Henry claimed he was facing racism but Korean netizens said they criticized him because of other reasons

Canadian singer Henry, who has been under controversy in Korea for his pro-China behavior, said the public criticism he received is due to his “blood”. 

Henry released an apology on his personal Instagram on March 19th, “First of all, if I did something wrong, including what I did and said, I’m sorry. I was always trying to give people joy, emotions and laughter through music, stage, entertainment, etc… but I feel sad that I can’t do it these days.”

Henry added, “What I want to tell you is that I’m never a person who forgets and throws away something. There is so much false information circulating on YouTube and articles these days that I didn’t think people would actually believe that, so I didn’t say anything, but now I feel how serious it is.”

He continued, “But what really breaks my heart is that most of what I learned while reading the comments is that most people are uncomfortable with me not because of my actions or words, but because of my blood. What I want to do is to make people laugh, (but if my blood is the problem), I really don’t know what to do.”

Henry‘s apology was made due to the backlash from his pro-China behavior, which has been intensified in Korea. Henry was appointed as an ambassador for school violence prevention at the Mapo Police Station in Seoul on March 15th, and this was officially announced on March 17th through his agency Monster Entertainment.

Since Henry‘s appointment as an anti-school violence ambassador, Korean netizens’ reactions have been mixed. Henry‘s activities for children and youth through ‘Save the Children‘, an international child relief non-profit organization, and ‘Together Henry‘ on his YouTube channel in the past made fans raise expectations for his activities as school violence prevention ambassador at Mapo Police Station. On the other hand, many netizens lashed out at the decision to use Henry, who has been under criticism for his pro-China behavior, as the face of Korean public service activities.

There are also criticisms that the Mapo Police Station, which appointed Henry as its ambassador, is more problematic than the male singer himself. On the free dashboard of Mapo Police Station, there are mixed comments. Fans are cheering for Henry while many netizens believe Henry should be disqualified as an ambassador.

There are also criticisms that the Mapo Police Station, which appointed Henry as its ambassador, is more problematic than Henry himself. On the public bulletin board of Mapo Police Station, there are mixed comments from fans cheering for Henry and opinions that Henry should be disqualified as a public relations ambassador.

In the midst of a heated debate, Henry used racism as his excuse. Henry said, “Most of the things that hurt my heart are that it happened not because of my actions or words, but because of my blood,” and added, “What I want to do is to make people laugh, but if there are people who are uncomfortable because of my blood, I really don’t know what to do.” His explanation assumes that there is no problem with his words and actions, and Korean netizens are criticizing him for no reason.

In fact, after Henry’s apology was published, the support of Chinese fans and Chinese netizens towards him became stronger. On online bulletin boards and YouTube, there were comments posted saying, “Why do Koreans attack Henry for no reason?” “Why do Koreans try to attack Henry because of his blood when Henry did nothing?” “I support Henry” and “Koreans are racist.”

Contrary to Henry’s statement, Korean netizens are uncomfortable not because of Henry‘s “blood” (origin, blood, nationality), but his “words and actions.” Henry, born to a father from Hong Kong and a mother from Taiwan, is Canadian. And as an entertainer, his root is “K-pop.” Henry focused on his solo activities in Korea and China based on the recognition and popularity he gained after debuting as a member of SM Entertainment’s male group Super Junior M in 2008.

Nevertheless, Henry made a pro-China move and made clear, “I love China.” Recently, he posted on his official Weibo account saying “One China.” The so-called “One China” pursued by the Chinese government and many Chinese people supports the suppression of minority communities’ human rights. It claims that China is the only legitimate government for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Xinjiang Uighur.

Furthermore, Henry appeared on a program that supported the Northwest Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Henry was a leader along with EXO’s Lay and Super Junior‘s former member Han Geng in season 4 of Chinese dance survival entertainment “Street Dance China” last year. At that time, the broadcast introduced the participants, who wore Korean traditional costumes and danced to the Korean traditional dance fan dance, as “This is a Chinese dance,” and Henry, who encountered the stage, commented, “It was really good.” Henry needs to look back on his actions that are likely to provoke antipathy among Koreans before claiming that it was racism.