Burn to Win Cancels Episode Featuring Paichai High School Following Controversy

The sports variety show Burn to Win has decided not to air the match between the Fireworks Fighters and Paichai High School.

Studio C1, the production company behind Burn to Win, announced on its official YouTube channel on July 1, "The production team has taken the recent issues regarding Paichai High School very seriously, and we have decided not to air the Paichai High School episode, which was scheduled for July 6." They added, "We ask for the viewers' understanding."

The statement continued, "We will return with the Seongnam High School episode on July 13 at 8:00 PM."

The decision by Studio C1 follows an incident that occurred during the 81st Blue Dragon National High School Baseball Championship match between Paichai High School and Gwangju Jeil High School at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 29th of last month. During the game, Paichai High School baseball players were heard chanting, "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks," toward the Gwangju Jeil High School dugout, and also shouted the phrase "Tank Day."

Gwangju Jeil High School protested through the umpires, stating, "Stop that. Why are you bringing up Starbucks?" leading to the umpires issuing a warning to the Paichai High School side. As videos of the incident spread across YouTube and online communities, the Paichai High School baseball team faced criticism for allegedly mocking the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and disparaging the region.

Although Paichai High School attempted to address the situation by issuing two separate apologies, public sentiment remained cold. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Paichai High School expressed a desire to visit Gwangju Jeil High School in person today (July 1) to offer a sincere apology. However, it was reported that Gwangju Jeil High School requested they reconsider, stating that "the students are not yet in a state of mind to accept an apology."

On the 7th of last month, the players of Burn to Win played a match against the student athletes of Paichai High School at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, which was broadcast live on the SBS Plus channel that day. The edited version of this broadcast was scheduled to be released on Studio C1's YouTube channel on the 6th, but the production team decided to cancel the broadcast following the controversy over Paichai High School's alleged regional disparagement.

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(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)