“You can’t excuse everything just because it’s ‘for laughs.’”
In the latest episode of Hangout With Yoo, actor Lee Yi Kyung admitted that he was getting a lot of hate for his table manners (or the lack thereof) and apologized, insisting he doesn’t actually “eat that way.”
On multiple past occasions, Lee Yi Kyung “showed off” his noodle-slurping technique—leaving most of his guests, like actors Shim Eun Kyung and Kim Suk Hoon, in shock.
In fact, under the official MBC video, showing Lee Yi Kyung’s most recent slurping session, a lot of viewers expressed frustration.
- “Once is enough. Please stop.”
- “Stop the noodle slurping. It’s seriously bad manners, ugh.”
- “People told you not to do it—if the reaction’s bad, just stop. Why are you being so stubborn, LOL.”
- “Yi Kyung, please read the comments and stop slurping noodles.”
- “This made him so unlikeable. It splashes everywhere while people are eating, and it’s disgusting. We were eating while watching and all ended up frowning. Horrifying.”
- “Kim Suk Hoon’s face described it perfectly. It’s not even funny—it’s just gross.”
- “Why does he keep doing that noodle slurping thing? Even during the Shim Eun Kyung episode, viewers said it wasn’t funny and just made them uncomfortable.”
So, in the June 14 episode, when the Hangout With Yoo team asked why Lee Yi Kyung seemed particularly down, comedian Yoo Jae Suk commented, “It’s because of how he ate.” Haha poked fun at the actor, asking, “So, no mukbang today?” to which Lee Yi Kyung responded, “I’m not eating anything anymore.”
As Lee Yi Kyung swore it was all for fun and good laughs, Yoo Jae Suk defended the actor, saying, “He’s just a good kid who wanted to make people laugh.” And to that, Joo Woo Jae playfully added, “So, no noodles for lunch today, right?”
Watching the regretful Lee Yi Kyung, viewers discussed his behavior. Some rallied for the actor, claiming how obvious it was that he was fooling around, and so he shouldn’t have gotten so much hate for it. Others went on to agree that bad table manners are nothing to make light and joke about.
- “It was already deemed gross and unlikable when he did it in front of Shim Eun Kyung. So why did he have to do it again? That’s just overkill. There’s no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ noodle slurping—it’s all just gross and off-putting.”
- “Noodle slurping shouldn’t be used for comedy at all.”
- “Why are people going so hard over something he did to be funny? So many exhausting people out there.”
- “IMO, it actually worked out well because now people strongly associate noodle slurping with being unlikable. LOL. It was funny, I thought.”
- “Sure, he was trying to be funny, but even Shim Eun Kyung looked visibly uncomfortable, and Kim Suk Hoon was clearly disgusted. There’s a limit. You can’t excuse everything just because it’s ‘for laughs.’”
- “Huh? It was just some over-the-top variety content, why are people acting like this?!”
- “Weren’t the other eating segments also done for laughs though? Haha.”
- “It wasn’t funny. Doesn’t he monitor viewer reactions?”
- “He was trying to be funny but people are really going all in on him…”
- “The problem is that if someone clips it out of context and it goes viral as a meme, it’s easy to get hated for it.”
Slurping noodles wasn’t too frowned upon in Korea, especially with the rise of mukbangs. In fact, at one point, it was thought to express how delicious the noodles are. But after actor Lee Jung Jae shed light on how it really looks and sounds, it began to be more recognized as bad table manners.
Read more about comedian Lee Young Ja who also got criticized for slurping her noodles:
Comedian Lee Young Ja Is Criticized For Her Bad Table Manners
