“Why Do They Have the Same Eyes?”: Gent Compares Khoisan People and East Asians in Viral Video
- Australian-Hong Kong content creator Japhet Nip shared a video exploring why the Khoisan people of Southern Africa share facial features with East Asians
- Scientists confirm the Khoisan share zero ancestry with East Asia, with their lineage diverging from other human populations more than 100,000 years ago
- The video sparked a wave of responses from viewers who flipped the question entirely, arguing East Asians look like the Khoisan — not the other way around
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Source: Facebook
An Australian-Hong Kong content creator sparked a wide-ranging conversation about human origins after posting a video about the Khoisan people of Southern Africa on 21 September 2026.
Japhet Nip, who runs the page japhetsworld and is also known online as @japhetslife, shared a reaction-style clip recorded at home, asking why the Khoisan appear to share the same eye shape commonly associated with East Asian populations. His question quickly drew hundreds of comments from people across the world.
The science behind the resemblance
Scientists have a clear answer for why the similarity exists. The Khoisan carry what are known as epicanthic eye folds and high cheekbones, traits that anthropologists believe were present in early human ancestors long before populations began migrating out of Africa. According to reports, these features were not borrowed from East Asia; they are part of an ancient African inheritance that predates the existence of modern Asian populations.
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The Khoisan represent one of the oldest distinct human lineages on Earth, with their genetic line diverging from all other human populations more than 100,000 years ago. Geneticists have also found something remarkable within the group itself: two Khoisan men from the same village can be as genetically distinct from one another as a European is from an Asian, pointing to the extraordinary depth of human diversity within Southern Africa.
Viewers flip the question around
Many commenters pushed back on the framing of the video entirely, arguing the question was being asked the wrong way around.
@Kenya Watts wrote:
"You mean why do Asians have the same eyes as Khoisan people? Khoisan predate Asians by 50,000 years."
@Sunkissed Templeof Ra said:
"Since they are the oldest people on Earth... East Asians look like them, and not the other way around."
@Donnell Muhammad added:
"They don't look East Asian, East Asians look South African, but you already know this."
@Jay Hamlin noted:
"Even without looking African, Asians still carry 94% to 100% African mitochondrial DNA, proving that modern human ancestry is..."
@Salome Lue said:
"They're the first people. Yet they represent all the nations."
@Taye Thas Dutch shared:
"Yup. When people say I have Asian eyes, I correct them."
The debate on the Facebook page touched on something that geneticists have long confirmed: the further back you trace human ancestry, the more all roads lead to Africa, and to people who looked remarkably like the Khoisan still living in Southern Africa today.
See the full Facebook clip below:
More on Khoisan heritage and DNA
- Briefly News recently reported on a coloured woman whose DNA test revealed a surprising highest percentage in her ancestry, leaving her overjoyed.
- A South African TikToker's DNA results showed most of his ancestry traces back to Southern Africa, with one surprising percentage leaving viewers baffled.
- An American tourist's TikTok series introducing viewers to the Khoisan people living in Cape Town's mountains left many South Africans impressed.
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Source: Briefly News
