What happened? Who was involved?
Tzuyu has claimed her nationality as Taiwanese instead of Chinese. In a non-broadcasted portion of MBC’s ‘My Little Television’, Tzuyu held up both the Korean and the Taiwanese flags.
Why is this a controversy?
Chinese netizens are offended because Tzuyu’s actions might have been an expression of her wishing for Taiwanese independence from China, which is a sensitive political and social issue.
What are the consequences of the controversy?
Her actions have not only caused harsh criticism from the online community, but has also brought about tremendous consequences on the girl group member’s professional career. Tzuyu’s endorsements, CFs, appearances on posters, and overall promotion have been either cancelled or significantly reduced
Furthermore, JYP Entertainment has decided to suspend Tzuyu’s activities in China until the controversy calms down.
Following this decision, JYP Entertainment has released an apology video, in which Tzuyu apologized for her mistake, not being sensitive to cultural boundaries. Additionally, she officially declared that China is one and that Taiwan is part of China.
What does this controversy say about Kpop, entertainment industry?
With an increasing number of non-Korean members in Kpop idol groups and the spread of Hallyu internationally, cultural sensitivity is growing in its importance. Tzuyu’s incident is a testament to the large social and political influence Kpop idols have in the age of globalization.
It obvious that JYP Entertainment would have wanted to issue an apology to calm the issue as soon as possible. But how much of the apology was genuinely from Tzuyu?
Netizens have accused the Korean entertainment agency for forcing the sixteen-year-old to issue an apology. This criticism progressed so far to the
point that a Taiwanese lawyer has charged JYP Entertainment for infringing upon Tzuyu’s freedom and forcing her to apologize.
By Hajin Lily Yi
