 Yim Jae-beom performs on stage wearing a Nazi uniform during his concert at the Olympic Park gymnasium in Seoul last Saturday. His outfit caused ripples on Twitter. / Courtesy of DC Inside |
By Yun Suh-young
Popular singer Yim Jae-beom’s stage performance sporting a Nazi uniform has become the subject of disputes on the Internet. Chin Jung-kwon, a progressive culture critic and composer Kim Hyung-suk have publicly exchanged verbal salvos on Twitter about the appropriateness of Yim’s wearing a Nazi uniform on stage.
Yim, who rose to stardom for his appearance on the TV show “I Am a Singer” performed wearing a Nazi military uniform for his concert at Seoul’s Olympic Park gymnasium on June 25 and 26.
Yim wore the outfit when singing “Paradom,” a song about the tragedies of people living underground in a world devastated by nuclear war. Yim took off the Nazi uniform toward the end of the performance to send a message against war.
During the performance, he reportedly yelled: “No Hitler,” “Htiler is dead,” and “Heil freedom” to express opposition to dictatorship.
The argument began between the nation’s two cultural figures when Chin tweeted Wednesday that singer Yim’s performance was not a subject of moral criticism but rather an aesthetic one. Chin said it was in complete “poor taste.”
Kim retorted saying that Chin’s comment was a generalization of an individual’s performance as totalitarianism when it should be seen as freedom of expression. “You should watch the performance first before discussing the aesthetic level of it or speaking about morality,” Kim said to Chin via Twitter.
The war of words between the two figures spread to the wider public. Internet users also joined the debate, some saying Yim’s performance was a glorification of the Nazis and others saying it was the rocker’s expression of freedom.
Yim Jae-beom has remained silent on the issue. “The fact that Yim hasn’t said anything about it means he doesn’t consider the issue serious enough to react. It’s just a matter of different perspectives,” Yim’s agency said.
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