Chinese Media Target Lee Hyori and Lee Su-geun... "Lack of Historical Knowledge, Crossed the Line and Insulted"

"Why Does the Korean Entertainment Industry Keep Bullying China?"

On the 17th, the English sister publication of China's state-run Global Times, Global Times, published an article titled "Why Do Korean Pop Stars Repeatedly Hurt the Feelings of Chinese Fans with Insults?" Photo by Global Times.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Reports are emerging one after another in China stating that "the Korean entertainment industry is insulting China due to a lack of knowledge about history and culture."

On the 17th, the English sister publication of the Chinese state-run Global Times, the Global Times, published an article titled "Why do Korean pop stars repeatedly insult and hurt the feelings of Chinese fans?"

The day before, the Global Times had published an article titled "Why does the Korean entertainment industry keep bothering China?"

The Global Times, with the subtitle "Foolish behavior," mentioned SBS variety show Running Man, singers Lee Hyori and Hwang Chi-yeul, and comedian Lee Soo-geun, criticizing the Korean entertainment industry for touching China's red lines on political issues in recent years, such as Running Man.

The Global Times stated, "Running Man recently used a game map in which the Chinese national flag and the Taiwanese flag were placed side by side, causing anger among Chinese netizens."

Earlier, Running Man aired a segment on the 6th where the cast played the board game "Blue Marble," and Chinese media took issue with the Chinese five-star red flag and Taiwan's "Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth" flag being placed side by side.

In response, Chinese netizens pointed out that Running Man violated the "One China" principle.

Also, singer Lee Hyori's joke on the August broadcast of MBC's "Hangout with Yoo," where she said, "What do you think of Mao?" was also criticized.

Regarding this, the Global Times questioned, "Some Chinese netizens wondered how Koreans would feel if Chinese entertainers used the names of Admiral Yi Sun-sin or King Sejong."

Article from China Huanqiu Shibao. Photo by Huanqiu Wang capture.

It added, "It is not uncommon for some Korean entertainers to make inappropriate remarks about China, and China-related content and performances are often used to entertain audiences in Korea."

The media cited Chinese experts who evaluated that "Korean entertainers tend to make inappropriate remarks easily because they enter the industry at a young age and do not have time to study the culture."

Furthermore, the Global Times said, "The pay for entertainers in China is several times that of Korea, making it a market that Korea cannot give up," and "Many Korean entertainment agencies will warn their artists not to discuss China's politics or history."

Regarding Lee Soo-geun, it claimed, "The famous comedian Lee Soo-geun often speaks 'fake Cantonese' to attract attention," and "Some programs and advertisements have crossed the line in mocking China and even insulted it."

The Global Times also stirred controversy in October over BTS's acceptance speech for the Van Fleet Award, accusing them of "ignoring the sacrifices of the Chinese military."

Meanwhile, there is an interpretation that the successive critical reports by Chinese media on the Korean entertainment industry are due to jealousy toward the Korean Wave (Hallyu).

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