Singer Henry addresses the 'Pro-China' controversy, says 'I was hurt, but I endured it'
The “South Korea vs China” issue was taking the Entertainment industry down at the beginning of this year when the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics took place in February. Even before the event, Korean fans expressed their displeasure with Chinese-born idols not showing the right kind of courtesy to fans like kneeling in thanks towards them. The issue led to Korean fans criticizing idols from Everglow, aespa, Seventeen, and many other K-pop groups that have Chinese members.
If that wasn't enough, Chinese fans slammed Korean idols for supporting Korean athletes at the Winter Olympics as well as the inappropriate use of traditional Korean outfits - the hanbok. With all that drama finally coming to rest now, soloist Henry has taken the time to address his involvement in the issue and shared his thoughts about the controversy. Henry Lau, who debuted with the Chinese unit of the K-pop group Super Junior, was under fire when he failed to correct cultural appropriation against Koreans on the Chinese variety show ‘Street Dance China’.
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Henry expresses his feelings about the 'Pro-China' controversy
Following the initial flare-up, Henry was also called out when he posted an apology in Korean but failed to cross-check the words and ended up posting a grammatically incorrect apology. These controversies gave rise to a sentiment of hate towards the singer as fans believed he was purposely choosing to side with his homeland China while mocking South Korea. The issue seems to have died down now ever since the soloist formally apologized to fans for his errors and is now throwing light on what he went through in the last few months.
Henry appeared on JTBC's dance busking reality show ‘Fly to the Dance’ which was held in Seoul on June 3. On the show, the singer said, “The past few months have been the most difficult in my life.” He said that he was upset and hurt by the controversy and the allegations against him but still endured it.
The singer revealed that he could not stand it when his family was dragged into the issue and was cursed by trolls which made his heart break. He said, “I think it's a blessing to be born in this world. I love everyone and want to deliver good energy to as many people as possible regardless of gender or nationality through music and stage.”
Henry added that he wished the art of music would be kept away from sensitive political and patriotic sentiments as he hopes the negative sentiment toward him will stop now. He also promised his fans that he would always do his best in the future.