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McRefugee

Person staying overnight in a 24-hour McDonald's restaurant


Person staying overnight in a 24-hour McDonald's restaurant

McRefugee is a neologism and McWord referring to those who stay overnight in a 24-hour McDonald's fast food restaurant.

The term was first coined in Japanese as . That term had been largely replaced by , literally "net café refugee". In Japan, most McDonald's restaurants are operated around the clock. McRefugees in Japan were reportedly mostly day laborers and some high school aged teenagers who chose to stay at McDonald's restaurants overnight as a cheaper alternative to net cafés.

The phenomenon and word spread to Hong Kong as zh (麥難民), where some McRefugees play video games and are known as McGamers. McDonald's opened 24-hour branches in mainland China in September 2006, which quickly attracted McRefugees.

In early October 2015, the death of a woman in a 24-hour Hong Kong McDonald's restaurant in Kowloon Bay brought attention to the phenomenon of McRefugees. McRefugees can be found in other 24-hour branches as well. Among the more than 1,600 homeless people in Hong Kong in 2015, about 250 were McRefugees.

In 2018, a study conducted by the Society for Community Organization found that there were 384 McRefugees in Hong Kong. In August of the same year, a movie concerning about this topic started to film in Hong Kong, with the title I'm Livin' It, mimicking the slogan of the restaurant, "I'm loving it".

References

References

  1. (2007-05-01). "'McRefugees' in Hong Kong?". [[USA Today]].
  2. (2007-03-30). "コーヒー1杯で「宿泊」 「マック難民」が急増". [[Livedoor]].
  3. (2007-04-30). "日式麥難民現象殺到香港". 蘋果日報.
  4. (2007-05-01). "McD's shelters 'McRefugees'". New24/[[Associated Press]].
  5. Wang, Danyang. (2010-06-02). "Homeless discover home comforts in restaurants". [[China Daily]].
  6. Wang, Yanan. (2015-10-06). "In Hong Kong, a crowded restaurant, a death unnoticed and 'McRefugees'". Washington Post.
  7. (2015-10-27). "The night time 'McRefugees' of Hong Kong". BBC News.
  8. "'McRefugees': McDonald's Shelters Hong Kong's Homeless". NBC News.
  9. Ng, Naomi. (2016-01-09). "Hong Kong's shame: homeless numbers soar amid high rents and squalid living conditions". South China Morning Post.
  10. Su, Xinqi. (2018-03-04). "Homeless women more vulnerable in rising McSleeper trend". South China Morning Post.
  11. Ra, Ryan. (2018-08-27). "黃慶勳《麥路人》正式開鏡拜神". [[HK Film Blog]].
  12. {{YouTube
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