"No Excuse, Fully Accept Responsibility"
Subscriber Decline Despite Apology Letter
The YouTube channel 'Pisik University,' which faced backlash for derogatory regional remarks, apologized after a week. The controversial video was set to private.
On the 18th, a week after posting the problematic video, Pisik University posted an apology on their YouTube channel community late in the afternoon, stating, "We sincerely apologize to everyone who was harmed by our immaturity."
They explained, "We knew a prompt apology was important, but we thought it was first necessary to offer a sincere apology directly to the parties involved. Also, we were concerned that an apology without sufficient reflection would fail to convey our true feelings, so after careful consideration, we decided to post the apology today."
Regarding their use of expressions such as "like China," "shit water," and "taste of grandmother's flesh," they admitted, "Although the area has many local attractions, we emphasized the concept of a quiet region for filming and used excessive expressions to add entertainment value to the content. We acknowledge that our careless expressions lacked consideration for residents and small business owners, making it difficult to accept as comedy and were conveyed without filtering."
They also stated that they personally visited the bakery and restaurant featured in the video to apologize, saying, "Both owners said they are not currently experiencing any harm, but we will continuously monitor for any future damage and do our best to assist." They further apologized to the residents of Yeongyang County, public officials, and Korea Electric Power Corporation employees, as well as to everyone who felt discomfort from the content, bowing once again and setting the problematic video to private. They pledged to reconsider their social responsibilities through this incident.
The controversial video, titled "I Came to Yeongyang, the Smallest City in Gyeongsang Province," was released on the 11th. The video features comedians Jung Jae-hyung, Kim Min-soo, and Lee Yong-joo traveling in Yeongyang, Gyeongbuk, repeatedly saying things like "It's boring," "There's nothing special," and "There's nothing to do" throughout their journey.
It became problematic especially because they harshly criticized a small bakery and a casual restaurant while exposing their business names. After eating a hamburger bun at the bakery, they commented, "The taste is interesting," "I took a bite and felt a story in the food," "It's the taste of a grandmother," "Young people want to eat hamburgers, but they substitute with this," and "It feels like army stew. Since you can't eat it, you just eat it like this." When visiting the casual restaurant, they said, "Honestly, the menu lacks any special features," "The menu is meaningless, so you have to eat whatever is given," and "If you eat only this every day, the hamburger from earlier would taste heavenly, like pure honey."
As there was no significant response to the accusations of regional disparagement, subscribers began to unsubscribe. The number dropped by about 80,000 from 3.18 million before the controversy to 3.10 million as of the 19th.
Odokchang, the governor of Yeongyang County, expressing his position on the regional disparagement controversy involving Pisik University [Image source=Maeil Shinmun YouTube ‘Dongjae Lee’s News Cabinet’ video capture]
Even Oh Do-chang, the mayor of Yeongyang County, mentioned the video. Appearing on the YouTube show 'Lee Dong-jae's News Cabinet,' Mayor Oh said, "When I woke up, Yeongyang had become a star. But there are many disappointing parts." He added, "Yeongyang may be lacking, but in today's world where it's hard to see stars, it is a paradise where you can enjoy the birch forest and breathe clean air. The flower language of the birch tree is 'I am waiting for you.' We are waiting for you to come. Please visit us often."
The casual restaurant owner told JTBC's 'Incident Room' in an interview, "At the time, lunch service was over, so I was not going to serve customers, but since they said they were famous YouTubers, I served them a meal." He expressed, "Even though business was over, I gave them food, and now I feel it was my fault. I am so exhausted that I am considering closing the store and going out for some fresh air."
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