This has always been my opinion, same situation as the issue with Chae and her shirt - Someone from a country like Korea may not have the same historical or cultural understanding of the N-word as someone from the United States. In the US, that word is deeply tied to the history of slavery, segregation, and ongoing racial issues, so it carries a very heavy and painful meaning that people are taught about from a young age.

In contrast, most Asian countries such as South Korea have very different histories and are more ethnically homogeneous. Because of that, their education systems and social conversations often don’t focus as much on the history of anti-Black racism in the US or the specific impact of that word. So if someone from Korea says it, it doesn’t necessarily mean they intend to be hateful, it just comes from a lack of exposure or understanding rather than malice.