World Archery accused of 'racism' for using 'chop suey' font in videos of South Korean archers
The World Archery Federation sparked backlash online for its use of the "chop suey" font in a pair of tweets supposed to celebrate Olympic archers from South Korea.
Problematic font: World Archery is accused of racism when it shared two videos that introduced the women's and the men's team from South Korea, using a font associated with racism, reported Reuters.
Also known as the "wonton" font, this typeface was commonly used by old restaurants that mimicked Chinese calligraphy strokes.
The font, and other variations of it, has been widely used in racist signs, leaflets and posters against Asian Americans for over a century, according to CNN.
Due to such use, many have regarded the font as an expression of racist stereotypes toward Asians.
Korean women have won eight of the last nine @Olympics golds. With three top qualifiers, they’re poised to add another. 🥇
The individual competitions at @Tokyo2020 start today.#ArcheryatTokyo #archery pic.twitter.com/ZZoqyBZ5ls
— World Archery (@worldarchery) July 26, 2021
Will 17-year-old Kim Je Deok turn top seed into a gold medal at the @Olympics? 🥇 The individual competitions at @Tokyo2020 start today.#ArcheryatTokyo #archery pic.twitter.com/K88D3YVOEY
— World Archery (@worldarchery) July 26, 2021
I am certainly celebrating the Korean Women’s archery team. Was the font necessary? I wonder if the same font would have been a used if the women were not of Korean descent. Please consider using a different font.
— Margaret Park (@Seoulofavegan) July 28, 2021
Please… Don’t use that font…
— (no idea of proper nickname) (@oIHLo) July 27, 2021
Wow, you can really see the dedication to racism in how the video markers are willing to make the names really hard to read with that ridiculous Orientalist mess of a font.
— Alexandra Erin (@AlexandraErin) July 28, 2021
Hi Hiromu. We’ll give a go to highlighting true background - this font was actually chosen because it continued the single brush stroke theme of our #ArcheryatTokyo logo, a take on an enso circle highlighting the themes of thoughtfulness, focus and self-meditation in archery. pic.twitter.com/R5AEmguBXz
— World Archery (@worldarchery) July 28, 2021
“Not” racist: According to a representative from the World Archery Federation, the way they used the font in promoting the domination of South Korean archers was not racist.
When the athletic body posted the videos, the South Korean archery team won three gold medals in all archery team events at the Tokyo Games.
World Archery Federation spokesperson Chris Wells said the organization only matched their Tokyo 2020 logo, which features the Japanese “enso,” a circle hand-drawn in a single stroke.
Featured Image via World Archery Federation
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