Both Yoo Jae-suk and Park Bo-young said "Yumocha"... Subtitle Controversy Sparks Debate

Although called a stroller, the subtitle says yua-cha (baby carriage)

National MC Yoo Jae-suk's web variety show ‘Pinggego’ unexpectedly received a flood of malicious comments due to the word ‘yumocha’ (stroller).

On the 3rd, the web variety show ‘Pinggego’ released a video featuring a conversation between Park Bo-young, Yoo Jae-suk, and Jo Se-ho.

Photo by YouTube 'Pinggego' capture

Actress Park Bo-young shared an episode about pushing a stroller while going to Everland with her nephews.

Park Bo-young said, “When I push a stroller, people don’t look at me because they are looking at the baby,” adding, “Because they focus on the baby, their gaze rarely reaches the baby's mother. When I push a stroller, others come up to me thinking I’m the baby's mother and ask, ‘How many months old is the baby?’”

In sharing this episode, not only Park Bo-young but also the cast members Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho used the word ‘yumocha’ (stroller). However, the subtitles all displayed ‘yuacha’ (baby carriage) instead.

Recommendation to Use ‘Yuacha’ Instead of ‘Yumocha’

‘Yumocha (乳母車)’ has been pointed out as a gender-discriminatory term. The Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, when releasing a gender-equal language dictionary, suggested that since childcare is also the father's responsibility, it is preferable to replace ‘yumocha’ with ‘yuacha’.

The National Institute of the Korean Language also explained on its website last year, “Currently, both ‘yumocha’ and ‘yuacha’ are registered as standard words in the Standard Korean Dictionary, so both expressions can be considered standard. However, since there is a history of purifying ‘yumocha’ to ‘yuacha’ or ‘agicha’ (baby carriage), it is recommended to use ‘yuacha’ or ‘agicha’ whenever possible.”

However, there were criticisms that it was excessive to change the subtitle to ‘yuacha’ even though the cast members said ‘yumocha’.

Some netizens expressed anger, saying, “‘Yumocha’ is not a wrong word, so was it really necessary to change the subtitles?” “This is feminism gone too far,” “Whether to call it ‘yumocha’ or ‘yuacha’ is a matter of personal values, so why does the production team arbitrarily change what the cast said?” and “Why change something trivial like this?” Some even commented, “I will unsubscribe.”

In response, others said, “If you think it’s trivial, respect those who consider it important,” and “Words inevitably change as times change. It is right to use the recommended terms.”

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