On Thursday, August 15, KBS, the national broadcaster of South Korea, was embroiled in controversies for its alleged inappropriate content on Korea's National Liberation Day. The day stands as a mark of Korea's independence from Japan's rule, in 1945. It is a day that is highly sensitive for the nation and its citizens.
Therefore, many celebrities and companies' actions have been heavily criticized before, for their mistakes during this day. Naturally, when KBS, one of the biggest representatives of South Korea, made a series of errors on Korea's National Day, netizens were angered and disappointed with the company's lack of professionalism.
In translation, the tweet says,
"KBS broadcasts Taegeukgi upside down on Liberation Day."
The first issue that many pointed out, was the agency portraying the South Korean flag upside down during their morning news. Additionally, they were also criticized for scheduling an opera show called Madama Butterfly, which depicted the tragic love story between an American man and a Japanese woman on Korea's National Liberation Day.
Though they apologized for this particular issue, there were other mistakes that caught the eye. KBS' profile picture and logo for KBS Entertain's YouTube channel sparked controversy as many netizens expressed that the logo starkly resembled Henohenomoheji, which is the drawing of a face using Hiragana characters, which is quite famous in Japan.
While many initially believed that these events were mere mistakes made by the agency, some argued they might be doing it on purpose. Here's how netizens reacted to the issue:
"This needs some action. The country is really..."
"They broadcast the Taegeukgi image upside down... How can a public broadcasting station that receives the people's subscription fees do something like this? They're crazy. They even broadcast Madame Butterfly and the Taegeukgi... Even if you're making fun of the people, you have to do it within limits.", said a user on X
"There are no coincidences on this earth.", stated another X user
More netizens expressed their anger over the issue and criticized KBS for their carelessness.
"I think the picture I received was flipped left and right. Even considering that, isn't it a bit odd? Just looking at the national flag of your country, don't you get the feeling that it shouldn't be flipped left and right?" , said an X user
"Was there really no other way to express ENT? Are you crazy, KBS? Is this a Japanese national broadcasting station!?", said a netizen
"Anyone who knows even a little about Madame Butterfly cannot help but be suspicious of why they aired the opera that the Japanese love the most on Liberation Day, in Japan. There is no reason, and there is no excuse other than being pro-Japanese." ,added another netizen
KBS releases apology statement for scheduling Madam Butterfly, a Japan-based opera show, during Korea's National Liberation Day
On August 15, following the controversy and criticism towards KBS for their alleged pro-Japanese content during Korea's National Liberation Day, an apology regarding the same was issued. Though the broadcasting system didn't apologize for the events that unfolded during the day, they regretted the broadcast of Madama Butterfly.
The agency explained that the opera show was initially scheduled to be broadcast in July. However, it had to be moved and postponed due to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Since KBS needed to cover and broadcast news and events regarding the Olympics, the opera show was moved to a later date which happened to fall on the same day as Korea's National Liberation Day.
They also expressed their apologies for causing controversy and disrespecting the citizens on a sensitive day. Here's what their apology read:
"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. We have decided to replace part two of the show with a different broadcast for tonight."
While netizens are glad to see an apology for the broadcasting system's recent inappropriate content during Korea's National Liberation Day, they are still unhappy with the agency not addressing and apologizing for the other errors.