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| Traditional Korean music crossover group Leenalchi performs its latest single 'Yeobonasri' on the KBS program Joseon Pop Again. The state-funded broadcaster came under fire for using a back-projection of a Japanese castle during the group's performance. Screen capture from KBS |
By Park Ji-won
Public broadcasting network KBS apologized Wednesday after one of its Lunar New Year specials came under fire for showcasing "traditional" Korean music against a backdrop of a Japanese-style castle. Despite the network apologizing for the incident ― although it denied deliberately using a Japanese image ― the criticism continued that it had used one.
The apology was made to the audience and Leenalchi, the group performing, for the show Joseon Pop Again that aired Feb. 11. During the group's performance of its new single "Yeobonari," a song based on a traditional pansori-based story occurring in an underwater palace, a back-projection of the castle was used.
The show was conceived of to promote the possibilities of gugak, or traditional Korean music, with crossover works from pop music by various gugak-based musicians such as Leenalchi and Akdangwangchil. It posted a 7.5 percent viewership rating according to data from Nielsen Korea.
"We decided to show an underwater palace for the performance of Yeobonari. We used various references and animations for the back-projection, which does not exist in the real world, to enhance the performance for the audiences. We can clearly state that the castle is an imaginary one and we did not intend to copy a Japanese castle. However, we would like to apologize to viewers who felt uncomfortable. In addition, we are sorry for making the band feel uncomfortable."
KBS added that it would delete the video of the show from online channels and promised to do its best not to make such mistake again.
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| Performers showcase traditional Korean music on KBS's Korean Traditional Music Festival of Children's Songs that aired Feb. 11. The broadcaster was criticized for using a backdrop showing a scene featuring a Japanese castle. Screen capture from KBS |
The incident put the broadcaster under the media spotlight and some netizens accused it of also using images of old Japanese castles in another traditional music show, Korean Traditional Music Festival of Children's Songs, aired the same day. Regarding the issue, KBS repeated its previous statement, noting, "It is simply an imaginary castle, not an adaptation of a Japanese castle."
The controversy grew as some Korean netizens get upset about any reference to Japan due to the negative sentiment against the country. They said it was inappropriate to adopt references to other countries to describe Korea's traditions.
The criticism is expected to continue as the images used by KBS were actually those of Japanese castles provided by shutterstock, an online stock image provider.
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| A screen capture from shutterstock |
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