Netizens up in arms because of Hyosung's misuse of the word 'democratization'

[frantastic.livejournal.com]

Hyosung‘s misuse of the word ‘democratization’ has been receiving criticism.

On May 14, the SECRET members were guests on SBS Power FM‘s ‘Choi Hwa Jung’s Power Time‘ and on the show, Hyosung stated, “Our team respects each other’s individuality so our group doesn’t utilize democratization.”

The word ‘democratization’ is used to indicate when a country or society transitions from an authoritarian regime to a democracy. However, Hyosung seems to have misunderstood what the word meant and misused the phrase.

Even worse, some have pointed out that the website full of conservatives Ilgan Best uses the word ‘민주화시키다 / democratization’ not for its original meaning, but as something to mean ‘the citizens create chaos’, ‘to destroy’, or ‘to make disappear’, meanings which seem to suit Hyosung’s use more. Because the way she used the word ‘민주화시키다’, there are people who believe that she could possibly be a member of the site. The website is full of many extremists and is the target of much criticism, there are some posts on the site which make fun of people’s deaths and is generally thought to be a negative place.

There were many who came to Hyosung’s defense stating, “She probably used it not knowing what the word really meant“, and “It could’ve been an honest mistake.” While others stated, “Even if she doesn’t know history, she shouldn’t be saying misused words like they’re nothing.”

Her label spoke up to say, “She used the word without knowing what it meant. She’s surprised that the issue has become so big after what she said.” They also affirmed that she was not a member of Ilgan Best.

Hyosung also took to her Twitter to apologize, writing, “Hello, this is SECRET’s leader Hyosung. I apologize for the incorrect phrase I used on ‘Choi Hwa Jung’s Power Time’ today. I’m self-reflecting on the point that I misused a word without understanding what it really meant. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful to make sure this never happens again. I apologize again.”

Source: Sports Chosun via Nate, Herald Economy via Nate, Hankook Economy via Nate + akp + @Secretimehs


After Hyosung misused the word ‘democratization’, there’s being demands for her to be edited out of ‘Infinity Challenge‘ special featuring idols.

Last week, the first half of the special aired, and the second half of the episode will be aired on May 18.

May 18 is an important day for Koreans because it’s the anniversary of the beginning of the Gwangju Democratic Movement back in 1980. Since the day itself is one of commemoration, looking back on a democratization movement, many are pointing out that it would be improper for someone who misused the word to be on the show.

