"He should know better" — Stray Kids' Felix garners criticism for his Japanese anime challenge during Korea's National Liberation Day

On Thursday, August 15, Stray Kids' Felix took to his Bubble account to participate in a Japanese anime trend called the Shikonoko challenge. The idol stated he came across this trend and saw that it was quite popular on the internet these days. Therefore, he wanted to participate in the same.

While fans are aware the idol frequently participates in famous TikTok and internet trends, his recent participation in the Shikonoko challenge was criticized on the day it came out. August 15 is also known as the Gwangbokjeol, otherwise known as Korea's National Liberation Day.

Gwangbokjeol is a public holiday where Koreans and the nation celebrate their liberation from Japanese rule in 1945. Therefore, when Stray Kids' Felix was seen releasing Japanese-related content on a sensitive day like Gwangbokjeol, netizens couldn't help but throw criticism at him.

While many realized that the idol might not have adorned malicious intentions while releasing the Shikonoko challenge, they still argued that he should've been more careful about the same because of the high sensitivity of Japan-related topics for Korea. Here's how netizens reacted to the same:

"He should know better"

"He needs to leave south Korea actually this is unbelievable" - said a netizen on X

"As a head stay I’m deeply hurt by his actions. He needs to leave the group and reflect on his behaviour." - stated another netizen

"This is so sad I hope his korean fans are calling him out for this". - added another X user

Some netizens defended Felix's actions and stated that it wasn't too big of a deal.

"Why do people making such a big drama out of nothing" - said a fan on X

"He even doesn’t mention the name of the song, and it was on private bubble messages, so stop hating on him". - said another fan on X

"Felix deserves better and doesn't have to apologize. What hyperbole. He always broadcasts goodness into the world." - added an X user

"We love a man who takes responsibility for his actions and actually apologizes for it". - added a netizen

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Stray Kids' Felix releases an apology statement for his recent controversy with his Japanese anime challenge on Korea's National Liberation Day

On August 15, following the land of controversy where Stray Kids' Felix was criticized for releasing Japan-related content on Korea's National Liberation Day, the idol released an apology regarding the same through Stray Kids' page on JYP Entertainment's official site.

Here's what the statement read:

“Hello, this is Felix. I would like to apologize to my fans and to everyone who was disappointed by my carelessness. During a voice live broadcast on the early morning of August 15, I mentioned a Japanese song while talking with fans about short-form challenges.

He continued,

"I truly apologize for my carelessness on such a meaningful liberation day. I am deeply reflecting on my lack of knowledge about history. I will study, think, and act more carefully in areas where I have been lacking and make sure something like this does not happen again.”

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Following the apology statement, fans and netizens have been more settled about the issue as it stands as a sensitive topic for Koreans.