"Han Capital is Baku"... Japanese Idol Member Mocked on Broadcast Faces Backlash

'King & Prince' Hirano Sho's Interview Belittling Korea
Known Korean Phrases: "Xie Xie, Wo Ai Ni"

Hirano Sho (26), a member of the famous Japanese idol group 'King & Prince,' has sparked outrage by making absurd remarks that seemed to mock Korea during a broadcast interview.

Hirano Sho, a member of the famous Japanese idol group 'King & Prince,' is answering that the capital of Korea is 'Baku' in front of the 'I SEOUL U' sculpture.
[Photo by Online Community Capture]

On the 19th, a video of Hirano Sho visiting Korea for a Japanese broadcast shoot was posted on online communities. In the video, Hirano Sho conducted an interview in front of the large 'I SEOUL U' sculpture symbolizing the Han River and Seoul, but greeted in Chinese by saying "xie xie." Then, looking around, he made a nonsensical comment, saying "There are surprisingly tall buildings."

When asked if he knew any Korean, Hirano replied, "xie xie, wo ai ni," and when asked about the capital of Korea, he said "Baku." Baku is the Japanese pronunciation of Park, one of Korea's representative surnames, but some netizens speculate that he might have been referring to 'pakuri,' meaning 'knockoff,' rather than the surname Park.

Hirano's 'nonsense' interview continued. When asked about Korea's currency unit, he answered "berry." Also, he described his visit to Korea not as 'Banghan' or 'Naehan' (terms for visiting Korea), but as 'Nail (來日),' which has drawn criticism for possibly reflecting the historical context of Korea being a Japanese colony, rather than being a mere slip of the tongue.

Netizens who watched the video responded with comments such as "This is typical anti-Korean behavior," "I get that he wants to mock, but he just looks ignorant," and "There is no respect or courtesy toward another country."

King & Prince is a five-member boy group that debuted in 2018 and belongs to Johnny & Associates, a leading Japanese entertainment agency. Hirano Sho, who has also worked as an actor, is scheduled to leave the group in May, and there are rumors about his overseas transfer related to this.