Korean-speaking customers' questions answered with "English, please"
Frequent controversies over racism, sexual harassment
Experts warn of "side effects such as instilling distorted values"

'Brandy Melville's' first store in Korea is drawing disapproving looks from consumers. The brand, already embroiled in racism controversies, is insisting on 'English-only service' at its Korean store as well.

According to industry sources on the 8th, at Brandy Melville's first Korean store in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, all in-store staff serve customers in English. Ask a question in Korean and the answer comes back: "English, please." Staff recruitment was also conducted through 'an English-language post on the U.S. Instagram account,' which is understood to have targeted 'foreigners who can speak English.'

The country selection options on the Brandy Melville website include ▲ the United States ▲ the United Kingdom ▲ Australia and other English-speaking countries, along with ▲ Europe ▲ Japan and others. But even when Japan is selected, the site is displayed in English rather than Japanese.

Brandy Melville was founded in the early 1980s by Italian-born Silvio Marsan together with his son Stephan. From soon after opening, it has generated a variety of controversies, including selling only small sizes, racism, sexual harassment and design plagiarism. As a company that has caused numerous problems in the United States enters Korea and shuns the Korean language, resentment is building, particularly in online communities.

What's more, Brandy Melville sells clothing in only one size: S (small). As a brand that manufactures clothing targeting only thin people, wearing Brandy Melville is also proof that 'I am thin.' In the United States, one side effect has been the emergence of teenage girls who developed anorexia while attempting the 'Brandy Melville challenge' (a challenge to lose weight to fit into the small clothing sizes).

Racism controversies have also been unrelenting. According to a documentary by the U.S. network HBO, executives demanded that female employees in their teens and 20s provide not only full-body photos but also photos of their feet and chests. Employees who were not slim were told they were being fired for not matching the brand's aesthetic. People of color were mostly assigned to departments without customer contact (such as stockroom work).

Netizen A said, "This is a malicious company whose moral hazard is so serious that a documentary was made overseas to expose it, so its entry into Korea is worrying," adding, "I'm worried young girls will be negatively influenced by Brandy Melville."

Netizen B criticized, "It's astonishing that while doing business in Korea they excluded Koreans and hired international students or working-holiday visitors from English-speaking countries," adding, "They entered Korea with no understanding whatsoever of Koreans' sensibilities or language."

Experts warn that Brandy Melville's entry into Korea could instill distorted values in Korean women in their teens and 20s. The concern is that the perception that only those who speak English well and are thin can wear its clothes, even in Korea, could stoke their desire to show off and their vanity.

Attorney Shin Dong-woo of DAEON Law Firm expressed concern: "In the United States, multiple sanctions and lawsuits involving Brandy Melville are under way, but under current Korean law there are no suitable means to sanction this," adding, "Brandy Melville's policies could instill distorted values in consumers in their teens and 20s and cause various side effects, so a brake is needed."

While most brands at home and abroad today pursue diversity in race, body type, gender and age, Brandy Melville clings to a 'young, thin, white' supremacy. Moreover, its haughty and brazen approach of shunning the 'Korean language' in Korea may inspire envy in some, but it is provoking resentment in the majority. Critics keep pointing out that Brandy Melville, which is expanding into Asian countries including Korea, Japan, China and Singapore, appears to need an 'understanding of local sensibilities.'

Newsway Reporter Yang Mi-jeong