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Ateez and Atinys defend Mingi after fan makes fun of his English: 'Learn Korean'

A fan shared on 'Weekly Idol' that they would never go on vacation with Mingi because he had the 'worst' English

With K-pop going global and being pushed in the US market, we have agencies roping in English-speaking idols or teaching Korean members English so that they can interact seamlessly with more international fans. It looks like K-pop idols are indeed all-rounders as they have to be multilingual as along with English, they learn Japanese, Chinese and other Asian languages for their Asian fanbases. But it seems that some fans do not appreciate the hard work idols put in as one made fun of Ateez’s Mingi and his English.

Back in 2019, Ateez had gone to Australia with Mingi going viral for his statement “I cannot English-y” as he had to talk to a pharmacist for one of his missions. While it was a cute moment between Ateez and fans, some Atinys (Ateez’s fandom) have continued to pull his leg and run with the old joke even now. During Ateez's latest appearance on ‘Weekly Idol’, fans were asked to send in comments as to which Ateez member they would not want to go on a vacation with and why. One fan wrote Mingi and reasoned, “His English is the worst among the members.” 

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Mingi’s English is mocked

It should be noted that in late 2020, Mingi had gone on hiatus for anxiety. Since his return, fans and Ateez have been more protective of him. And so, following the comment, the ‘Weekly Idol’ hosts and Ateez were indignant as they rushed to his rescue. At one point, San asked what was wrong with bad English. International fans who have been attending fansigns also pointed out that Mingi had become much better in English and could have full conversations with them. They also brought back the impressive wordplay in his lyrics in English and Korean as evident in Ateez's recent song ‘The Ring’.

‘Some of you are so miserable’

Previously, we have also had several idols like Wonho and P1Harmony’s Keeho, and fans slamming back and sharing that if international fans are unhappy with idols’ broken English, they can instead learn Korean. Well, Atinys were angry at the fan and made tweets like, “People are actually making fun of mingi for apparently not speaking well enough english? oh i’m sorry i didn’t know he had to be fluent in order to be an idol smh some of you are so miserable.”

Another posted, “What’s wrong with being bad at english Yes san told them louder!! whoever wrote that comment abt mingi and the crews let it happen I’m not accepting this..” A fan who had spoken to Mingi shared, “Mingi had a full on english conversation with me with no misunderstandings and mistakes i can't believe some of you are still holding onto that dumb "joke" years ago saying he can't understand any.”

Another Atiny said, “You have the audacity to talk about mingi’s english, but what about your level of korean? idols don’t have to know english, they just learn it because they want to. if you really want to communicate with them because you can’t understand what they are saying then learn korean.” One added, “If you needed proof that mingi can carry a whole convo in English… like lol stop bringing up the stupid damn “I can’t English” thing - he even said he was told to say that.”

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