"Scary, viral?"..Kim Seon-tae's 'Don Seon-tae' faces backlash for 'secondary victimization' of RESCENE's Won [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

The production team of Kim Seon-tae's former 'Chungju Man' web variety show 'Don Seon-tae' drew sharp criticism for 'secondary victimization' after spotlighting RESCENE leader Won (22, Jeong Won) over the controversial 'Moseupno' remarks.

On the 29th, a video titled '[Premiere] Why is my name coming up in politics?!' was released on KBS's YouTube channel 'Ke Baek-su Original'. This is a preview of 'Don Seon-tae Success Era' (hereinafter 'Don Seon-tae'), a new web variety show hosted by YouTuber Kim Seon-tae, formerly known as 'Chungju Man', under KBS.

'Don Seon-tae' follows the format where Kim Seon-tae, who moved to Seoul for greater success, invites protagonists of South Korea's success stories to his Seoul boarding house to ask about their secrets to success. The production team previously explained that "Kim Seon-tae asks guests, 'How did you get here?' and delves into their success journey and critical moments."

However, in the preview video, Won's recent 'Moseupno' remarks, which unexpectedly sparked intense controversy, were heavily scrutinized. This was because some groups labeled Won's "Moseupno" statement—a native from Geoje City, Gyeongsangnam-do—as a hate expression akin to those found on Ilbe (Ilgan Best Storage), an ultra-right-leaning online community. Ilbe members use the suffix '-no' to demean the late Roh Moo-hyun Jeon (President), and since "Moseupno" is a common dialect in Gyeongsang Province, it ignited widespread social debate over conflicting interpretations.

As suggested by the blunt video title, MC Kim Seon-tae directly asked Won, "They say 'good things bring many troubles.' It was just a mishap, but could you briefly talk about the 'Moseupno' incident?"

Won's flustered expression was then captured on camera, followed by production subtitles reading, "Why is 'Moseupno' linked to Ilbe? We asked directly about this controversy."

Won immediately shared his feelings: "I was actually surprised too. I only imagined appearing on YouTube or music shows, but suddenly being on the news (front page) made me feel scared. Since then, I've felt I need to be careful with every word. Even if I didn't mean it that way, some people might interpret it differently. It was really shocking."

He added, "I just used words I normally say. The '-no' suffix is often used in exclamations anyway."

Kim Seon-tae responded, "I acknowledge different perspectives, but this feels like forced criticism ('eokka'). Actually, it was eokka," yet he followed up with an absurd question: "Has anyone said this might be a form of viral marketing? Because I'm an attacker, I have that kind of mindset."

Won replied, "One could consider that possibility, but I was extremely worried because news coverage might negatively impact our group. It even included my surname in the headlines, which made it feel like a bolt from the blue."

However, the 'Don Seon-tae' production team continued to use a lighthearted approach that seemed to provoke the 'Moseupno' topic until the end, drawing frowns from viewers. Kim Seon-tae made an unreasonable request: "Let's have some fun with the dialect. Why is my name coming up in politics?"

Won responded with surprise, saying, "Huh? I don't even know what that means. I really don't understand it either," speaking sincerely.

Although Won's mature attitude stood out, the video ultimately faced fierce criticism from netizens and was deleted. The lighthearted hosting style and production choices rendered Won's honest confession meaningless, leading to accusations of "secondary victimization driven solely by view counts."

Indeed, the 'Don Seon-tae' production team initially used a thumbnail titled "What's so scary about 'Moseupno'?" and an explicit title: '[Premiere] Why is my name coming up in politics?!'. By tagging 'Lee Jae-myung' and 'Han Dong-hoon', they attempted to boost views, which triggered the backlash known as the "Moseupno arm." In response to public outrage, they subtly changed the thumbnail to read "Please view kindly♥" and repeatedly altered the title to "[Premiere] First official statement: Why is my name coming up in the news?!", demonstrating their lack of responsibility.

Moreover, rather than issuing a formal explanation to quell criticism, the production team chose to hide or delete all videos, including the controversial one, such as 'Don Seon-tae' teasers.

Netizens responded with harsh comments: "I came because of the tags, but the tags are crazy. Is KBS losing its mind?", "Explaining it away as dialect usage is strange. There's no need to stir up trouble," "Why bring this up again now that things have finally calmed down? This feels very significant," "It feels like unnecessarily dragging up something that was just settling down," "This doesn't look like a sincere explanation; it seems like they're just using it for attention. Asking guests to speak in dialect at the end is absurd," and "What are you doing to young people?"

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*This content was translated by AI.