Hong Seok-cheon Suggests Baejae High Students Personally Apologize in Gwangju, Contrasting with JK Kim Dong-wook

Broadcaster Hong Seok-cheon has suggested that the Baejae High School baseball team members, who sparked controversy for mocking Gwangju Jeil High School with their cheers, should personally visit Gwangju to apologize.

On Wednesday, Hong posted a message on his social media titled My Thoughts on How to Apologize, expressing his views on the recent controversy.

Hong shared, I grew up being educated while watching the news that 'reds in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, started a rebellion and were suppressed by military force.' He added, It was only after I graduated from middle and high school and entered university in Seoul that I learned the truth was different. I was very embarrassed, and I felt truly sad when I learned about the pain of Gwangju.

He continued, I also felt a lot of guilt, wondering why I had held such thoughts for so long. The people I met in Gwangju were so warm and beautiful, and they were the ones who gave me happy memories, he recalled.

Addressing the recent controversy involving the Baejae High baseball team, Hong stated, Honestly, I was very surprised when I saw the news. I thought that students should not be doing things like that.

He then suggested, Rather than the school issuing an apology letter and explaining the situation, it would be better for the baseball team students to go down to Gwangju, talk to the students from Gwangju Jeil High School, apologize, and then share a meal prepared by the warm-hearted mothers of Gwangju before returning.

He emphasized, I think it is the best way to apologize at that age. I believe the students of Gwangju Jeil High School will accept that apology. History must be studied accurately.

Previously, on June 29, during the 81st Blue Dragon National High School Baseball Championship held at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul, some student athletes from Baejae High School shouted slogans such as "Let's go to Starbucks" and "Tank Day" toward the Gwangju Jeil High School dugout, drawing criticism for trivializing the May 18 Democratization Movement. Following the incident, Baejae High School issued an official apology, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has begun an investigation into the facts.

Prior to this, singer JK Kim Dong-wook shared a related article about Baejae High School on his social media and wrote, "They really got triggered. Are they blowing up a happening that occurred while kids were playing baseball like this?" He added, "The atrocities of the far-left who target people. It is a trash sentiment that should disappear now," sparking further controversy.

JK Kim Dong-wook, a Canadian national, was also at the center of controversy during the Starbucks incident, which involved a "Tank Day" marketing dispute, when he wrote, "I don't usually go there, so why are you making me want to go and bothering me?"



Reported by Kang Kyung-yoon | Produced by SBS Entertainment News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.