Broadcast Video Set to Private
No Official Statement Released Yet
Controversy Over Use of "Sea of Japan" Map
Jeon Seokjae, known as Shuka, a YouTuber with 3.6 million subscribers, has become embroiled in controversy after using a doctored World Health Organization (WHO) logo-created to mock former President Roh Moo-hyun-during a live internet broadcast. On September 28, while discussing cases of the Trump administration withdrawing from international organizations on his YouTube channel "Shuka World," Shuka displayed the logos of UNESCO and WHO on screen.
As the controversy spread, Shuka World removed the video from their channel but has not yet issued an official apology. Online community
However, the WHO logo was not the official image but a manipulated one. In place of the world map, the image included the face of former President Roh, as well as silhouettes of a skate fish and a dog being embraced. This doctored image is believed to have originated from the far-right online community "Ilbe" and was used on the broadcast without verification. As the controversy spread, Shuka World removed the video from their channel, but has yet to release an official statement. Online users reacted by saying, "It's irresponsible to air content seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers without even basic verification," "It's shocking that an Ilbe image was used as is," and "There really is no excuse for this."
Some argue that this controversy may have resulted from a simple mistake. In fact, the manipulated WHO logo appears at the top of Google image search results, raising the possibility that Shuka’s team sourced the image via search rather than from the official website. Still, given the channel's size and influence, many believe more thorough verification was necessary. The backlash is especially strong because a similar incident occurred just two months ago.
Earlier, Suga also caused controversy in July when Shuka used a map displaying the East Sea labeled as the "Sea of Japan" as a reference screen during a live broadcast. YouTube channel "Shuka World"
Previously, in July, Shuka also caused controversy during a live broadcast by using a map that labeled the East Sea as the "Sea of Japan." The day after the broadcast, he apologized on the YouTube community page, stating, "It was a mistake that occurred because I used Japanese materials, and it is 100% my fault. Even though I conducted a prior review, I switched to a more visually appealing map right before the broadcast, which led to the error." He continued, "This is a mistake I cannot forgive myself for, and I sincerely apologize for causing concern to so many people. The East Sea is the East Sea, and Dokdo is, of course, our territory. As a gesture of apology, I will immediately donate 30 million won to the Korean Red Cross's 'Support for Descendants of Independence Activists' program."
This is not the first time a doctored image from Ilbe has caused issues on broadcasts. In February last year, SBS’s YouTube channel "SBS News" sparked controversy after using a manipulated Pusan National University logo containing the word "Ilbe" in a poll post on the YouTube community. At the time, the production team repeatedly apologized, saying, "We used an image found via Google search without realizing it had been manipulated," and promised to thoroughly overhaul their production system to prevent a recurrence.
A similar incident occurred in 2013. MBC's "Good Day" sparked controversy by showing a doctored photo of former President Roh in a Bob Ross segment, and in the same year, SBS's "Sports News" aired a manipulated Yonsei University logo containing "Ilbe" while reporting on the results of the Yonsei-Korea Games. At the time, SBS explained, "It was confirmed that the staff member found and used the doctored logo during a Google image search."
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