Korea University Korean Language and Literature Professor Lee Se-nne's "Museopno" Controversy: "Could This Happen?" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

A language expert clarified that the expression "Museopno" used by Lee Se-nne member Yee is a normal Gyeongsang dialect, dispelling misunderstandings surrounding the controversy.

Professor Shin Ji-young of Korea University's Department of Korean Language and Literature appeared on YTN Radio's "YTN Let's See!" broadcast on the 8th, stating that the debate had become excessively heated, to the point where she thought, "Oh, this is something that shouldn't have happened."

Professor Shin explained that "Museopno" is not a hate expression originating from a specific online community but rather an exclamation naturally used in the Gyeongsang dialect.

She added, "In this case, 'Museopno' is not a question but an exclamation. In the Gyeongsang dialect, the '-o' form functions as an exclamatory marker," and noted that it can be understood similarly to the standard Korean expression "Museopne."

She further explained that the Gyeongsang dialect retains the sentence-ending system of 15th-century Korean, and that the final "-no" is used not only for questions but also broadly in monologues and exclamatory self-talk.

Regarding the background of the growing controversy, she pointed out that the context before and after the video was not properly conveyed. Professor Shin mentioned that during filming, the PD first said "Museopno," explaining that "it appears the PD is not actually a speaker of this dialect." The misunderstanding grew because only a scene where the PD, who does not use the dialect, mimicked Yee's speech pattern and Yee naturally responded was widely circulated.

Professor Shin also criticized Kim Hyun-ji, an MBC Gyeongnam PD who first raised the issue, as well as Cho Kuk Jeon (CEO), who later commented on it.

She stated, "The person who raised this issue is a speaker of the Gyeongsang dialect, and then the political sphere fueled the fire. Since they are also a dialect speaker themselves, wouldn't it take courage to acknowledge that their observation was mistaken by saying, 'This was wrong'?"

She further expressed concern, asking why the target of criticism was Yee, a young and vulnerable individual accused of making hate expressions she did not utter, urging people to consider this.

Meanwhile, the controversy erupted last month on the 28th when, during a video on group member Yee's YouTube channel, the PD said, "There was a clanking sound. What is it? Museopno," to which Yee responded, "Museopno. Even the lighting is scary."

Subsequently, claims emerged that the expression "-no" is used in far-right communities such as Ilbe (Ilgan Best Storage) to demean the late President Roh Moo-hyun, sparking further controversy.

In response, PD Kim Hyun-ji pointed out on social media on the 1st that "despite countless corrections from Gyeongsang dialect researchers stating that this usage does not conform to grammatical rules, young people are naturally using the non-standard 'no' in questions." She added, "When one knows an expression is rooted in hate speech, the choice becomes a matter of attitude."

Later, Cho Kuk Jeon (CEO) also stated, "It must be clearly communicated that attaching '-no' to interrogative sentences (not whether it conforms to Gyeongsang dialect usage or not) is a wrongful act of mocking and belittling the late President Roh Moo-hyun. Young people should know that using '-no' with questions constitutes a harmful hate expression and stop using it."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.