Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Huh Yunjin’s “Okay” Story: “Am I American?” Goes Viral
I’ve said worse than “okay” to my teachers. I told a creative writing professor at Columbia that his novel read like a tax return. He wasn’t wrong to fail me. Yunjin got off light.
LE SSERAFIM’s Huh Yunjin says she once answered her Korean dance teacher with “Okay,” and the teacher snapped: “You do not say okay to your teacher. Am I American?” She told the story on her podcast Huh’s Memo, and the clip passed 3.7 million views on X.
A quote post that said “there’s still countries living in 1893. it cannot possibly be that serious” got 2.4 million views and 80,000 likes. Half the replies agreed. The other half explained, at length, that it can.
Watch: Huh Yunjin’s “okay” story
A minute from Huh’s Memo, filmed in the back of a van. Yunjin, blonde, in a plaid halter top, holding a big microphone, explains that in Korea showing you understood is a form of respect. Then the story: she told her dance teacher “okay”, and the teacher snapped, “What did you say to me? You do not say okay to your teacher. Am I American?” Her verdict: never use “okay” with your elders.
Huh Yunjin on saying “okay” to her dance teacher (1:02)
What Yunjin actually said
“In Korea, responding and acknowledging that you understood what the other person said is very important, and it shows respect. But when I first moved here, I was not as aware of that.” The teacher said something and Yunjin said “Okay.” “She goes, ‘What did you say to me?’ and I was like, ‘What? What do you mean?’ She’s like, ‘You do not say okay to your teacher. Am I American?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, I am so sorry.’” Her lesson: “Never use ‘okay’ to your elders” (full quote).
K-POPIT points out the bigger thing: overseas kids show up to train speaking Korean but nobody teaches them the unwritten rules (K-POPIT). Yunjin was born in New York and grew up mostly in America. She learned it with one word.
Confession: I spent a year in New York trying to learn how to talk to an editor, and the rule was the same. Never say okay. Say “absolutely”. Say “great note”. Then go home and drink and write it your way.
So this “1893” business doesn’t impress me. Every room has a word you can’t use. The teacher wasn’t being a dinosaur, she was showing an American kid where she was. And the kid took it, apologised, and turned it into a podcast a decade later. That’s the whole career, really. Take the hit, keep the story.
— Nico
Huh Yunjin in photos
LE SSERAFIM Easy album showcase, February 2024
Wakemake campaign
LE SSERAFIM at the 2024 MTV EMAs
FAQ
What did Huh Yunjin say to her dance teacher?
As a trainee she answered her dance teacher with “Okay.” The teacher asked, “What did you say to me? You do not say okay to your teacher. Am I American?”
Where did Yunjin tell the okay story?
On episode 5 of her podcast Huh’s Memo, released in early November 2026.
Why is saying okay rude in Korea?
It isn’t rude among friends, but it’s casual. To a teacher or someone older, trainees are expected to answer formally, and Yunjin said she learned that “the hard way.”
Where did Huh Yunjin grow up?
She was born in New York in 2001 and spent much of her childhood in the United States before training in Korea. She is 25.
Why did the Yunjin clip go viral?
A quote post saying “there’s still countries living in 1893” passed 2.4 million views and 80,000 likes, and the original clip passed 3.7 million views.
— Nico. Okay. I mean, absolutely. Great note.
Fact-check: Scandal Planet Desk
Follow Nico on X @NicoGrey_XO for my takes before they hit the site.
Clip and stills: Huh’s Memo, as shared on X. Photos: agencies and campaign. ScandalPlanet watermark only.
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