Africa
Korean Air Apologises for "Primitive" Ad Gaffe
The flag carrier of South Korea, Korean Air, has apologised and removed an ad on their website which labelled Kenyans as an "indigenous people full of primitive energy."
- An advertisement on the website of Korean Air, which labelled Kenya as a country with "indigenous people full of primitive energy", has been removed after Kenyans riled against it on social media.
The advert was meant to introduce the carrier's new flight schedule to Nairobi, due to start on the 21st of June from Incheon, Korea.
"Fly to Nairobi with Korean Air and enjoy the grand African savanna, the safari tour, and the indigenous people full of primitive energy," read the ad, which was posted on the airline's website.
Immediately afterward, hash tags like #PrimitiveEnergy went viral, as Kenyans posted a screen grab depicting the ad on both Twitter and Facebook."The recent feedback of our notice of Nairobi had been removed from our website, and we will resume the page after revision," read the tweet.
Korean Air is the flag carrier and the largest airline in South Korea, and is due to start three weekly, non-stop flights to Kenya from Korea.
The reaction comes months after Kenyans on Twitter, best known as #KOT, forced the giant news network, CNN, to apologise and remove a video that depicted an isolated grenade attack at a bus station in Nairobi as a flare-up of violence across the country. 
WTF?! "@Calestous: @KoreanAir_KE flights to Nairobi to see "indigenous people full of primitive energy" http://pic.twitter.com/vBA9Eg23"
RT @JacqueMaribe: So @KoreanAir_KE has pulled down the ad, blocked utube promo after calling us 'indigenous people full of primitive energy'
@koreanair_ke Be careful when reffering to kenyans. We might b mo learned than you. #indeginious pple with primitive energy.
I'm really embarrassed to say I was the casting assistant to that Korean airline TVC.But I had NOTHING to do with the copy #primitiveenergy- Kenyans react on social media on the Korean Air's ad.
#PrimitiveEnergy is spending millions on presidential campaign when u cant make it to the ballot due to integrity issues!
#PrimitiveEnergy is how all things n humans (incl #Koreans) began. We now use solar, hydro, geothermal, kuni, makaa; soon our own coal n oil
#PrimitiveEnergy always loosing property "worth millions " in every fire...hata Sinai?
Those who are constantly bashing KQ will most certainly enjoy flying their #PrimitiveEnergy on #KoreanAir.- Kenyans on Twitter, better known as #KOT, tried to localise the #PrimitiveEnergy trend and link it to local events.
So,who else is left with an opinion about Africa?#Sweden loves black cake, @KoreanAir sees #PrimitiveEnergy,and of course #SpainIsNotUganda- As some social media users appealed for calm and acceptance of the apology, others reignited similar events that happened in the recent past, including #SpainIsNotUganda and #SomeoneTellCNN
- The Korean Air later apologised for putting up the advert and removed it from its website.
Did you find this story interesting? like or comment as 6 already did!
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- Simon KaheruThis is a great testament to the power of the internet, Social Media and Citizen Journalism in getting the world to change its stereotypical perceptions of "the...more2012-06-18T12:15:24.504Z
Abubakr Ronoim so proud of all of you for the quick roasting of Korean air this is how we change Kenya and the world2012-06-18T11:41:54.788Z
- Abdinasir AminWe are full of energy alright; just not the primitive type!2012-06-19T07:23:25.284Z
- Simon KaheruThis is a great testament to the power of the internet, Social Media and Citizen Journalism in getting the world to change its stereotypical perceptions of "the...This is a great testament to the power of the internet, Social Media and Citizen Journalism in getting the world to change its stereotypical perceptions of "the South" and Africa. Now, we should all get more and more #indigenouspeople across the continent to sign up for Twitter and Facebook accounts and speak up whenever an ignorant Spanish Prime Minister texts something daft or another airline releases an ad with poor copy...and I suspect that Coca Cola is about to start hearing more about the '1 billion people share a Coke in Africa' idea.more2012-06-18T12:15:24.504Z
- Abubakr Ronoim so proud of all of you for the quick roasting of Korean air this is how we change Kenya and the world2012-06-18T11:41:54.788Z
