A Thai transgender student in South Korea has shared a video of herself getting beaten up allegedly by a Korean man, warning Thai women to be careful when traveling abroad.
Although South Korea is one of the top destinations for Thais due to its music and TV influences, Facebook user Kittikhun Sangtubtim, who lives in Seoul studying the Korean language, said she now felt “scared and paranoid” after she was allegedly beaten by a Korean guy who she said tried to flirt with her outside a restaurant on Sunday night.
“The Korean men in TV series don’t really exist,” Kittikhun wrote. “I used to like the country, but now I’m scared and paranoid.”
The video, which was posted on Monday and has received over 700,000 views on Facebook, shows four people fighting in a street.
Kittikhun said she is the person in the video seen lying on the ground, with her attacker kneeling on top of her and her friend unsuccessfully trying to get him off her.
The fight eventually ended when passers-by intervened, pulling the man away and remonstrating with him.
According to the student, the fight happened on Sunday night when Kittikhun went to dinner with a friend.
She said a “drunk Korean guy” started flirting with her, repeatedly saying “Love you!”
Kittikhun said she rejected him, saying she had a boyfriend and was not interested.
“He thought I was a woman. He was so annoying. Then we started insulting each other. But he wouldn’t stop and waited to insult me again in front of the restaurant.”
The night ended at the police station, when Kittikhun said her attacker laughed after finding out she was a transgender person.
“I want everyone to know that when there’s a problem, it’s really tough to deal with these people, even if you’re not in the wrong.”
“I’d like to warn women who go out without male friends. It’s dangerous. He thought I was a woman, and he still beat me.”
It is unclear if any charges have been brought against any of the group.
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