Korean Netizens Have Mixed Reactions To KISS OF LIFE’s Cultural Appropriation Apology
Recently, KISS OF LIFE sparked immense backlash for a recent livestream where they were accused of cultural appropriation and mimicking racial stereotypes.
Both the company S2 Entertainment and the individual members issued apologies on the matter, but many are not impressed.
To all our Kissys, pic.twitter.com/1eIryGZOks
— KISS OF LIFE (@KISSOFLIFE_S2) April 5, 2025
The followings of their social accounts of the group have declined greatly, already having lost over 200K followers on Instagram.
Kiof i love you but this is so indefensible 😭 pic.twitter.com/d7Fu7u3TAR
— Mr. Bean (@Mrbean_) April 2, 2025
Korean netizens have recently weighed in on the controversy — Some believe that everything has been blown out of proportion, while others believe the apologies fell short.
- “They should’ve just posted it right after the agency’s apology from the start.”
- “They should wrap it up around here. International fans are going overboard with the whole ‘educate them’ thing.”
- “Fans jumping in to say it’s being taken out of context and there’s no need to apologize—that’s not it. The girls were completely in the wrong here. But they did apologize, so the right response is probably something like, ‘I hope they’re more careful and thoughtful moving forward.’ They just need to show growth from now on.”
- “People who are racist always say they didn’t mean it like that.”
- “They clearly did something wrong, so the message should just be, ‘Don’t do this again.’ Things only get worse when people make weak excuses.”
- “Posting on Instagram like nothing happened, then only writing an apology once they saw the backlash—that’s what made it worse.”
- “Feels like the apology was directed at the wrong people… this isn’t something they needed to apologize to fans for.”
- “Honestly, I’ve seen more people saying it would’ve been better if they didn’t post that apology at all and just stayed silent like they had been. The subject is off, and it seems like they don’t even understand why they had to write the apology in the first place.”
Check out the latest below.
