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K-drama star Kim Tae-ri found herself midst of controversy on May 23, 2023. The Twenty-Five Twenty-One actress is being criticized by some fans for asking them to put English subtitles on her YouTube travel vlog series for free (referred to as talent donations). K-drama fans criticized Kim Tae-ri for trying to extract free labor from fans. They took to social media to call her out and say that they believe she is trying to take advantage of fans’ love and emotions for her.
Shortly after the issue went viral, Kim Tae-ri’s agency - management mmm released a statement addressing the issue. The statement explained the company's stance and apologized for not fully realizing or understanding the fans' emotions. It also said that the company only intended for fans to enjoy the YouTube video. They also admitted that releasing the request was problematic and withdrew it, as they apologized to fans for having made an inappropriate request.
Kim Tae-ri causes an uproar among fans by asking fans to subtitle her YouTube videos for free
It all started when in a now-deleted Instagram post, Kim Tae-ri shared the subtitles for her third vlog, the YouTube travel series - “So This Is The Place?”. She revealed that the subs for her third vlog were recently added to the video. She said that would also be working hard to complete the fourth episode.
For those unversed, Kim Tae-ri has a thriving YouTube channel called - @management_mmm where she uploads vlogs on travel and her everyday life. The last vlog was shared a year ago and only two featured English subtitles until recently. With her global fanbase speaking different languages, fans requested for subtitles to be added so they can understand and engage with the content better.
The Handmaiden actress noted that and released a statement via Instagram about how many of her fans speak different languages. With this in mind, she introduced a new project consisting of fans volunteering to provide subtitles to her videos.
The K-drama star asked fans to voluntarily help her out with translations in a language of their choice and asked them to fill out a form. In return, she said that the fans would be given acknowledgments with their names and social media handles. They were directed to a Google form where they could announce that they sought volunteers for translation and subtitles.
This angered fans who said that subtitling is a tedious job and to subtitle a 20-30 minute long video can take up to four to six hours. They said that the work is extensive and should be compensated monetarily instead of the Twenty-Five Twenty-One actress demanding free services from fans.
Although, the Mr Sunshine actress deleted the post, due to backlash, Korean fans reacted on the forum Theqoo -
The star's agency clarifies its stance in a statement
The management clarified that YouTube vlogs do not generate any revenue from advertisements or other means. They also elucidated that they didn’t want to exploit fans’ emotions for their own financial gain and that the star's aim is to bring joy into fans’ lives with her content.
They said that their intent was to make content more accessible, and faster to international fans. Despite their pure intentions, they said that they acknowledge that their request was perceived as problematic by fans. management mmm sincerely apologized to fans and clarified that they don’t intend to use the Mr Sunshine star’s fans for free labor.
