"Self-Satisfaction Choo Mi-ae", "Say a Word to President Moon" - Chungju City's Promotional YouTube Crosses the Line

Chungju City Issues Apology After Deleting Video on the 1st
"Careless Remarks... An Undeniably Wrong Act"

A video uploaded on the 24th of last month on the Chungju City YouTube channel 'ChungTV'. / Photo by YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Chungju City in Chungbuk Province has recently been embroiled in controversy over inappropriate remarks made to high school students in a video posted on its official YouTube channel. Amid growing backlash, Chungju City deleted the video and issued an apology.

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, 'ChungTV,' Chungju City's promotional YouTube channel, visited a high school in Chungju to film a video.

The video was produced in a parody style of the Mnet audition program 'Superstar K,' featuring Kim Seontae, a public official from Chungju City's Public Relations Team and the channel operator, interacting with the high school students. The content unfolded as Kim interviewed the participants.

In the 5-minute and 17-second video, Kim judged the students' talent show performances and engaged in a slang word guessing contest with them. The problematic remarks occurred during the slang guessing segment.

In the video, when a student introduced himself as "1st-year Go XX," Kim asked, "Which Go family are you from?" When the student replied again, "Jeju Go family," Kim asked, "By any chance, Yoo Jeong?" This was a reference to Go Yoojeong, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in her second trial for murdering her ex-husband, dismembering the body, and partially disposing of it.

Additionally, when students asked the meaning of the slang term 'Jamancho' (a slang meaning 'seeking natural encounters'), Kim said, "I thought of it, but honestly, I can't say it out loud." He then added, "Surely, it’s not that. From my perspective, it seems like self-satisfaction. Self-satisfaction is ugly."

When the students gave a hint that it was a term used in dating, Kim answered, "Self-satisfaction Choo Mi-ae." When Kim mentioned Choo Mi-ae, the Minister of Justice, subtitles reading 'Prison bars of the Prosecutor's Office' briefly appeared at the bottom of the video.

Apology posted on the Chungju City YouTube channel on the 1st. / Photo by YouTube capture

Moreover, Kim answered 'Banmo' (short for 'banmal mode,' meaning informal speech) as "Ban Ki-moon's mother," and for 'Joppe' (meaning 'if you like, a Facebook message is sent'), he answered "Like feminist." He also told a student to "say something to President Moon Jae-in."

Netizens reacted with shock to the content of the video. They criticized it as inappropriate language from a public official who should maintain political neutrality and said it was not something to say to students. Comments on the 'ChungTV' channel included, "It's shocking that they didn't realize this would cause problems," "Have they forgotten the political neutrality of public officials?" "Why mention a criminal's name to children?" and "There are topics suitable for humor and those that are not."

As the controversy grew, Chungju City deleted the video on the 1st and posted an apology. In the apology, Chungju City stated, "We sincerely apologize for causing concern to viewers due to careless remarks in the recently produced ChungTV video," and added, "The excessive expressions mentioned during the video production process were unquestionably wrong."

They continued, "We have first apologized to the students featured in the video," and "We will take time to reflect for the time being."

Meanwhile, ChungTV, launched in April, is Chungju City's promotional YouTube channel that gained popularity in internet communities for its unique B-grade sensibility content. As of the 1st, the channel has 191,000 subscribers, and Kim, who operates the channel, recently appeared on the tvN variety show 'You Quiz on the Block.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.