Korean-American Criticized for Posting Racist Help Wanted Sign
Via a reader tip comes this news about a Korean-American man in South Carolina who accidentally posted a racist help wanted sign at his wife’s restaurant and is now under attack by critics:
A South Carolina restaurant owner which caused outrage after it placed a ‘Help Wanted’ sign in its window along with the message ‘minorities need not apply’ has apologized for her mistake.
Kenny’s Home Cooking in Spartanburg placed the sign in the window seeking more staff, although when diners noticed the message at the bottom they posted photographs on the internet.
The sign had the racist message written in both English and Spanish.
However, the restaurant’s owner, who is Japanese, claimed any offense was unintentional as they purchased the sign on eBay and did not understand the messages at the bottom.
Owner Sook ‘Sue’ Shin told WYFF News: ‘I never ever meant that, so I’m really sorry.’
A friend claimed they mistook the word ‘minorities’ for ‘minors’.
Shin’s husband, who is Korean, purchased the sign on eBay. [The Daily Mail]
You can read more at the link, but I can easily understand how someone who uses English as a second language can make this mistake. However, it hasn’t stopped people from expressing their outrage at the owners. It seems to me the real racists are the ones criticizing this couple for not understanding English better.
It sounds like it was a joke help sign that you can get off of Ebay. The dude probably didn’t understand what it meant.
Sook “Sue” Shin, the wife’s name, doesn’t sound Japanese.
What would it have taken like 15 minutes or so to go inside and ask the guy what the deal was with the sign and explain what it meant once it was apparent he didn’t understand it?
Nope, people today would rather just pull out their stupid phones and take shot of it to upload to some social media site so they can show how cool they are of a SJW. ❓
Btw I love how “Kenny’s Home Cooking” is a Japanese-Korean venture…
Maybe it’s code for Ken Hee? 😛
Betcha a beer that all the hired help are Hispanic – who most certainly would have said something to the owners. But they are probably in the same boat as the owners as far as English reading skills.
I guess I have to take that back … because it’s also written in Spanish!!
Story says the hubby is Korean, so the Japanese wife must have taken his last name.
There should be outrage on the other sign as well: “No outside food or drinks allowed”. People should have the right to just bring in their own food and drinks and just loiter in their restaurant without buying anything, lololol. I just think its funny that a restaurant actually needs to post that sign, lol.
You know it’s because people did in the past…
Actually I think that’s crap, if I go to Subway for a sandwich why can’t I bring in a coffee with me? I want a coffee with my sandwich. I’m patronizing their business but I should be disallowed from having anything of my own.
Now going in buying nothing and sitting their eating outside food that’s a no.
@Smokes, I agree that someone should have pointed out the sign to the owner. However, in our social media culture people rather post to their social media sites in hopes of getting a viral post instead of resolving the issue one on one with the owner.
“A friend claimed they mistook the word ‘minorities’ for ‘minors’.”
Too bad they weren’t looking for a programmer to use a Windows PowerShell interface for managing VMware vSphere.
A mistake with PowerCLI would have brought in some interesting applicants.
@Denny, she may a Japanese citizen who is ethnic Korean.
Some areas it’s about the nose of the camel… Plus there are folks who would bring spoiled food and blame the restaurant. It’s happened in California…