Posts on the variety show’s official message board read, “At least blur her face out“, “Edit out the person who has no idea what democratization means“, and “Even if I am her fan, I don’t think this is suitable for 5/18“.

~~~


Article: "Edit Jun Hyosung out"... Influx of posts on Infinity Challenge message boards

Source: TV Report via Naver

1. [+309, -36] The T-ara train has arrived.

2. [+252, -19] I would've understood if she used another ilbe word like 'unji' and said she didn't know what it meant, but democratize has a meaning on its own so it's hard to believe that she really used it in that context without knowing what it meant? How could she be 25 years old and not know what it means unless she's utterly stupid?

3. [+268, -35] And another idol has left us today

4. [+203, -18] Don't call it a mistake. How can you be 25 and not know what democratize means? Even elementary school students wouldn't use the word in that context.

5. [+138, -16] Yeah, edit her out of IC... I don't want to watch some 25 year old who doesn't even know what democratize means.

6. [+105, -11] Whether or not she's ilbe trash, the fact that she used the word in a negative context means she's in the wrong.

Article: "Edit Jun Hyosung out"... Influx of posts on Infinity Challenge message boards

Source: TV Report via Nate

1. [+121, -54] Gotta watch that mouth whether you're asleep or awake

2. [+124, -74] Bye...

3. [+106, -77] Never crawl back out again. Now that I know you're an ilbe trash, just seeing your face gives me goose bumps.


Source: TV Report via Nate, TV Daily via Nate, Herald Economy via Nate + akp + NetizenBuzz

Comments

[toshi830.livejournal.com]

To be fair, most of these netizens talking shit say a bunch of shit without knowing what it means either so they need to step down a sec off their hypocritical high horses.

People really shouldn't use words they don't know though, so that part's still on Hyosung I guess.

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

She just said that the majority doesn't have a say over the individual in Secret. Basically they have to come to respect everyone's wishes.

But she shouldn't use the term because it really doesn't make sense in the context and clearly it's a sensitive term in Korea.

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

From what I gather all she meant was that the group dynamic works by respecting each member's wishes, rather than going with the majority (unlike democracy where the minority can be at time invisible). That's all, the reaction is embarrassingly over the top. They should use netizens as a case study for mass witch hunts tbh.

[yulia-eru.livejournal.com]

Seems like it, though the sentence still sounds awkward

[devilsatin.livejournal.com]

she's really stupid either way :-(

[rylee900.livejournal.com]

Yeah like...to not know what it means is stupid and to use a word you don't understand is worse
But if she's part of Ilbe then...I can't even fathom how monumentally stupid she is (also to use the phrase if she is like c'mon)

[gee.livejournal.com]

This is why you don't use words if you don't know what they mean lol. Geez girl. I love you but invest in a dictionary.

[hayley0614.livejournal.com]

k hi your icon is flawless

[girlknees.livejournal.com]

don't quote me on this because i'm not 100% sure, but i think the problem lies in her use of 민주화 시키다 rather than 민주화 하다 (with the 하다 version being the proper way of saying democratization, whereas 시키다 has a negative meaning).

idk, i mess up my own native language a lot so... i can see how she could make mistakes in korean too, but this seems like a particularly sensitive word to mess up with

[pikapika217.livejournal.com]

Once again netizens are doin' the DAMN MOST over something ridiculously minor.

[holykaisus.livejournal.com]

This isn't really 'minor' though. You should understand why it's considered offensive to Koreans (minus Ilbe users, obviously).

[annhh.livejournal.com]

She made a mistake, I think people are reading too much into it

"..there are people who believe that she could possibly be a member of the site.The website is full of many extremists and is the target of much criticism, there are some posts on the site which make fun of people’s deaths and is generally thought to be a negative place."

woah ok reaching. words travel, she must've heard someone say this word and misunderstood. that's how it usually goes. I know I still don't know some words, there's not always a chance to ask, or google. though I don't use those words.

[aigyu.livejournal.com]

the problem is that apparently only ilbe users use the word, so whoever she heard that from (or i would think she read it somewhere) would've been an ilbe user--if this is the case...

[aigyu.livejournal.com]

copy & pasting comment from netizenbuzz

"Some background information:

In south korea there is a group of people claiming that the country shouldn't have been democratized and should just have remained an autocratic state with an military dictator. They even think that north korea made south korea democratized in order to mess up south korean society. Ilbe is a website where those kind of people gather.

Ilbe users distorted the use of the term 'to democratize' to 'to oppress people's freedom' because they think democracy is a bad thing. The majority of south korean think Ilbe users are making fun of blood and deaths of many people sacrificed during korean democratization by distorting the meaning of the word. And Hyosung, while I can't tell she did on purpose or not knowing, used the term in the exact way Ilbe users do.

Of course I understand outside of south korea it must be hard to understand why korean netizens are so upset about her words. But this is not just hatred toward idol celebrities, but a problem related to history and political background."

idk seems like a big deal...already getting out of hand

[goldynchickie.livejournal.com]

Thank you for explaining.

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

i think this is a case where you're not gonna be able to understand the severity unless you speak the language and know the cultural context. judging by the uproar it's not as innocuous as multiple meanings of a word in english

[hearttaek.livejournal.com]

mte it seems to be a very sensitive topic for koreans because of the political and historical context pf the whole situation.

I personally dgi but im not korean.

[confuqued.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of the whole 'white power' incident with Baekhyun.

[magicpineapple.livejournal.com]

I missed that. Care to enlighten me?

[45s.livejournal.com]

#3 tho. Netizens go in omg

[lettace.livejournal.com]

Lol at that being the first word that came to her mind...
But poor girl, half these arses probably don't know what it means either.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

Some netizens comments are really harsh :/

[rylee900.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I can't 100% blame them on this one.. :(

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

"Okay, she used a word not really knowing what it means, it just happens to be sensitive."

Nope.

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

Her apology kinda sounds like bs to me though, it doesn't actually seem like she understands why she shouldn't have used the word.

[lysblack.livejournal.com]

this whole situation confused me so much.

[tryxkittie.livejournal.com]

idgi

[nortonamo.livejournal.com]

Are all these comments by her ex uncle fans, turned antis after she lost weight?

[yingmoon26.livejournal.com]

i agree with this so much.

[yukahoo.livejournal.com]

I was really confused about this and what I have gathered from elsewhere is that it's not simply that she used the word wrongly. Now I don't speak Korean at all, but from what I understood there is several ways of saying what would be translated as "democratization". And that the way Hyosung chose to say it attached a negative connotation of force and coercion into the expression - something that is commonly done by the members of this despised Ilbe community. Like, "normal" people wouldn't say democratization like that, even if they didn't know what the word or concept meant.

Idk, this is what I gathered. That's my understanding of the issue. Just wanted to share in case anyone else is particularly interested in political rhetoric and the politics of language, etc.

As an outsider it's really hard to gauge how big of a faux pas this actually was.

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

that's what i read too :/

[mad-nux.livejournal.com]

these netizens need to edit out themselves instead ugh

[mingobus.livejournal.com]

If an idol used the N-word, you'll all have a fit and have the exact same reaction as these knetizens. Just because you don't understand how offensive a word or sentence is, doesn't mean it isn't offensive.

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

+1. But you know of course oppas and unnies can never do wrong = =

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

Idols are stupid, this is shocking to me.

[ababobaby.livejournal.com]

all so confusing.

[sayufied.livejournal.com]

ikr... I'm so lost.

[tempestdance.livejournal.com]

this isn't minor, this is actually a big deal because Ilbe's been such a big problem lately with their attempts to re-interpet the history calling the 5.18 Democratization Movement as a mere riot, calling people liberal zombies if they don't agree with what Ilbe says, and making fun of the dead in various ways such as photoshopping the late President Noh's face onto animals or captioning pictures of the killed protesters in Gwangju as bunch of rotting skatefish, etc. They're brainwashing the youth with words that mock the people who fought for peace and democracy, and Hyosung's use of the word democratization in such a negative way shows that.

It's fucking ridiculous that she could be a member of Ilbe, which is a site that calls Korean women "Kimchi-Women" and prides on being sexist.
This isn't bunch of netizens going into riot about some silly thing, or being hypocritical (because those disgusting comments you see on Nate? It's Ilbe) about their own hateful words.
The country is already on high tension about the government's pro-Japan policies and media censorship, etc, and Hyosung poured fuel into that.

Personally I'm disgusted that a 25-year-old would not know the correct usage of the word democratization because it either says she's an idiot who never learned the word in elementary schol or an Ilbe bug (their site's downvote button is called Democratization).

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

I hope everyone reads this comment and stops saying the issue is confusing because it really isn't, the article explained it perfectly and this comment clarified even more. Thank you.