As a Japanese-Swedish person, I'd like to share another perspective. I agree that pretending to be Japanese or Korean for attention or because it's "aesthetic" is disrespectful. Faking a nationality or ethnicity harms real people and spreads stereotypes. However, I also feel that parts of this project unintentionally generalize people. For example, saying it's "usually pretty obvious" because someone doesn't speak the language isn't always true. Many mixed-race people, adoptees, immigrants, or members of the diaspora don't grow up fluent in their heritage language. That doesn't make them any less Japanese or Korean. Not everyone is pretending. Some of them are real JP/KR. Being Japanese isn't measured by language ability. Culture, family, identity, and personal experiences are all different for everyone. Comments like these can make people who are genuinely Japanese, Korean, or mixed feel like they have to "prove" who they are. I also want to add an important context about where a lot of this is happening: Scratch is a kid-focused platform. Many of the users involved are children in late childhood or early adolescence. A lot of these young users idolize Korean and Japanese cultures because of their exposure to K-pop and J-pop. These industries often present a highly curated, idealized image of perfection, and children can end up seeing Korea and Japan through rose-colored lenses rather than through real cultural understanding. Because of this, some of their behavior comes more from admiration and imitation than from intentional disrespect, even if the results can still be harmful or misinformed. (also talked about this: @heeivrs, tysm) I also agree that companies shouldn't treat Korean or Japanese as aesthetic accessories or expect everyone to know those languages without support. That's a valid discussion. But it's important to separate people who are genuinely part of those cultures from those who intentionally pretend. I hope we can criticize cultural appropriation without creating assumptions about what "real" Japanese or Korean people should look or sound like. Respect goes both ways. - Forever, Sebbie!
