August 15 marks Korea’s National Liberation Day, commemorating the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule in 1945. This is an important historical event in Korea, and it is a subject they do not take lightly.
However, there have been many cases in which celebrities and companies have been criticized for inappropriate actions on this day. Most recently, the Korean broadcasting company KBS has been under fire for not one but many incidents regarding Liberation Day.
First off, during the new broadcast on the morning of Liberation Day, netizens noticed that the Korean flag was inverted upside down.
If you take a closer look, you can see a better view of the flag drawing.
This is how the Korean flag is supposed to look like.
Secondly, KBS apologized for scheduling the opera Madama Butterfly, which depicts the tragic love of an American officer and a Japanese woman.
KBS explained that it was originally scheduled to broadcast in July but was pushed back due to the Olympics, ending up being scheduled on Liberation Day.
We deeply apologize for causing concern on such a meaningful day because the team failed to check for problems with the broadcasting content. We will pay more attention to production, check the circumstances, and take responsibility.
They added that they would reschedule part two of the opera to a later date.
We have decided to replace part two of the show with a different broadcast for tonight.
Most recently, KBS has been caught up in yet another controversy for the logo of their YouTube channel, KBS Entertain.
Many felt that the face logo looked similar to Henohenomoheji, which is a face known to be drawn by Japanese children using hiragana characters.
Korean netizens were appalled and felt that at this point, they were doing it intentionally.
- “Give us back our TV license fee.”
- “Isn’t it intentional if they’ve gone this far?”
- “They really have lost their minds.”
- “What’s wrong with them.”
- “Is there any way to pay separate fees for KBS and EBS…”
- “Seriously…you guys did this on purpose..”
- “Whatever you know you’re doing this on purpose.”
- “Who’s going to believe you after you’ve let the broadcast finish before making an apology…the way you’re acting is like the Japanese…”
- “Suddenly? After the damage has been done?”
- “Stop being foolish and fire the person in charge.”
- “Out of all those days, it had to be today.”
- “Be careful.”
- “How can you not know this.”
- “This was totally intentional…”
On the other hand, a fourth-gen idol also garnered criticism recently for posting an challenge that was seen as inappropriate for Liberation Day.
Popular Fourth-Gen Idol Hit With Massive Backlash For Posting Anime Challenge On Korea’s Liberation Day
