5 Asian TikTokers You Should Be Following
Written By Josephine Man’ 23
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Annie Wu is a Chinese-American influencer and social justice activist based in New York City. She is an active contributor to @shityoushouldcareabout on Instagram, as well as on their online blog. You might have seen some of her infographics, like the ones below, floating around Instagram, Twitter, or other social media platforms that highlight ways that individuals can be allies to the Asian American community as well as the Black community. Her TikToks focus on sociopolitics, social justice, and activism for Gen Z and she is a creative that is definitely making a positive impact in the world!
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Remy Park who goes by @veggiekins on TikTok is a Korean-American culinary creative and blogger also based in New York City. She posts wonderful vegan and gluten-free recipes on her TikTok, as well as her Instagram and Youtube. On TikTok she has amassed over 187,000 followers and has accumulated over 3.7 million likes total on her videos. From vegan matcha turtle cookies to vegan gluten-free japchae, Remy has never failed in wowing people with her culinary prowess. Besides recipe videos, Remy films a ton of ‘A Day in my Life’ and ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos, which not to mention, are super aesthetically pleasing and nice to watch.
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Padmini Dey, @padzdey, is a Bangladeshi-American who makes content centered around mental wellness, mindfulness, and healing. She is a firm believer in community-building through sharing her mental health journey online and hopes to reach out to those in underserved BIPOC communities. Padmini confronts issues such as toxic social media presence, corporate America, pandemic burnout, and imposter syndrome in her TikToks, making them feel as relatable as ever. Her videos offer a sense of comfort as she navigates self-love and self-compassion. Some of my favorite TikToks of Padmini’s include her journal prompt videos and her affirmation videos, which I watch as part of my own self-care routine!
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Maddy Park is another Korean-American creative hailing from the Big Apple. Her TikTok @cafemaddy has a following of over 380k followers and she has amassed over 8 million likes. Her recipe videos mainly focus on traditional Korean comfort dishes such as soondubu jjigae (spicy soft tofu stew) and kongnamul bap (soybean sprout rice). Within her recipe videos, Maddy will also incorporate a Korean lesson of the day and reflect on Korean vocabulary words that she finds meaningful. Maddy has even started holding classes via Zoom, teaching individuals how to make kimchi using her beloved recipe. Most recently, Maddy has launched a mutual aid fund in partnership with Lyft called cafemaddycab that offers free car rides for the Asian elderly and Asian women in New York City, in light of the rise in Asian hate crimes. Maddy’s work as not only an exceptional chef but also as a community organizer shows that she is an all-around talented individual making a huge impact on the lives of many.
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While browsing through your for you page, you have probably come across young social justice activist Hailey Cheng’s videos (@haileeych). Hailey is a Chinese-American first-year student at Columbia University who intends to study political science. Her videos are centered around intersectional social issues, as well as current news. Most importantly, many of her videos cover the rise in xenophobia and Asian hate crimes as she raises awareness on concepts such as Orientalism, the model minority myth, and Asian fetishization. With over 409K followers and 17.7 million views, Hailey’s videos have garnered the attention of many including celebrities like Daniel Dae Kim and Bella Hadid who have reposted her videos on their own Instagram stories. Hailey has also been reposted by media publications such as BuzzFeed and NextShark as her videos on TikTok have been integral in raising awareness and bringing forth change to the Asian American community.
