Elementary Student Says "I Beat Up Girls"... Broadcast Reporter Apologizes Over Subtitle Controversy

"Girls also do it → Girls get hit" Subtitle Error
"No Intention to Cause Gender Conflict" Apology Posted

Regarding the MBC report that sparked controversy for airing subtitles different from the actual statements of a male elementary school student while reporting on the dangers of the so-called 'Danggeun Knife,' and accused of fueling 'gender conflict,' the reporter who covered the story has posted an apology.

A report titled "Elementary School Students Obsessed with Carrot Knives, Injuries from Toy Knives Increasing," aired on MBC Newsdesk on the 21st. In a scene where a male elementary school student in the interview says, "Girls do it too," the subtitle "We beat up girls" was displayed.
[Photo by MBC Newsdesk]

On the 23rd, MBC Gyeongnam reporter A apologized through his YouTube channel, saying, "After internal discussions and multiple verification procedures regarding the controversial interview content, a correction report was issued," and added, "The original audio has stronger pronunciation than the altered audio aired in the report. Because of that, even when listening directly at the scene and during editing, I must have misheard it several times."

He continued, "Thanks to viewers pointing it out, senior colleagues inside the company listened carefully multiple times and were able to correct it immediately," and said, "I sincerely apologize to those who felt uncomfortable due to my negligence."

He also stated, "Regarding some opinions that the children were labeled as potential criminals, I never intended that nor meant to portray it that way," and added, "There was no intention or thought to drive this into a gender conflict. For reference, I am not involved in any community activities supporting one gender or hate."

Reporter A said, "The coverage, which started with the hope of creating a safe and proper educational environment for children, has instead become an article that could hurt the children, and that makes me feel bad," and added, "I will accept any disciplinary actions or measures within the company."

Criticism Continues Over Subtitle Error 'We Beat Girls'

An apology posted by Reporter A on their YouTube community. [Photo by Reporter A, YouTube community capture]

Earlier, on the 21st, MBC aired a report on its main news program News Desk highlighting the dangers of the so-called 'Danggeun Knife,' which has recently become popular in elementary schools.

The Danggeun Knife is a plastic knife shaped like a carrot, and the report stated that this knife has destructive power that can "pierce not only watermelons but also pineapple skins," emphasizing the need for guidance from educational authorities.

The problem was that the subtitles shown differed from the actual words spoken by a male elementary school student interviewed. In the now-deleted report, reporter A said, "A student we met in front of an elementary school immediately took out three Danggeun Knives from his bag to show us," and had a brief exchange with him.

When reporter A asked, "Have you used all the Danggeun Knives?" the student replied, "Yes, I use them. Shall I show you? These two are paired together." Reporter A then asked, "How do you play with them?" and the student demonstrated how to use the Danggeun Knife, saying, "You can stab with it. Girls use them too."

However, the subtitles showed "We beat girls," which differed from the student's actual voice, causing controversy. Immediately after the broadcast, harsh criticism toward the interviewed student spread mainly in female-dominated online communities, and even the student's personal information was leaked.

At the same time, reactions pointing out that "MBC's subtitles are strange" also emerged. Especially when slowing down the report video, it was clearer that the student said "Girls use them too." The opinion that it was a 'subtitle error' quickly became the consensus in online communities, and criticism began to be directed at reporter A who wrote the report.

Amid Growing Controversy... MBC "Will Do Our Best to Prevent Recurrence"

MBC apologized for the subtitle error during the broadcast of 'Carrot Knife'.
[Photo by MBC News Oegyeon capture]

Some netizens mentioned that the reporter who wrote the report is a 'woman' and claimed that she deliberately added such subtitles to promote 'misandry.'

In response to the controversy, MBC initially only deleted the original report. They uploaded a revised version of the report with only the problematic interview part removed without any official statement, and then aired an apology broadcast on the afternoon of the 22nd.

Anchor Lee Jeong-min, who hosted the apology broadcast, said, "We offer our deepest apologies to our viewers," and added, "We apologize to the elementary school student who participated in the interview and their parents. We will be more cautious and thorough in reviewing news reports to ensure that such incidents do not happen again."

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