"They need to leave that girl alone": Fans defend NewJeans' Minji as she uploads an apology letter following her recent Kalguksu Controversy

On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, NewJeans' Minji uploaded an apology letter through Phoning, the girl group's fan community application. The letter explained the idol's recent Kalguksu controversy for which she received much criticism. Previously, NewJeans kickstarted a livestream with a Korean broadcaster, ChimChakMan, where they talked about Korean noodle dishes.

When the topic of Kalguksu popped up, Minji was unknowingly heard asking herself:

"What's Kalguksu?"

As a picky eater who has never tried the Korean dish before, her expression referred to her questioning the taste of Kalguksu and what it looks like. However, several netizens criticized her for not knowing the Korean dish. As netizens' criticism continued, the idol addressed the issue in a recent NewJeans livestream.

Yet again, people criticized her supposed bad attitude in the livestream, thereby leading to her apology letter. Regardless, fans have been defending Minji by stating that the apology was unnecessary and that the netizens were too harsh with their criticism.

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NewJeans' Minji apologizes for her alleged bad attitude regarding the Kalguksu controversy

Almost a year ago, NewJeans went on a livestream with the Korean broadcaster, ChimChakMan. During the livestream, they discussed Korean noodle dishes, including Kalguksu, which is a knife-cut noodle dish.

During the same, netizens noticed NewJeans' Minji asking herself what that dish was. It was later explained in her apology that she did so because she's a picky eater and since she hadn't tasted the dish yet, she was referring to her unfamiliarity with its taste.

However, the misunderstandings caused several netizens to call her out for being supposedly "uncultured" and also claimed that she was "too privileged" to know about Korea's dishes. While this was not the case, the controversy continued to affect the idol.

Minji also confessed that she received several kinds of harassment. In an effort to explain the same, the idol addressed it in a NewJeans livestream on January 2, 2024.

The idol, who was clearly unsettled and displeased with the criticism and harassment she received, stated:

"Everyone, do you think I wouldn’t know what Kalguksu is? So, what’s Kalguksu mean, like… Would I not know, everyone? Think about it twice. That’s right. I didn’t know, that’s why I said I didn’t. Do you all know how many types of Kalguksu there are, and the ingredients that go into it?"

Since Minji's tone allegedly seemed like she was angry about the issue, netizens were once again unhappy with her and even stated that she had a bad attitude for talking about the issue in that tone. With the controversy only growing worse, Minji uploaded an apology letter through the Phoning application.

She said:

"During a live broadcast on January 2, my tone and attitude caused discomfort to the viewers. I am truly sorry to the Bunnies who must have been surprised and hurt that I showed a bad attitude during a live broadcast where I usually communicate naturally and comfortably."

Minji first explained what she actually meant when she referred to Kalguksu during the livestream.

She added:

"Last winter, I knew what kind of reaction I had when I said I didn’t know what Kalguksu was. I’m a picky eater and have never tried Kalguksu before, so I thought about the type and taste of Kalguksu and before I knew it, I thought to myself, ‘What is Kalguksu?’ I ended up saying it to myself and didn’t know that there might be a misunderstanding."

She continued to talk about the reason behind her addressing the same in the recent livestream. Minji continued:

"I wanted to give a clear explanation, but I thought it felt like water had already been spilled and it would calm down over time.

She added:

However, as time passed, more comments were made against my judgment, even my relationship with the members was mentioned, and I received strange misunderstandings, which continued to harass me knowingly or unknowingly for a year."

Minji concluded her letter by apologizing to fans for her behavior and for causing any discomfort. She stated:

"So I gave an explanation out of frustration, but I am also reflecting a lot on myself for disappointing you with my very immature attitude. Through this incident, I thought about it a lot during my vacation and talked to people around me about the responsibility of my every word, and I learned a lot."

However, fans immediately came to her defense and stated that she never needed to apologize in the first place. People explained that as a picky eater, she should be able to freely restrict and limit her food choices to what she feels comfortable with and not be apologetic about the same.

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They also added that netizens' unnecessary criticism and their failure to understand the idol's stance were the true causes of the controversy and her eventual outburst in the recent livestream.

Therefore, fans have been sending messages of support to Minji while calling out the netizens who pushed her into apologizing for a controversy that was never her fault.