Actor Jung Woo-Sung continued to show support for refugees despite criticism and controversy.

On June 28, actor Jung Woo-Sung participated as a spokesperson for the 2018 Jeju Forum special session on refugees. During his speech, he continued to show support for helping the refugees, despite receiving criticism and accusations for being “all talk and no action.”

The actor said, “I am well aware that everyone panicked because we always thought of refugees as someone else’s business. However, now that we actually have people who are knocking on our door for help, we do not know what to do.” He continued, “the biggest concern is how to properly communicate with people from the war-zone to have a better understanding of one another.”

Since 2014, the actor actively worked as the ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency. However, with the recent problem with accumulating Yemeni refugees on Jeju Island, the actor had received much criticism from the public.

In response, he said, “many accuse me of ignoring the voices of the people who are afraid of the refugees. I know everyone’s voice is important. However, in order to solve the problems that the refugees are facing, we have to protect them, first. That’s the reality we are facing.”

The actor also mentioned his personal encounter with 6 Yemeni refugees from Jeju Island.

“Just like South Koreans fear them, they also fear us,” said Jung Woo-Sung. “Many people are even skeptical because their outfits are “fine.” Just because they were in a war, that doesn’t mean they lost everything. They can still wear clothes from brands if they wanted to.”

In conclusion, Jung answered a question that asked what can normal civilians do in order to help the refugees. He said, “have interest and knowledge about the problem. Also, we need to throw away our stereotypical  judgement regarding the refugees.”

Meanwhile, Jung Woo-Sung was attacked by South Korean cartoon artist Yoon Seo-In, after the actor shared a word of support for the refugees in celebration of World Refugee Day on June 20. The cartoonist accused him of being “all talk and no action,” to which Jung Woo-Sung responded “there’s nothing to be said.”

Original Article
Translated by Dasol Kim

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