diff --git a/R/row_spec.R b/R/row_spec.R
index e4f6df1..fcbd226 100644
--- a/R/row_spec.R
+++ b/R/row_spec.R
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@
                            color, background, align, font_size, angle,
                            hline_after, extra_latex_after) {
   table_info <- magic_mirror(kable_input)
-  out <- enc2utf8(as.character(kable_input))
+  out <- solve_enc(kable_input)
 
   if (table_info$duplicated_rows) {
     dup_fx_out <- fix_duplicated_rows_latex(out, table_info)