BTS continues to be the target of “Asian-hate”
Recently, Chilean comedy TV show Mi Barrio (open TV channel available to the whole country) presented a parody performance of BTS, where all the jokes were based on racism and xenophobia, including mockery of their language,…
These racist jokes about the Covid-19 pandemic and the Korean language are considered to be insensitive, especially after recent attacks on the Asian community.
Below is the full interview portion of their parody.
“Host: Introduce yourself!
Person 1: Kim Jong-Un(o)*
Person 2: Kim Jong-Two
Person 3: Kim Jong-Three
Person 4: Kim Jong-Four
Person 5: Juan Carlos!
*The name of North Korea’s dictator + number one (uno)
Host: You guys are so funny! What are your real names?
Person 1: My name is V!
Person 2: Jungkook
Person 3: Agust D
Person 4: J-Hope
Person 5: And I’m Jin**
Host: Yo-Jin?
Person 5: No, no, I’m Jin.
Host: Yo-Jin?
Person 5: No, Jin
** ‘Yo’ is ‘I’ in Spanish.
Host: Ah, okay. Ok guys tell me one thing, are you all Chilean?
Person 1-4: Renca!
Person 5: Maipu!
Host: And how did you all meet?
Person 2: We’re all classmates minus one
Host: You? (points towards person 5)
Person 3: No! Me!
Host: Do any of you speak Korean?
Person 1-3: Not me
Person 5: I do!***
***He says ‘Yohi’ which may also be an attempt at mocking the language.
Host: Oh, and can you tell us something in Korean? Because everybody here wants to learn.
Person 5: (speaks gibberish, mocking language)
Host: What did you say?
Person 5: I got vaccinated.
Everybody: (laughs)
Host: Now let’s say goodbye to this wonderful group.”
The fans get extremely angry. They think this cannot be considered humorous and claim that this is a manifestation of racism towards BTS in particular and in the Asian community in general.
Currently, fans are trying to make the hashtag #ElRacismoNoEsComedia go viral on social networks to put pressure on the show, and at the same time ask the producer to apologize to BTS.
Fans have also put together easy instructions to show how to file a complaint against the issue.
After that, in a most recent update, Mi Barrio posted a message on their Instagram account: “Thank you everyone for the good vibes! We’ll continue improving, learning, listening, and we’ll remain firm in our intention: to bring fun to families. We collect all positive comments and also the critics because that’s what we’re for: contribute a little with humor and fun.” This status makes Kpop fans mad. The production team still insists that they stand true to their intention to bring fun to families.
This is not the first time BTS has been a target of racism. A few months ago BTS was ridiculed by a German radio show host. Back in 2020, a Polish TV show was also criticized for making racist and homophobic remarks towards BTS.
Up to this point, CNTV has yet to respond to the situation.
Source: KB