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Korean and Black fans clash after Loona's Yves apologizes for 'racist' cartoon profile picture

The K-pop idol had used a Korean cartoon character Go Eun-ae from 'Run Hani' who is a middle-aged Korean woman with curly hair and big lips

Whether K-pop idols stay silent or apologize for their problematic actions, it seems that they can never appease all fans. Korean and Black fans of Loona are now clashing after Yves’ recent actions. On July 28, Loona’s Yves had an allergic reaction that led to her already plump lips swelling up to an insane size. While fans joked that she looked like a Bratz doll, a particular comparison to a Korean cartoon character caught her eye. The Korean Orbit (Loona’s fan) shared that her swollen lips looked similar to Go Eun-ae from the '90s cartoon ‘Run Hani’ by posting a photo of the character.

Yves noticed the fan’s comment and went as far as to jokingly use the picture of Go Eun-ae as her profile picture on the messaging app FAB before changing it back. Go Eun-ae is a female farmer who was drawn with black curly hair and big lips to depict a middle-aged Korean women. The character has been deemed problematic with Black fans calling out the Korean cartoon for having racist undertones in the past. In 2020 Stray Kids’ Hyunjin had dressed up as the character by sporting curly hair and big lips for which he had apologized. It seems that international Loona fans also alerted Yves of the negative implications which led to her apologizing. 

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Loona’s Yves apologizes for profile picture

The Loona star apologized, “I understand you were very hurt because I used Go Eun-ae character as my profile picture earlier. ‘Run Hani’ is an old classic Korean cartoon which is why I used it, but I did not realize how it could cause discomfort. I apologize to everyone who felt hurt. Before I use characters from now on, I’ll be sure to double-check whether there are ways it could be misunderstood.” While Black fans accepted Yves’ apology and were ready to put the misunderstanding behind them, Korean fans have created an uproar.

‘She’s not a caricature for black people’

With ‘Run Hani’ being an iconic Korean cartoon as ‘Pokemon’ of Japan or ‘Tom and Jerry’ of the West, Knetz felt that there was nothing wrong with Yves making use of a popular cartoon that Korean kids grew up watching. They claimed that the show was not racist and that the Loona member did not have to apologize. One Knetz commented, “Koreans can have curly hair and thick lips too... What kind of bullshit is that?” Another shared, “They're creating a fuss over something they don't even know about. Do they seriously think Asians can't look like that?” One added, “Who told them Go Eunae portrays black people?ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.”

Another user wrote, “What a load of crap... Go Eunae is a Korean middle-aged lady who got her hair permed.” A fan tweeted, “I see that you never want to 'learn' about k culture too! the ko-eun-ae character was based on '80s typical k midage lady / the original cartoon was published in 1985 and what word can you say with this article are those ladies need to be 'educated'?” Another shared, “This is Go Eun-ae(?) and she's not a caricature for black people. She's supposed to be a representation of a Korean Ajumma (Auntie). Those aren't her lips, that's actually lipstick that goes over the line to represent the gossipy nature of ajummas.”

One fan explained, “The problem more relies on the fact the character is drawn with features given to characters who do black face/ is drawn in a racist way, that is why people consider it as racist.” Back during Hyunjin’s incident, fans had explained why the show was racist even if it was not imitating Black people, “The show is literally racist itself stop defending this group this is now a common reoccurrence for them stop trying to silence the people who are offended.” Another had said, “It really doesn’t matter what he was portraying bc the character itself is built up on and resembles blackface so…”

One user created a thread talking about the colorist undertones even if the show was not racist per se, “She is 100% korean, but her darker colored skin comes from the fact that the area is a farming area…in korea, white skin has been preferred since the beginning, as it was a symbol of status (rich people stayed inside the house while the poor people had to work the land and run errands)...implied that dark skin was bad, thus bringing controversy.” Another fan clarified, “Ive  seen  black  orbits  say  that  it  looks  very  similar  to  ministrel  show  characters..  so  even  if  the  character  wasnt  drawn  with  that  intent  it  still  came  off  that  way..  hence  why  she  rightfully  apologized.” One fan pointed out why it was important for K-pop idols to also be aware of other cultures, “They are going to be in the midst of a WORLD TOUR and you're complaining about them being sensitive to cultures that aren't theirs?”

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