Taiwan Broadcast on Taegeukgi's 'Virus CG Composite': "Poor Production... Sincerely Apologize"
Published 19 Apr.2022 15:12(KST)
Controversy Over Taiwan Broadcast's 'Taeguk Pattern → Coronavirus' CG
"We Bow Our Heads in Apology to Korean People... Will Prepare Improvement Measures"
On the 16th of last month, Taiwan's TVBS 'Global News' reported on South Korea's COVID-19 situation, combining the Taegeukgi with a coronavirus graphic. This video has since been deleted. / Photo by TVBS, YouTube capture
원본보기 아이콘[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A Taiwanese broadcaster has sparked outrage by superimposing a coronavirus graphic (CG) onto the Taegeukgi flag while reporting on the spread of COVID-19 in Korea. The media outlet apologized on the 19th, saying "the production was immature."
Recently, a clip from the Taiwanese TVBS "Global News" broadcast on the 16th of last month has been spreading online under the title "Taiwan crossing the line."
The media reported that Korea's new COVID-19 cases accounted for 30% of the world's confirmed cases, and deaths were also rapidly increasing.
The problematic part was the footage shown while the anchor was reporting. The media displayed the Taegeukgi flag and then superimposed a coronavirus-shaped CG onto the Taegeuk pattern. The four trigrams (Geon, Gon, Gam, Ri) at the four corners of the Taegeukgi remained, but the central Taegeuk pattern was replaced with a coronavirus shape. This broadcast video is currently set to private on the YouTube channel.
A netizen who raised concerns about the report through an online community said, "Is it acceptable for a terrestrial broadcaster to CG a coronavirus onto a national flag like that? This is quite problematic," adding, "It might be because Koreans generally don't pay much attention to Taiwan that this went unnoticed. Honestly, if I hadn’t lived in Taiwan, I wouldn’t have known about this news or cared."
As criticism within Korea over this report spread, TVBS posted an apology on its website on the 19th. TVBS stated, "On March 16, during the process of reporting on Korea’s COVID-19 situation, TVBS inappropriately created an image combining the Taegeukgi and coronavirus patterns. We acknowledge the immaturity of the production and sincerely apologize to the people of the Republic of Korea."
They added, "The problematic video was immediately deleted, and we plan to review internally and prepare improvement measures. We once again bow our heads and apologize to the Korean people."
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