[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] The comedy idol group 'Cocoon,' produced by comedian Yoon Hyungbin, is embroiled in controversy for allegedly disparaging Koreans on a Japanese broadcast.
On the 11th, Yoon Hyungbin shared a preview video of the SBS MTV show 'Match Jjang's God' on his SNS. However, many netizens criticized the post in the comments, pointing to remarks made by the group Cocoon on a Japanese broadcast last month as problematic.
Cocoon is a five-member Korea-Japan joint comedy idol group produced by Yoon Hyungbin and the Japanese entertainment company Yoshimoto Kogyo, consisting of Jeon Jaemin, Lee Changhan, Kang Juwon, Kim Taegil, and Tanaka Ryo. They appeared on Japan's Fuji TV show 'Netapare' last month to perform comedy, but faced criticism accusing them of being unpatriotic rather than funny.
The issue centered on Kim Taegil, who, unlike other members, introduced his stage name simply as "Korean." While the only Japanese member, Tanaka Ryo, introduced his stage name as "Prince," Kim Taegil spoke in broken Japanese and said his Japanese stage name was just "Kankokujin (Korean)."
Cocoon continued the comedy by saying they gratefully received many gifts. While other members mentioned ordinary items like "flowers," "letters," "perfume," and "necklaces," Kim Taegil said "breath care (bad breath remover)," which some interpreted as disparaging Koreans as having garlic breath.
Regarding what they want to do if they become famous, other members said "solo debut," "movies," and "dramas," but Kim Taegil answered "apology press conference."
His favorite actor was also different from the others. While other members named real top stars like "Oguri Shun" and "Odagiri Joe," Kim Taegil chose the famous Japanese AV actor "Shimikken."
The final scene showed Cocoon members proposing. When a bullet was shot into the chest with a 'bang~' sound, the other members knelt on one knee, clutching their chests with one hand, saying lines like "I love you." However, when Kim Taegil tried to say "I love you," a rapid gunfire sound 'dadadada~' played. Kim Taegil then collapsed, and the comedy ended there.
Many netizens who watched the broadcast reacted negatively, saying things like "Are they disparaging Koreans as comedy material in Japan?", "Is it okay to make money by selling out the country?", "It's neither funny nor touching," and "I can't believe they casually chose a concept of being unpatriotic regardless of the current situation."
Yoon Hyung-bin Photo by Yonhap News
On the 13th, Yoon Hyungbin's agency responded to the controversy, stating, "'Korean' as a stage name is just a character that has been used since the original 'Comedy Big League,'" and added, "The video was maliciously edited, which seems to have caused misunderstandings."
Regarding the phrase "apology press conference," they said, "Although it may be misunderstood, recently many celebrities in Japan have held apology press conferences due to various scandals, so this was used as a satirical expression," and denied the controversy by stating, "Cocoon only expressed pride and confidence as Koreans and satirized Japanese entertainers through comedy material."
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