Idol-Turned-Actress Publicly “Disrespected” By Netflix Korea’s Social Media
In celebration of JTBC‘s K-Drama My Sweet Mobster premiering on Netflix, Netflix Korea’s social media @netflixkr shared a short clip capturing the leads, Um Tae Goo and SECRET member-turned-actress Han Sunhwa (or Han Seon Hwa).
In the clip, the female lead character, Eun Ha, bombards the male lead character, Ji Hwan, with aegyo.
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While the post, reading “Han Sunhwa attacks Um Tae Goo with cuteness, throwing him into a fit,” seems harmless, @netflixkr’s decision to pin and reply to a certain comment has since triggered some severe backlash.
The pinned comment calls out the situation in the clip to be unrealistic, referring to Um Tae Goo as a “king” too great to be seduced by Han Sunhwa, referring to her as an “ahjumma.” Because ahjumma is a term used to address older and/or middle-aged women, in circumstances where the addressed person is not considerably older, it is highly likely that they will be offended when called ahjumma.
Pinned Comment: Sigh… The idea of King-Tae Goo being intimidated by some ahjumma is so unrealistic, LMAO.
When @netflixkr replied, “It’s cuter that way,” Koreans became uncomfortable with an official social media account interacting with a “disrespectful” comment.
- “Is Netflix out of their mind?”
- “Wait, is the comment calling Han Sunhwa an ahjumma? What are they, a child? Even children know Han Sunhwa as unnie or noona. I have no idea who King-Tae Goo is, but hearing he’s SEVEN years older than Han Sunhwa… I wonder what that makes him, if Han Sunhwa is an ahjumma.”
- “They obviously didn’t watch the K-Drama. Had they watched, they would not have disrespected the female lead like that. The leads were really good together, and their acting was on point. What was the point of pinning a comment like that? It’s not like Han Sunhwa looked particularly old in the series either. There’s no need to stomp on a woman to hype up a man.”
- “Insane.”
- “People behind Netflix Korea are all dumb. Like, it used to be great but I don’t think the OG crew are there anymore.”
- [Deleted Comment]
- “Who are they calling an ahjumma?”
- “Interacting with a comment like that with the official account? Crazy.”
- “With the official account, though?!”
- “Barf.“
As criticism grew, @netflixkr deleted the interaction altogether. Regardless, the comments section remains heated as some believe @netflixkr should own up to the mistake and apologize, instead of deleting and pretending it didn’t happen.
- “Is this the same @netflixkr that pinned and replied to a comment that was malicious toward the female lead?”
- “What kind of a social media person would use the official account to pin and interact with a hater comment that is disrespectful toward one of the cast members? Like, what were you thinking? Better apologize and explain yourself.”
- “Of course, @netflixkr would relate to a comment trampling on a young woman. Typical Korea.”
- “Deleting the comments and pretending nothing happened aren’t going to fix what you did. The screenshot is all over the internet, and it’s bringing all the trolls to hate on the series and the leads. Your social media person f*cked up. You do have to own up to it. Don’t assume it’ll go away.”
- “Aw, Eun Ha is such a baby peach. She’s lovely, really.”
- “Pinning and interacting with a malicious comment, though…? Incredible. Just know that the screenshot is already all over the internet. So… Whoever did it should step up and apologize.”
- “Leaving a comment calling the female lead an ahjumma when she’s 7 years younger than the male lead is crazy. But pinning that comment and interacting with it is even crazier. LMAO. You think you can delete it and pretend it didn’t happen? You can’t run from this. Just apologize.”
- “Deleting it does not mean you didn’t f*ck up. Apologize.”
@netflixkr has not yet responded.