DUNE actor Timothée Chalamet visited South Korea to promote the second part of the blockbuster movie and hung out with some of the biggest K-Celebrities, like comedian Yoo Jae Suk on You Quiz On The Block.
Actor Timothée Chalamet | Ilgan Sports
Throughout his visit, Timothée Chalamet was courteous—and Koreans can’t get enough of his respect for the Korean culture, like his greetings in particular.
Timothée Chalamet Spotted In Seoul — Here Is Everything He Did So Far
On You Quiz On The Block, and in fan sightings of him departing from Korea at Incheon National Airport, Timothée Chalamet can be spotted bowing to either greet or bid farewell (as Koreans do).
Timothée Chalamet on “You Quiz On The Block.” | tvN
While doing so, Timothée Chalamet does not bring his hands together in front of him—a gesture that a lot of Western celebrities show when visiting Asian countries.
When Western celebrities, like actor Michael Fassbender, show the “hapjang” (praying hands) gesture, most Koreans see it as an attempt to be respectful—though, because it is not actually common in Korean greetings, it has been regarded more as being relatively ignorant of different Asian cultures.
This small but significant detail has since won the hearts of all Koreans, who are now praising Timothée Chalamet for knowing the basics of the culture he’s visiting and bringing genuine respect to his fans in Korea.
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Some believe his public love for taekwondo, a Korean martial art form, must have taught him well!
| theqoo “Wow. This is the first time I’m seeing a Western celeb not putting their hands together in front of them while bowing.” “Learned well! Haha. He looks more Korean than I do. LOL.” “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Western celeb not putting their hands together in front of them.” “Of course, our taekwon-kid.” “All thanks to taekwondo.” “Yo… I’m starting to REALLY like this dude. See? How people greet one another is so important.” “He didn’t put his hands together… Damn, this is insane.” “THAT’S MY TIMMY.” “Expected nothing less from our taekwon-kid.” | theqoo “What a good dude, haha.” “HEY! He’s a real one!” “Wow. I f*cking love this, LMAO.” “Aw, this is great!” “I love Timothée.” “It’s impressive that he knew not to put his hands together in front of him. He must’ve been told about K-Culture. Haha. Or is it because he learned taekwondo? That would explain a lot.” “I STAN.” “I love it so much that he didn’t do the hands thing.” “Taekwondo-boy.” “This is great…”
Watch Timothée Chalamet and the DUNE cast at the red carpet event in Korea:
