During Hangul Day Celebration Broadcast
Subtitle Error: 'Giyeok' Displayed as 'Gieok'
Earlier on Liberation Day, Kimigayo Broadcast Sparked Backlash
During the 578th Hangeul Day celebration ceremony, the lyrics subtitles broadcasted by KBS during Seodo Band's 'Hangeul After Party' performance on stage were incorrectly displayed. '기역' was shown as '기억', and '디귿' was shown as '디읃'. [Photo by YouTube 'MBC News' report capture]
KBS, which faced public backlash for airing the Kimigayo anthem on Liberation Day, is now being criticized for broadcasting incorrectly pronounced Hangul consonant subtitles during the Hangul Day event.
On the 10th, KBS 1TV and KTV under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism broadcast the 'Hangul Day Celebration' event held on the 9th, Hangul Day, at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul. The issue occurred near the end of the event during the live broadcast of Seodo Band's 'Hangul Afterparty' performance. The lyrics included the phrase ‘giyeok nieun digeut rieul’ but the subtitles mistakenly displayed it as ‘gieok nieun dieut rieul.’ The consonant 'ㄱ' should be read as 'giyeok,' and 'ㄷ' should be 'digeut.' This phrase was repeated multiple times throughout the song, causing the incorrect subtitles to appear repeatedly.
Viewers expressed strong criticism. They particularly pointed out that a public broadcaster, which collects license fees from viewers, made such a mistake. Comments included, "How can such a mistake happen on Hangul Day?" "They aired Kimigayo on Liberation Day. Are they really a public broadcaster?" "Even elementary school students wouldn't make such a mistake. They should be ashamed," "KBS holds Korean language contests but can't even proofread subtitles properly?" "The license fee is a waste," and "Apologize immediately," showing their anger.
KBS: "We recognized the subtitle error and have completed corrections... We apologize for the inconvenience caused"
As the controversy grew, KBS issued a statement that day saying, "After discovering the subtitle error, we temporarily suspended the replay service, made corrections, and resumed the service. We apologize to viewers for the inconvenience caused." They also explained, "There was an error in the lyrics subtitles provided by the event organizer, but it was not filtered out during the process of re-producing the broadcast version."
Previously, KBS faced criticism for scheduling the opera 'Madama Butterfly,' which features the Kimigayo anthem, on Liberation Day on KBS 1TV's 'KBS Broadcast Booth.' This led to suspicions of 'pro-Japanese sentiment,' with some questioning whether the scheduling was a simple mistake or intentional. In response, KBS attended a related agenda review at the Korea Communications Standards Commission on the 7th and stated, "We apologize for causing controversy on a nationally important day," adding, "A special audit is also underway."
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