Obligatory “as a Korean…” post
I don’t really know much about 은석, but I’ve been seeing all the posts about 깜둥이 vs. n-word. Which was already pissing me off, then I just found out he was referring to a PICTURE OF HIS YOUNGER SELF.
So worst case, his comment showed internalized colourism (which wouldn’t be surprising, as a very dark skinned Korean I used to want white skin). NOT EQUIVALENT TO SAYING THE N-WORD.
I’m just so tired of people not realizing Korea existed before k-pop became popular. Koreans have been inhabiting our land for over 5000 years now. We have been a homogenous society for thousands of years up until recently.
I get that it’s the choice of these K-pop groups to market globally, which means yes, they should be considerate of their fans and their political/racial climate. Using that word wasn’t smart, but comparing it to a white celebrity in Europe/North America saying the n-word is absolutely insane.
It reminded me of seeing comments about how Korean artists shouldn’t use “니가/네가” in songs because it SOUNDS like the n-word (which thankfully wasn’t a popular opinion, but still). Like ???? that is our language that we fought with blood to keep, even through 36 years of Japan’s colonization.
Again, I get that being a k-pop idol is a job. And if a group is choosing to appeal to a global audience, absolutely they should be mindful of that. And no I’m not saying Korea is perfect (trust me, we are far from it).
My point is: I’m tired of seeing people spreading misinformation about Korea just to help their argument in some fandom war (which I would argue are most people criticizing this man*). Please remember that Korea is an actual country that has been existing for thousands of years before you discovered k-pop.
ETA: ive been informed the “kid” is actually a 25 year old man. Now I’m judging him harsher for being stupid/insensitive enough to put that in a chat to his fans as a K-pop idol… Still don’t think he deserves to be called racist though