"Scary, no?": Popular Idol's Dialect Sparks Political Controversy

[Anchor]

A single phrase in a local dialect used by a member of the girl group RESCENE, who is from Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do, has escalated into a political dispute. Following claims that the expression is associated with the far-right website Ilbe, there is growing backlash and criticism against what many see as an attempt to perform ideological vetting based on a mere sentence ending.

Reported by Park Chan-beom.

[Reporter]

This is a conversation between Woni, a member of the five-member girl group RESCENE who is from Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do, and a producer in a YouTube video.

["Scary, no?" It's scary. Even the lighting is scary.]

After the video was released on June 28, claims were raised that adding "no" to the end of a sentence is an expression used by the far-right community "Ilbe" to mock the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.

A producer at a broadcasting station in the Gyeongsang region wrote on social media, "I was upset to hear 'no, no' being exchanged," and labeled it as "hate speech."

These claims have since spread to the political sphere.

Cho Kuk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, posted on social media yesterday (July 5) along with a chart titled "How to Distinguish," which claims that "Ilbe users mechanically attach 'no' to the end of standard Korean sentences." Today, he further argued, "Young people should realize that attaching 'no' to questions is a form of hate speech and should stop using it."

In response, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, criticized the move as an attempt to conduct ideological vetting based on a single sentence ending.

[Lee Jun-seok/Leader of the Reform Party: I am worried that a promising entertainer might lose her unique character, either voluntarily or involuntarily, due to the senseless scolding from former leader Cho Kuk.]

Within the People Power Party, Supreme Council member Woo Jae-jun, who is also from the Yeongnam region, stated that it is a common sentence ending used in various ways in the dialect and that he does not believe there was any political intent. From the Democratic Party, former full-time deputy spokesperson Ha Heon-ki also countered Cho's argument, saying, "You cannot judge someone based solely on a single sentence ending."

Comedian Kim Si-deok, who gained popularity for his Gyeongsang dialect comedy, expressed his displeasure, saying, "Putting an 'Ilbe frame' on a dialect is completely wrong."

On June 29, the National Institute of Korean Language's "Online Ganada" service responded to an inquiry about whether speech ending in "no" is a distorted dialect, stating that it is defined as "a sentence ending used to express questions in the Gyeongsang regional dialect," and added, "Detailed opinions vary among scholars, so it cannot be definitively concluded."

While former leader Cho and others argue that they are pointing this out to educate young people who may use the "Ilbe expression" without knowing its origins, criticism is mounting that politicians are labeling a young entertainer and engaging in ideological vetting over a single remark.

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Park Seon-soo | Graphics: Hwang Se-yeon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.