Về wrote.
The female Tiktoker stated that the message she truly wanted to convey was: “Although I am among those who do not like eating fish, when I had the opportunity to travel to Korea and tried monkfish, I realized that it is also one of the fish dishes that I can eat and I want to introduce it to those who do not share my taste for fish, so if they have the chance to go to Korea, they can also try it.”
The female reporter in the clip also clarified that she was only providing feedback, not criticizing or nitpicking, and wanted to suggest deeper approaches and new perspectives for content creators on TikTok to have more comprehensive and multi-dimensional evaluations for their trips. The reporter also expressed regret that this incident caused controversy and misunderstandings.