#ClubhouseToxic: Thailand’s rural Isaan majority fight back against Bangkok elite stereotypes

Despite being the birthplace of multiple Thai celebrities, agricultural Isaan has long been derided as backward by the country’s Bangkok-focused elite

Recent leaked recordings of Clubhouse users insulting the region sparked a backlash – and spotlight Isaan’s importance in Thailand’s next elections

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The historically underdeveloped rice-producing region of Isaan and its people have long faced discrimination in Thailand. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:30am, 12 Nov 2021Updated: 8:53pm, 12 Nov 2021

Online abuse aimed at Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region on popular audio chat app Clubhouse has provoked a backlash among its people, who make up roughly one-third of the population and have helped swing past elections yet have long been looked down upon by the country’s Bangkok-focused elite.

Despite being the birthplace of many top sports stars, actors, rappers and other Thai celebrities, the historically underdeveloped rice-producing region of 20 provinces has for decades been derided as backward and its people stereotyped as ill-educated and uncouth.

This discrimination reared its head again in a Clubhouse chat on November 4, in which Isaan people – who share a proud culture and dialect closer to neighbouring Laos – were called “dog-eaters”, “lazy … real-life zombies” and incapable of anything more than “growing rice for city folk to eat”. One user even dragged K-pop star Lisa of girl group Blackpink into the discussion, questioning why she had left the region of her birth for South Korea “if Isaan is really that great”.

With looming local polls that could pave the way for a national vote as early as next year, authorities have been quick to vow action against the Clubhouse users involved. Yet not before leaked recordings of the remarks caused a social media uproar, with the Twitter hashtag #ClubhouseToxic being shared nearly 2.5 million times.

Prominent figures from the region hit back at the sweeping generalisations, with singer Kwannapa Ruangsri asking the Clubhouse users “why do you despise Isaan people so much?” and pro-democracy protest leader and teacher Attapon Buapat blaming colonialism for Thai society being “stuck in an elite mentality”.