"Except for Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise"- Jirisan star Ju Ji Hoon's fiery comeback impresses the internet

South Korean actor, Ju Ji Hoon's latest interview with a German magazine has come under attention, after some netizens claimed that one of the host’s questions had a racist undertone. The actor’s reply, though, is winning hearts.

The 39-year-old actor is currently appearing on the ongoing show Jirisan. Having made his debut in 2006, with Princess Hours, Ju Ji Hoon is well known for his witty personality and glib comebacks. His role in his debut project had catapulted him to fame, winning him the Best New Actor award.

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Jirisan star Ju Ji Hoon's interview with German magazine ICON

On November 5, 2021, the German magazine ICON released their interview with Ju Ji Hoon. The actor happens to be the first Korean artist to be on the cover of ICON magazine.

In the interview, the Kingdom star discussed his experimental space exploration documentary Kiss the Universe. Ju Ji Hoon and the host embarked on an insightful conversation, which explored the difference between documentaries, and feature films as well as the effect of streaming culture on the popularity of K-entertainment.

One of the questions asked by the host, though, was not taken very well by netizens. After asking Ju Ji Hoon about the impact of K-culture, and discussing it at length, the German host asked: (translated from German)

"Do you find it disrespectful when it is said that all Asians look the same?"

The racist belief that all Asians, especially all east Asians, regardless of their nationalities, look the same, has been a long standing one. The host’s question, according to several readers of the interview, only perpetuated this stereotype even further.

However, Ju Ji Hoon had the perfect reply. In his trademark tongue-in-cheek manner, the actor replied,

"In our eyes, all white people look the same. Except for Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise."

The internet can’t get enough of this fiery reply. Several also commented upon how Ju Ji Hoon did not even mention actors who are German, making it all the more incredible. Many netizens criticized the magazine for making such an obviously disrespectful statement.

On the online forum QOO, many commented: (translated from Korean)

Haha I've been living in Europe for nearly 20 years, but I can't tell the difference between Westerners hahahaha

When I hear things like that, in my eyes, you are the same, I tell you that I can't tell you apart well haha

Lol, I can't understand how much white people are entitled. Anyone outside of their familiar environment wouldn't be able to quickly discern. Why do they think they're the exceptions?

Love joo ji hoon lmao. and frankly it's about exposure; if you're exposed to a lot of white people, you can see differences easily. if you're exposed to a lot of a asian people, you can discern differences easily. etc. etc.

Isn't it about what our eyes and brain are used to? I'm european and to me, all blonde ppl with blue eyes look the same since we barely have them where i live. Then again, everyone looks the same to me since ppl are all about trends, so we live in a copy-paste kind of society. And I'm sure I look the same as everyone else in other eyes. What an idiotic question, can that even be called doing one's job?

The interview was accompanied by a photoshoot, with Ju Ji Hoon showing off his model-like looks. While the statement didn't go down well with netizens, Ju Ji Hoon certainly won some hearts with his witty reply.