K-Pop Fans React To Accusations Of Disney’s “Little Mermaid Live” Action Remake “Flopping” In Korea Because Of Racism

Yet, not everyone agrees with the narrative!
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Koreaboo

Recently, K-Pop fans have reacted to a narrative pushed by Western media outlets that the reasons behind Disney‘s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid “flopping” in South Korea was due to racism.

The poster for “The Little Mermaid” | Disney

When the film was released, many Korean fans had positive reactions to the movie and particularly praised Halle Bailey‘s interpretation of the role.

  • Halle Bailey’s acting, her innocent portrayal of Ariel, and her beautiful vocals washed away the shortcomings of the original Ariel.
  • I heard that this was the best Disney movie ever made, but I went in without giving it much thought, and then Disney revealed its harmonious world, and then I cried in the beginning and in the end. I will say more later.
  • “I became interested after seeing how many criticisms the movie had, but I was so surprised at how well (Halle Bailey” sings. I’m really curious, and so I might go to the theatres for the first time in years.”
Halle Bailey as Ariel | Disney

As expected, there were also added expectations after it was revealed that NewJeans member Danielle was dubbing the movie’s Korean version.

NewJeans’ Danielle | Disney Korea/YouTube

Yet, it seems like a “racist” rhetoric has been brought back to the forefront of Western media when speaking about the “lack of success” the movie had in Asian countries, including South Korea.

Western media outlet The Hollywood Reporter shared a video with the caption, “#TheLittleMermaid tanks in both China and South Korea amid a racist backlash over the casting of #HalleBailey in the role of Ariel #THRNews.” The video says Halle Bailey’s casting was the reason the movie was struggling in South Korea, where it earned 4.4 million dollars.

When K-Pop fans saw the video, it wasn’t surprising that many shared their anger at the alleged racism that led to the movie “Flopping.”

In particular, they shared their anger that South Korea still has these racist views, especially considering the K-Pop industry takes influences from Black culture.

Others shared that K-Pop and Korean society has “imitated” black culture, taking parts of their identity and often being accused of cultural appropriation.

K-Pop fans shared their own anger at the deemed racism, but others came to the defense of Koreans and the allegations from Western media. Some netizens shared that it didn’t seem to be a matter of race, but the storyline with comparisons to other Disney movies…

While others pointed out that films with a predominantly Black cast have succeeded in the countries, with many pointing out the example of the Marvel movie Black Panther.

One fan even shared a photo of statistics for the move. While Western media outlets slammed the lack of popularity of the movie in South Korea and China, a photo shows that it’s one of the countries with the highest opening weekend profits and box office totals.

| @humanee_a/Twitter

While it is easy to go along with the narratives set by Western media outlets and the outcry for the allegations from K-Pop fans is warranted, the overall consensus of the movie seems far from the assumptions.

There is no doubt that racism is still an issue within Korea. Yet, although the numbers might not add up, netizens’ reviews of the film and other narratives seem to push the “racist” allegations away.

You can read more about Koreans’ views of the film below.

Korean Audiences’ First Reviews Of Halle Bailey’s “The Little Mermaid” Go Viral — Netizens React

Source: @THR
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