Taunton Party Company Stands Up For ‘Respectful Casting’

‘Sticking a white performer’ into a non white character role isn’t ‘respectful’ the company says

A Taunton party company sparked debate on its Facebook page this week after standing up for ‘respectful’ casting.

Premier Princess Parties on Station Road in Somerset, explained to its customers why it was unable to bring the character Rumi from the hit K-Pop Demon Hunters to children’s birthday parties.

The Netflix movie has been a raging global success. It’s been lauded for its attention to detail with historic and traditional Korean culture, appealing to fans world wide.

In August this year, the accuracy of the movie was investigated by Senior Journalist Yuna Ku for the BBC.

For the article, she was told by 30-year-old Lee Yu-min: “I’ve seen plenty of films and dramas that touched on Korean culture, but they were always full of errors. They would confuse it with Chinese or Japanese traditions, show actors speaking awkward Korean, and reduce everything to a shallow imitation.”

“But I was genuinely astonished at KDH’s portrayal of our culture.” Pointing to the opening scene, she says: “A thatched-roof house from the Joseon Dynasty, ordinary people in hanbok [traditional Korean clothing] with their distinct hairstyles – the details were almost perfect.”

With Korean culture – particularly South Korean pop-culture and K-Pop – being hugely popular, it’s no surprise parents are clamouring for Huntr/x or the Saja Boys to entertain at children’s birthday parties.

When Premier Princess Parties explained on Facebook why they would not be providing these characters, the company was forced to place commenting restrictions after the post got a lot of ‘traction’.

Referring to the casting of other Global Majority characters, the business owners said: ‘Sticking a white performer in a moana dress just isn’t respectful — and that’s not who we are.’

The practise of casting white people in the roles of East Asian characters is rooted in racism and known as yellowface.

Premier Princess Parties has asked if there are performers local to Taunton who ‘fit the bill for portraying Rumi’ to call them up.

The full post said:

‘ Let’s Talk About Character Casting

‘We’ve had soooo many messages lately asking if we can have Rumi from K-Pop Demon Hunters at parties — and we totally get why! She’s awesome and the kids are obsessed !

‘But here’s why we have to say no

‘When it comes to kids dressing up or adults doing cosplay — anyone can be anyone! That’s part of the fun! We love seeing your little ones dressed up..

‘But as a professional character company, it’s a little different. Because we charge for performers, we have to make sure our casting is respectful. None of our team are of Asian descent, so it wouldn’t feel right for us to portray Rumi, Zoey or Mira.

‘We sometimes hear, “The kids won’t notice, it’s just a bit of fun! And for a lot of parents they probably wouldn’t even think twice about it. But ethically it’s not something we’re comfortable with.

‘It’s the same reason that in almost 10 years, you’ve never seen us offer Moana, Jasmine, Mirabel, or Tiana. Sticking a white performer in a moana dress just isn’t respectful — and that’s not who we are.

‘Our K-Pop parties have still been a huge hit — the kids love the makeovers, music, and fun! We’ve got months of K-Pop events booked, and everyone’s having the best time

‘Are we missing out significantly financially wise by not offering Rumi?

‘Yes. But staying true to our values and showing respect for other peoples cultures will always come first.

‘If your a performer local to Taunton and fit the bill for portraying Rumi ( call me )

‘EDIT – this post is getting a lot of traction which I never expected whilst I think it’s great for people to think about this sort of thing for the first time, ask questions and to learn keep it nice in the comments please ‘

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