Korean prank videos using Kanye West masks go viral, sparking racism debate

A woman screams after being startled by a prank involving a Kanye West mask. Captured from Instagram

In an Instagram reel that has garnered more than 8.9 million views, a middle-aged Korean woman grips the door to keep someone out while screaming, “Call the police!”

The face staring back at her is U.S. rapper Kanye West's.

Videos of Koreans wearing face masks — most often portraying Black celebrities such as West — to startle those around them have recently gone viral, with some posts drawing tens of millions of views. The trend has ignited a debate over race and the ethics of viral content.

The format is consistent across videos: A creator conceals who they are with long sleeves, a hood or cap, and a mask depicting a Black person, then knocks on a door. When an elderly parent or grandparent answers, their shock, panic and screams become the content.

Reactions have been divided. While many viewers engage with the videos as entertainment, Korean commenters have largely called the prank out of line for targeting elderly and vulnerable family members. Many foreign users have also condemned the trend as racist.

A person wearing a Kanye West mask is seen in a video captioned in Korean: "Getting ready to startle family members with a Kanye mask." Captured from Instagram

“We as Black people already go through a lot of stereotyping and hate amongst other things,” Naomi Jiya, a 37-year-old Nigerian who commented on one of the videos, told The Korea Times.

“Koreans wearing a Black man's mask or Kanye mask does not look like a prank or a joke; it simply sheds more light on how racist people are towards my race.”

Another international user wrote, “Specifically deciding to pick the mask of a foreign person is so rude, nothing funny about scaring your mother either.”

Experts say the trend seems to be driven by financial incentives and the psychological rush of drawing out startled reactions, with the choice of masks rooted in unfamiliarity rather than overt malice.

Seol Dong-hoon, a sociology professor at Jeonbuk National University, said the trend follows a familiar logic of virality and monetization.

“Once someone does it for fun and it gets a high view count, others copy it,” Seol said. “Far-right YouTubers have shown that if a video gets enough views, it can replace your primary income. This, too, appears to be tied to money.”

Lim Myung-ho, a psychology professor at Dankook University, said the choice to use a mask of a Black person likely reflects a preference for maximum visual difference.

“Content creators probably chose it because it looks most different from Korean features,” Lim said, adding that the nervous system gets activated when encountering something different. “It may explain why these videos get made.”