PLEDIS Entertainment Apologizes For Now-Deleted “SEVENTEEN Right Here” Video For Beijing

The company responds to criticisms regarding a “lack of cultural understanding and respect” for The Great Wall of China.
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SEVENTEEN recently announced they would be releasing their 11th mini-album, SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN, on October 23.

Since the announcement, PLEDIS Entertainment has dropped promotional materials for the upcoming release, including SEVENTEEN’s comeback schedule, album artwork, and, most recently, a countdown clock with five major cities, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, New York, and Seoul, listed.

Following the 14-hour countdown, “SVT RIGHT HERE” teaser videos were uploaded with superimposed animations of chamomile flowers appearing around landmarks in the five major cities listed.

The animated flowers appeared in New York’s Times Square, were displayed on Seoul’s SMTown Coex Artium’s giant LED screen, floated around Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, and appeared in Paris’s La Seine River with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

PLEDIS Entertainment uploaded a similar video for Beijing, with the chamomile flowers floating above The Great Wall Of China, as the camera panned along the 21,196 kilometers (13,171 miles) structure.

Shortly after Beijing’s “SVT RIGHT HERE” video was uploaded, Chinese netizens called out PLEDIS Entertainment for their lack of respect for The Great Wall of China, an UNESCO World Heritage site with notable cultural, historical, and architectural significance dating back to the 7th century BC.

Photo of The Great Wall of China.

Many Chinese netizens felt that using The Great Wall of China for entertainment and adding the superimposed animations on top of it was disrespectful to the significant cultural heritage site.

Others noted that the flowers, which were confirmed to be chamomile flowers by PLEDIS Entertainment, resembled white chrysanthemums. White chrysanthemums are often used as symbols of grief or mourning and are often seen at funerals or on gravesites.

The chamomile flowers in the Paris “SVT RIGHT HERE” promo video | @pledis_17/Twitter 

Upon receiving backlash, PLEDIS Entertainment swiftly deleted the video from social media and released an official apology, acknowledging that there were many who felt there was a “lack of cultural understanding and respect for the Great Wall.”

[Announcement] Notice Regarding SEVENTEEN’s 11th Mini Album Beijing Teaser

Hello, this is PLEDIS Entertainment.This is an announcement regarding the Beijing teaser video for SEVENTEEN’s 11th mini-album, SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN.

On September 23, at 2:14 PM China time, we released a “Beijing Ver.” of the “SVT RIGHT HERE” teaser, one of the promotional contents of SEVENTEEN’s 11th mini-album, SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN.

The said version was made with chamomile flowers in the background of the Great Wall of China, a representative cultural heritage symbolizing China. However, fans pointed out that there was a lack of cultural understanding and respect for the Great Wall after the video was released.

Therefore, the Beijing version of the video was quickly deleted. We apologize for the inconvenience to our fans, and we will pay more attention in the future.

In the future, we will try to create content that fans from various countries, regions, and cultures can all enjoy together.

— Pledis Entertainment

The “SVT RIGHT HERE” videos for Paris, Tokyo, New York, and Seoul remain uploaded, and more content is scheduled to be released in the coming days for SEVENTEEN’s October comeback.

SEVENTEEN To Drop Eleventh Mini Album “SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN”

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