South Korean Twitch streamer Hyojeong Park, who goes by the handle ‘Mhyochi’ on the streaming platform and social media, was harassed in Khar, Mumbai on November 29, by two youths who have been identified as Mobeen Chand Mohammad Shaikh and Mohammad Naqeeb Sadrealam Ansari. Mhyochi is currently on a trip to India and regularly streaming her journey online. Both the accused have been arrested after the video of the incident sparked outrage on social media.
I don’t want this one bad incident to ruin my whole travel and my passion to show wonderful India to other countries: South Korean YouTuber Hyojeong Park, who was harassed in Mumbai while live streaming
— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2022
Both accused have been arrested and sent to 1-day Police custody pic.twitter.com/5zHrnOmmEy
Hyojeong Park while speaking to Republic said, “As I was walking back to my hotel, I started live-streaming to show people about my trip. It was around 11:50 p.m., and I was almost there when two guys stood in the street and one of them yelled, ‘I love you.’ And sometimes when you’re creating content, people want to participate in the conversation or show interest.”
“I love you back,” Park said to the accused youths. Following this, one of the accused approached her, put his arm around her shoulder, and attempted to kiss her on the cheek. “Luckily, one of the viewers watching my live stream was already aware of what had occurred. He came over to help me and spoke to those people in Hindi. “I didn’t understand what he said to them, but after he said something, they started to distance themselves,” she explained.
What happened post incident is not known by many people !!
— Ashwini Shrivastava (@AshwiniSahaya) December 1, 2022
One Hindu guy instantly came to rescue her, because he was also watching her live streaming
Then, Korean YouTuber Hyojeong Park thanked him and says “mumbai is preity much safe” pic.twitter.com/UE20xW7WUp
Hyojeong stated that the incident upset her so much that she was crying in her bed, but after one of her Indian friends helped her gather courage, she decided to report the incident to Mumbai Police. “I was crying in my bed after the incident.” “One of my Indian friends advised me to upload the video footage of the incident and inform the Mumbai Police,” she detailed.
#LIVE | I didn’t have capacity to go to the Police station after that, because it was midnight, I didn’t know how to file a case, I didn’t know how to give evidence…: Korean Vlogger Hyojeong Park who was harassed https://t.co/GAtGCvLDbU pic.twitter.com/lmddao6glL
— Republic (@republic) December 1, 2022
When asked about the response in South Korea to the horrific incident, Park stated that she has not yet informed her family, including her mother, because “she has her own problems.”
When asked if she was satisfied with the Police action, she stated, “It’s a tricky question. I must say that I am happy with it. I’d like to think the police would have done the same thing if I hadn’t been a foreigner or if I hadn’t had a video.”
After the incident, Hyojeong Park aka Mhyochi was blamed by a few people for being over-friendly. Mhyochi said, “One thing I was afraid of was that I could beat him if he was alone, but if he was with a friend group waiting there, that’s pretty scary.” “Please don’t tell me if I have done something wrong. Did I? Maybe I should stop smiling at strangers. That’s right? Not being nice to other people. Is that what you are saying? Don’t tell me that I have done something wrong. Every time this thing happens, even in Egypt, there are always people saying that I have done something wrong.” She then asked the person blaming her for what had happened to leave the stream and unfollow her.
‘My perception about India won’t change with this incident’
Even this experience, according to Park, will not change her perception of India because “it is the people who have done wrong.” “It will not change in any way. This could have occurred anywhere, in any country.” She asked people not to judge the country based on a five-minute video. “I get free paani-puri on the street 99% of the time when I meet amazing people who invite me to weddings. It’s not about India; it’s about people who have wronged.”
Moreover, Hyojeong encouraged people who face similar situations but somehow do not speak up against it. “I want this to be an example for people, not just for women, to speak up if you are harassed,” she said.
