South Koreans confused by Busan airport background in US threat to Maduro.

Following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a blunt White House social media post drew unexpected attention among South Koreans online, with users quickly identifying the photo’s background as a South Korean airport and speculating about whether it contained a hidden message.

Tweet, which was posted White House’s official social media pages

The tweet, which was posted on Saturday to the White House’s official social media pages, featured a black-and-white photograph of US President Donald Trump heading up the stairs, stamped with the word FAFO, which stands for “F*** Around and Find Out”. The caption said, “No games. FAFO.”

While the statement was largely viewed as a warning to Maduro and his foes, Korean-language comments quickly flooded the post after online users identified the location as Busan’s Gimhae International Airport.

The image was shot in October during Trump’s visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a nearby airbase.

Screenshots of South Koreans comments questioning the photo choice spread on social media

Screenshots of Korean comments questioning the photo choice spread on social media, with some users wondering why the White House picked an image taken in South Korea for a message related to a US military mission in Latin America.

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Others thought that the image selection was intentional, referring to Washington’s larger efforts to limit Chinese and Russian influence in the Western Hemisphere.

“Is this just a coincidence, or is there a signal here?” one social media user asked.

Other users disputed that interpretation, claiming that the photograph was most likely taken from the White House photo archive with no clear geopolitical intent.

The conversation demonstrates how attentively South Korean online viewers scrutinize official US imagery, especially during times of heightened diplomatic or military tensions.

Foreign policy analysts say governments often prefer neutral images for formal pronouncements about military or diplomatic acts since imagery can be read symbolically by worldwide audiences even when no message is intended.