Cosmic Girls’ Xuan Yi Under Fire For Mocking Indian Culture
Cosmic Girls‘ Xuan Yi has been criticized for her appearance on SuperTV, where she danced comedically to an Indian song.
She’s seen wearing a fake mustache as she begins dancing in a similar style as a traditional Hindu dance.
The dance soon turns comedic as the rest of the members join in.
The performance is set to the song titled “Tunak Tunak Tun” by an Indian artist named Daler Mehndi.
Viewers took to Twitter to express their anger towards Xuan Yi for cultural appropriation.
idk who she is but i wanna beat her ass. pic.twitter.com/Ds94K3udMg
— JOON-li (@knjseuphoria) May 1, 2018
Many expressed that her dance is offensive to the Indian culture and simply inappropriate.
i’m actually sick and tired of south asian/indian culture constantly being reduced to a joke on korean tv.
— JOON-li (@knjseuphoria) May 1, 2018
they are MOCKING not only the song but trying to do a bad reenactment of a traditional dance. THIS is DISRESPECTFUL, damn who raised you all.
— JOON-li (@knjseuphoria) May 1, 2018
I saw this on TvN last week on SuperTV where WSJN was there i instantly turn it off when they started dancing 😑
So disrespectful— CJ 🐯||시지 사토|| (@cjbwi747) May 2, 2018
this is a very accurate portrayal of what everyone who isn't Indian thinks of us, y'all love the "exotic" shit we have but also degrade it and downplay the importance it plays in our culture. dance is sacred, it is an offering to the gods and you do it with the utmost devotion-
— jo🔆🐋 (@jhopepapiii) May 1, 2018
Its really not about the song. The song is iconic yes, but the main issue here is the Bharatanatyam dance they did which is completely inappropriate. And her expressions, along with that thing under her nose.
— Pluviophile~♡ (@shainazara_) May 1, 2018
On the other hand, others have expressed that they do not think the clip is a mockery and that Xuan Yi did not mean to offend anyone.
I spoke with a person from India, he told me that the dance is not bharatanatyam, I saw videos of the original dance and that it is not even similar to the dance of XuanYi.
They just get carried away by what other people say.— Francisco (@frrancisco11) May 2, 2018
Xuan yi would never do anything to offend anyone, even more aware that they would call her racist. she is one of the most playful of the group, I know she was wrong, but it was not for wanting
— Isa☆ tá ansiosa pro comeback do dreamcatcher (@KimHyunUtted) May 1, 2018
I think it’s normal in their culture to mock other ethnicities and unfortunately I don’t think they think there is anything wrong with it 😒
— Karla🎧 (@btsuknoona) May 1, 2018
Xuan Yi’s performance sparked a debate between netizens as many pointed out that this isn’t the first time Indian culture was portrayed inappropriately in K-Pop. In the past, Lee Hyori had performed a dance to a prayer.
whilst we are here! let’s not forget this whole MESS from miss lee hyori. dancing to a prayer is NOT cute sis. pic.twitter.com/kOzJbgsJXt
— JOON-li (@knjseuphoria) May 1, 2018
Loona‘s Choerry had once posted a photo of herself with a bindi. The post was deleted shortly after with an apology from the group’s agency.
— sebooty (@neogotmybackbds) May 1, 2018
OH MY GIRL was also criticized for performing a song called “Curry” by the musical duo Norazo, where the song stereotyped the Indian culture with humorous lyrics about the dish.
THIIIIIIISS. SHANTI SHANTI, YOGA FIRE??? SHANTI MEANS CALM. YOGA FIRE ISNT A THING. I LOVE HOT CURRY WTF??! pic.twitter.com/uR6kFW37no
— Vroom Vroom (@itsVarunG) July 19, 2016
Many netizens request that Korean culture put more effort into understanding other cultures and avoiding cultural appropriation.
It's so sad to see how Korean culture is reaching every corner of the world but most of them can't seem to make any efforts to understand other cultures, always appropriating n demeaning us. This is disappointing. It's a classical dance form 100 of years old that u're mocking smh
— 💧 Pre-order Love Yourself-Tear💧 (@jinjaislyf) May 1, 2018
I guess this has to more with the Korean tv show culture that often makes these kind of shitty jokes on other culture. It's sad that this is not the first time something like this has happened !!! Someone needs to address this properly to the tv show people…
— Cheery🍒pie (@wonderlikeV) May 1, 2018
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