Chinese netizens mocked the aespa NingNing’s controversy: “The butthurt Koreans are coming”
Chinese netizens are “adding fuel to the fire.”
Chinese netizens were caught mocking South Korea as NingNing, a Chinese member of the group aespa, posted a message congratulating the Chinese short track speed skating team on its first gold medal.
Chinese netizens laughed at the response, saying, “The butthurt Koreans are coming!” “LOL, Chinese people in Korea know the best way to upset Koreans,” “She is not afraid because she has a strong support behind her, which is China,” and “Ning Wang, our northeastern woman!”
Earlier on the 5th, aespa NingNing chatted with her fans in Chinese through the message platform “Dear You Bubble,” saying, “Wow, I’m glad we got the first gold medal tonight,” adding, “My homeroom teacher just informed me that the two Olympic winners are our alumni, which is an honor. Each and every athlete deserves respect.”
NingNing‘s remarks soon became a hot topic as controversy arose over the decision over China’s winning the gold medal after the semifinals of the short track mixed relay on Feb 5th. Regarding aespa NingNing‘s support for the Chinese short-track speed skaters who controversially won a gold medal, there are many articles in Korea showing that they are displeased with NingNing’s remark.
Specifically, China ranked fourth, the lowest in the semifinals of the 2,000m mixed relay on Feb 5th.
After the game, the referees watched the video for about 10 minutes and penalized Russia and the U.S. for interfering with China’s path during the touch process, which resulted in both countries being disqualified. China, which advanced to the finals in second place, then won the gold medal.
Controversy arose over the biased decision as China avoided being disqualified, and criticism against NingNing grew as South Korea also became a victim of a biased decision in the men’s 1,000m semifinals on Feb 7th.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics have also sparked controversy over China’s “Northeast Process” which is claiming Korean culture as one of its own.
Regarding this, a netizen said, “At the Olympics Opening Ceremony in China, they took away Korean cultures such as hanbok, yutnori, and the sangmo spinning dance. While Chinese netizens were terrorizing the Korean short-track speed skaters through SNS DMs, a Chinese member working as a Korean idol is cheering for the Chinese athletes in Chinese on Bubble. If you are a Korean, of course you are angry”.
There is also a counterargument, saying that NingNing is a Chinese citizen and it is not a problem for her to support her country. Although aespa is a Korean group, there are also some refutes that excessive criticism against Chinese members should be refrained from.
NingNing is a Chinese member who debuted in the music industry as an aespa member in November 2020.
