“I just bumped into Angelina Jolie. She was eating Samgyepsal,” a Korean shared on her Instagram, with a photo of Jolie.

Sitting across from Jolie was Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, the Hollywood actress’s 14-year-old son.

To the post, people responded by saying, “Oh my God, what is she doing here?” and “I can’t believe she and I are under the same sky (in Seoul).”

Jolie was last in Seoul officially for premiere of movie "Salt" in 2010, in which she starred as the heroine.

Jolie is also the Unite Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR)’s Special Envoy since 2012, engaging with decision makers on global displacement issues, contributing to the process of helping those forced to flee their homes worldwide.

South Korea recently denied refugee status but granted temporary stay permits to hundreds of Yemeni asylum seekers who arrived on the southern island of Jeju earlier this year. 

The arrival of Yemenis has fueled Islamophobia and anti-immigration sentiment among some Koreans, who have been openly demanding their deportation.  


By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com) and Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)