Soyou reveals racial discrimination on flight, endured 15 hours without food
Soyou, former member of girl group Sistar / Courtesy of Big Planet Made Entertainment
Singer Soyou, formerly of girl group Sistar, said that she experienced racial discrimination on a U.S. flight while returning to Korea, describing the incident as one of the most humiliating moments of her life. Her account has reignited debate over racial bias in international air travel.
In a post uploaded Sunday on her social media, Soyou said she was flying from Atlanta to Seoul after completing commitments in New York.
“I was extremely tired and simply asked for a Korean flight attendant to check the meal time,” she wrote. “But the steward took issue with my attitude and treated me like a problematic passenger.”
She said the situation quickly escalated. “They even called a security officer,” Soyou continued. “I had to say, ‘If I’m really the problem, I’ll get off the plane.’ After that, I had to endure cold looks and attitudes for the entire 15-hour flight.”
Soyou added, “At one point I thought, ‘Is this racism?’ I couldn’t eat anything during the whole flight, and the experience left me deeply hurt by what felt like racial prejudice. No one should ever be doubted or humiliated because of their race.”
Soyou’s case follows a string of reported incidents involving Asian passengers facing discriminatory treatment by American airlines.
Rising concerns over racial bias in US air travel
In August 2023, singer and actor Hyeri said she suffered what she described as “unfair treatment” from a foreign airline after being forcibly downgraded from a first-class seat to economy without any refund.
She shared a photo of her ticket on social media, writing, “I booked and selected my seats one-and-a-half months in advance, but they told me there were no first-class seats available and downgraded me to economy. The airline wouldn’t refund the difference and said if I didn’t like the seat, I should take the next flight.”
Hyeri added, “I even reserved two seats, but both were downgraded. It was such an absurd experience — please be careful when you fly.” At the time, Hyeri said the airline involved was Delta Air Lines.
At the time, Delta Air Lines explained that some first-class passengers were involuntarily reassigned to economy seats due to an aircraft change to a smaller model required for operational safety.
In another case, aviation outlet PYOK reported that in March, film director Timothy Chey filed a lawsuit against Delta Air Lines, alleging he was subjected to racial slurs and forcibly removed from a flight at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Chey said a gate agent told him, “You’re Asian, so you can speak Chinese, right?” and demanded that he serve as a translator. When he replied that he was of Korean and Japanese descent and did not speak Chinese, the agent reportedly responded irritably, “How can you not speak Chinese?”
The director claimed the staff continued berating him in an aggressive tone before calling police and denying him boarding. The case has since been filed in a Florida federal court, accusing the airline of discrimination, emotional distress, and breach of contract.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.