Home > National > Social Affairs

Korean woman alleges racial discrimination at McDonald’s in New York

Published: 11 Oct. 2025, 15:14 Updated: 13 Oct. 2025, 15:45

A video of a woman alleging she was discriminated against at a McDonald’s in New York. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A Korean woman has alleged racial discrimination at a McDonald’s store in the United States after waiting more than 70 minutes for her order and being mocked by staff.

The woman, a Korean YouTuber, uploaded a video on Friday titled “A New Way of Racism at American Restaurants” to her YouTube channel and Instagram.

In the video, the YouTuber said she and her companions visited the McDonald’s store in New York at around 4 p.m. on a weekday, when the restaurant was relatively quiet, and placed an order. Their food, however, never arrived, while customers who came in later were served first.

“After about an hour, I couldn’t keep a straight face,” she said. “I asked the staff five times when our order would be ready, and each time they just smiled and said, ‘It’s coming soon.’”

After more than 70 minutes with no food, she and her group left the restaurant empty-handed.

As they were leaving, she overheard a staff member in the kitchen saying, “They’ll probably never come back to McDonald’s,” which brought her to tears.

She revealed the location as a McDonald’s in Rochester, New York, and claimed it was the second time she had experienced “subtle racism” since moving to a small town where the Asian population is below 5 percent.

“I hope this kind of subtle discrimination disappears soon,” she said, adding that she plans to file a formal complaint with McDonald’s headquarters.

The video has drawn significant attention, receiving more than 7.6 million views on Instagram within a day.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]