Netizens Are Already Trying To Cancel Zhang Hao, Here’s Why Some Are Saying He’s Controversial

The article has been updated with information regarding the nature of the event and its ties to the Korean War.

Boys Planet‘s Zhang Hao is being criticized after a report revealed he sang at a Chinese Communist Party event held by a group that holds the belief that China was in the right for helping North Korea fight the South and its American ally in the Korean War. International fans, however, defended the idol, stating that the criticism was unwarranted.

On April 20, Zhang Hao was announced as the winner of Mnet‘s Boys Planet audition program. Zhang Hao, alongside eight other participants, will now debut as ZEROBASEONE.

Meet Zhang Hao: Top “Boys Planet” Participant And ZEROBASEONE Center

Fans’ congratulatory messages didn’t last long when on April 24, it was reported that the idol had participated in a Chinese Communist Party event held by the Communist Youth League. The group reportedly holds the belief that China and North Korea were in the right in the Korean War.

Netizens reacted in anger at the revelation. Many criticized Mnet and the show’s audiences for choosing him. Some even alleged that Korean audiences already knew this but still picked him.

“Why do you think our country is split in two? And he’s part of a group that commemorates that? But he’s a K-Pop idol? How is this possible? If he wants to be an idol that badly, he should become one in his own country.”
“Audiences should have dropped him first, f@cking idiots.”
“The fact that (audiences) knew this and still picked him makes me question their sanity.”
“Mnet’s idol survival programs are all rigged, to begin with, LOL. I stopped watching when prosecutors started investigating.”
“Wow.”
“All the Koreans who picked him need to be sent off to live in China. Selling out their country for their idols, they should be embarrassed.”
“Korean audiences already knew this but still picked him, LOL.”
“What is wrong with audiences who picked him? LOL, he’s literally revising history.”

International fans, however, pushed back on the reports stating that the event had any relation to the Korean War. According to international fans, the song that Zhang Hao sang had no affiliation with the war either.

International fans stated that Zhang Hao had simply sung at an event hosted by his school government, which like all schools in China, has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Many fans asserted that, therefore, it is unfair to assume that Zhang Hao shares the views Koreans find problematic.

Unrelated Chinese High Schoo for illustrative purposes | *LTL*

Fans also pointed to the fact that the song Zhang Hao sang had nothing to do with Chinese-Korean history, and neither did the event itself, therefore stating that the criticism towards the idol was unwarranted.

Comment
by u/somanymelon from discussion Zhang Hao vs Gyuvin
in BoysPlanet

Meanwhile, the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953, was fought between communist North Korea, backed by China, and the United States-backed South Korea. The war, which began when North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, saw the death of 3 million people. The Korean War is regarded as one of the most tragic events in Korean history, and its consequences are still being felt today.