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Did Stray Kids’ Han Jisung use N-word in song? Fans are upset but won’t cancel singer: ‘Please educate him’

Han Jisung who enjoys a massive fan following may have invited trouble for himself when one of the users on Twitter pointed out that Jisung had used a racist slur in one of his songs

South Korean boy band Stray Kids’ member Han Jisung seems to have grabbed much attention on the Internet but for all the wrong reasons. The young K-pop crooner from the boy band became the fodder for gossip on the web after his rumored lyrics from a song with his band surfaced where he has allegedly used the N-word.

The 21-year-old lad, who enjoys a massive fan following, was asked to re-educate himself and to apologize for the error. In fact, the controversy first stirred when one Twitter user pointed out that Jisung had used a racist slur in one of his songs. The user also shared the lyrics of the Korean song with the help of an image and to make it more clear, the Twitter user also shared an image of the lyrics translated in English. However, it's not clear if the song was actually connected to Jisung. 

What do the lyrics say?

According to the lyrics shared by the user, Jisung allegedly goes in the song, “You are — foreign worker, you a motherfu--in pig a--hole.” The lyrics shared by the user also shed light on his abusive language. However, the Internet mostly focused on the slur and started slamming him. Although it is not clear how true the allegations are, another user soon shared an accurate translation of the song to bring the issue into the limelight.

How did the Internet react? 

Fans of Jisung were quick to react to the entire situation. However, the Internet was divided over whether he needs to apologize or not as some felt the singer needs to be educated on this. Speaking on the same, one user stated, “Let me clarify something: admitting that Jisung needs apologize doesn’t mean that you're throwing him under the bus or that you're being a bad stay. MFS that means u care about him, u want to educate him and u want him to grow up so that he won’t make these mistakes again.”

Another expressed, “Stray kids themselves have asked us to let them know when there’s an issue or if they do anything wrong so they can educate themselves, so please don’t defend him and actually help them learn by informing them if they do anything wrong like right now.”

One user shared, “The thing abt jisung is yes, he was young but it was still insensitive of him for using those words. i love jisung with all my heart but it was wrong of him to use those words.” Another added, “DO NOT bring park jisung into a situation he has nothing to do with. and i repeat, DO NOT.”

A third posted, “Don’t defend jisung pls don’t do that he needs to be held accountable for and apologize for it. it doesn’t matter how old he was when he wrote it he still needs to apologize to those he offended.” One fan said, “I AM DISAPPOINTED BUT I AM NOT CANCELLING HIM. I WANT HIM TO APOLOGIZE ON PPL HE GOT OFFENDED. I JUST LOVE HOW GENUINE HE IS AND I HOPE HE LEARNED THE LESSON. I TRUST HAN JISUNG AND I TRUST THE BOYS. PERIOD.” Another added, “I'm so overwhelmed with the Jisung's situation rn. Please educate him in a good way instead of cancelling him.”

‘He was embarrassed about it’

The scandal also reached Reddit and one user posted, “In a behind-the-scenes video, he said that he looked at his notebooks of lyrics when he was 13 and he said his 13-year-old self had a lot of anger and wanted to destroy everything. He was embarrassed about it.”

The post continued, “He was still pretty bad during his trainee times, he got into fights with almost all the members. He had calmed down a lot, but I hope he and the rest of stray kids educate themselves more on racial issues. In 2018, he did suggest that Changbin gets reggae hair, and was really surprised when Felix shut down Woojin when Woojin suggested Felix get dreads.”

Catch some screenshots on the platform here: 

‘I sincerely apologize to all of those who I have scarred’

When the controversy escalated on social media, Jisung took to the Stray Kids’ official Instagram and shared an apology. In a handwritten letter, he sincerely said sorry along with a translation in English.”

“First, the lyrics I wrote around 2013 when I was 13 years old have caused great concern to fans and many others. Without any excuse, this is completely my fault. I sincerely apologize.” He also added, “Due to this incident, I was able to think deeply while reading comments that many had left, as well as the lyrics I wrote in the past.
The reason why I chose to become a singer was so I could express myself through music and connect with many people. Because of this, I feel greatly ashamed of myself for writing such lyrics in the past. As I fully understand that such behavior cannot be excused simply because of young age, I will reflect upon my actions deeply.”

Read his full apology and translation in English here.