"JjangXdeul, Neohui Nara-ro Doragha!" How Do You Feel About the 'Hate Criticism' Directed at China?

"Hate Speech Such as 'Go Back to Your Country' and 'JjangX'
Concerns Over the Surge of 'Random Hate' During the COVID-19 Outbreak"

Hwang Daeheon of the Korean short track speed skating national team is racing in the men's 1000m quarterfinal heat 4 at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, on the afternoon of the 7th, the third day of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Isn't it Chinese JjangX?", "Let's not call them Chinese compatriots!"

On the first day of the short track individual events at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a series of controversial biased decisions led to ongoing criticism directed at the host country, China.

The problem lies in the hateful criticism emerging from some quarters. Mostly indiscriminate verbal abuse such as "All the Chinese X in Korea should leave," "Chinese compatriots? They are just Chinese. They really don't help."

When COVID-19 was first reported in 2020, there was also public sentiment calling for discrimination against certain races and the expulsion of Chinese international students and Chinese compatriots living in Korea, raising concerns that such hatred might spread again.

On the 7th, in the men's 1000m short track semifinals held at the Beijing Capital Indoor Stadium, Hwang Dae-heon (23, Gangwon Province Office) and Lee Jun-seo (22, Korea National Sport University) were disqualified. Hwang Dae-heon finished first in heat 1, and Lee Jun-seo finished second in heat 2. However, after the race, video review resulted in disqualification.

Due to Hwang Dae-heon's disqualification, Li Wenlong (China) advanced to the final, and due to Lee Jun-seo's disqualification, Wu Dajing (China) also advanced to the final. Immediately after the race, the Korean team strongly protested to the chief referee and sent protest letters to the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Given this situation, criticism against China is pouring in. It is pointed out that not only the spirit of sportsmanship was damaged but also the global festival of the Olympics was ruined.

Kim, a company employee in his 40s who watched the short track event, said, "I want to ask the host country what sportsmanship means," and raised his voice, "I don't know how to accept this absurd reality where no medals come from a short track powerhouse."

Hateful remarks against Chinese people and Chinese compatriots continued. One netizen said, "Because of these JjangX bastards, my stomach hurts," and raised the level of criticism by saying, "I wish we just didn't watch with the Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans in China)." Another netizen also said, "Don't mention the word compatriot anymore! I'm really so angry!" and questioned, "How can that be a disqualification?"

At the first day of the short track individual events at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, biased judgments by referees have led to ongoing criticism and hatred toward Chinese people. The photo shows a post on a university online community advocating for the expulsion of Chinese people. Photo by Internet Community Capture

Meanwhile, on a university internet community, a post titled "If there are Chinese international students, please voluntarily withdraw" was uploaded and received comments agreeing with it.

There are also opinions calling to stop such hateful remarks. Park, a 30-year-old office worker, said, "We can protest biased decisions, but I don't think hateful remarks are acceptable," adding, "Showing such behavior can actually make one look like the host country that caused this situation." He sympathizes with anti-China sentiment but opposes hateful remarks.

Hateful remarks against Chinese people and Chinese compatriots are not new. Earlier, when COVID-19 spread from Wuhan, China in 2020, there was social controversy as public sentiment disparaging Chinese compatriots living mainly in Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, increased.

Also, from the third week of February 2020 (16?22), when COVID-19 was reported and confirmed cases appeared domestically, terms like "Chinese," "Chinese hate," and "Chinese entry" ranked high in social media searches. The frequency of hateful expressions like "JjangX," which disparage Chinese people, also increased.

In April 2020, when COVID-19 was first reported, the area around Daerim Central Market in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Asia Economy DB

As hateful criticism continued, then National Human Rights Commission Chairperson Choi Young-ae visited Guro-dong, Guro-gu, to comfort Chinese compatriots suffering from hateful expressions due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, regarding the short track "biased decision" controversy, the International Skating Union (ISU) stated that it cannot accept protests related to the decision. On the 8th, ISU issued a statement saying that protests regarding the decisions in the men's 1000m short track event at the Beijing Winter Olympics cannot be accepted and dismissed protests from Korea and Hungary.

ISU explained, "There was a protest from the Korean team asking about Hwang Dae-heon's semifinal disqualification, and as announced on the venue video screen, Hwang Dae-heon was penalized for a 'late lane change causing contact.'" It also said, "The Hungarian team protested that Shaolin Sandor Liu received a yellow card in the final, but as announced on the venue video screen, he committed two fouls and received the yellow card." It added, "The first foul was a lane change causing contact on the straight track, and the second foul was blocking the opponent with his arm at the finish line."

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