Zerobaseone (ZB1) Kim Gyuvin apologized for using “misogyny slang” while communicating with fans on SNS.
On August 18th, Kim Gyuvin went on the group’s fan community to communicate with fans. When a fan asked, “Gyuvin, did you try adding (espresso) shots to your strawberry latte?”, Kim Gyuvin replied, “ㅗㅜㅑ… It’s not easy (‘ㅗㅜㅑ’ means ‘Wow’)”.
It is known that using only vowels and omitting consonants is the way of talking normally used by people in online communities for men. In response to Kim Gyuvin’s comment, some believed that he might have used the word without realizing it.
However, when another fan commented, “I can’t live without you”, Gyuvin replied, “I already don’t have you”. He also said, “We cannot stop going to work”, to a fan who commented, “I have to go to work tomorrow”. Kim Gyuvin also wrote the message, “Ah I don’t know~ I love you”, on a fan’s photocard.
Netizens pointed out that the words “없당께 (don’t have)”, “못참제 (cannot stop/hold back)”, and “아몰랑 (Ah, I don’t know)” are “memes” and misogyny slang used by people in online communities for men. Some reacted, “He uses lots of such words”, “This shows his real personality”, etc.
As the situation became a controversy, Kim Gyuvin immediately issued an apology. He said, “While trying to communicate with fans in a new way recently, I used expressions without knowing their exact meaning and origin”, adding “I’m deeply reflecting on my action”.
Kim Gyuvin realized his mistake and promised that he would learn more and try to prevent the same situation from happening again and apologized to fans who supported him.
Meanwhile, Kim Gyuvin’s group ZB1 has told a total of 1,822,028 copies of their debut album “YOUTH IN THE SHADE” in the first week, becoming the first K-pop group to join the “million seller” ranking with their debut album.
The group recently held their first fancon at Gocheok Sky Dome within a month after their debut and sold out with 18,000 seats as soon as ticketing started.
Source: Insight
