The FIFA World Cup, football’s biggest and most prestigious tournament, brings fans from all over the world together over their shared love for the game.
For content creator Yoon Su-jin, popularly known online as “Ino Cat,” however, her experience at the tournament took an unfortunate turn while cheering for South Korea in their tournament opener against the Czech Republic.
Known for short-form entertainment videos, lifestyle content, travel posts and comedy clips, Ino Cat boasts over 9 million followers across her profiles on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Like countless other supporters, she was excited to see her team start its World Cup campaign.
The action on the field lived up to all the hype. Even though the Czechs scored first off a well-worked long throw in, the Taegeuk Warriors staged a spirited comeback to turn the game on it’s head and snatch all three points, thanks to goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyeu. Even though the Korean performance made for a memorable evening, an incident in the stands soured the occasion.
As Ino Cat was filming herself during the game at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, a man seated behind her was spotted making a “slant-eye” gesture by pulling the corners of his eyes. The gesture is seen as racist and disrespectful towards East Asians.
The clip was later posted to her Instagram account with a caption that read: “Tell me if I’m just being too sensitive” in Korean. Another caption, in English, said: “POV: When you experienced racism at the World Cup.”
The post quickly went viral, causing controversy and sparking significant outrage against the man, who was later identified as Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes.
It later emerged that Bernal was employed as president of the College of Geomatics and Topographic Surveying Engineers of Jalisco, a position he has reportedly resigned from following the public outcry generated by the incident.
He also posted a subsequent video apology, accepting responsibility for his actions.
“Whenever a foreigner visits Mexico, we want them to feel at home, and that is the exact opposite of what I did,” Bernal said. “I want to make a public apology to Ino Cat, to the Korean woman who suffered this inappropriate gesture on my part a few days ago at the match between Korea at the stadium in Guadalajara.
“I think it is good to know when one is making a mistake,” he added. “And this is something that really hurts me because of the situation this has caused, but I really wanted to say from my heart that I am very sorry and that it will never happen again.”
Several Mexican fans also reached out to the South Korean social media personality, assuring her that Bernal’s actions were in no way representative of the country or the spirit of the World Cup.
Ino Cat has since thanked fans for their overwhelming support, saying most of her interactions with locals have been positive.
“There are strange people in the world, but I realized once again that there are many more good people at the World Cup,” Ino Cat responded.
The Korean girl who was mocked for her facial features by a Mexican man turned out to be a Korean influencer.
— Kara (@UTDKarra) June 14, 2026
The incident went so viral that the man, identified as Ulises Bernal, was forced to resign from his job and later posted a public video apologizing.
The influencer, Ino… pic.twitter.com/NFBihhlPBz
Next, South Korea takes on hosts Mexico in Zapopan, and Ino Cat is expected to be at Akron Stadium once again, enjoying every second of the action.
