"What are you scared of?" in Bold and Flooded with Celebrity Tags... How "DonSeonTae" Fueled the Laisenne Controversy

Hashtagging Numerous Unrelated Political and Business Figures
Criticism Continues Despite Sensational Thumbnail Edits
Public Broadcasting Responsibility Under Fire Ahead of August TV Broadcast
Netizens: "Using the Controversy for Clickbait"

KBS YouTube original variety show "DonSeonTae Success Era" has come under fire for using the dialect controversy surrounding group Laisenne member Wonyi as sensational thumbnail material and for listing the names of unrelated celebrities in clusters as hashtags. Although the production team edited the title and thumbnail, ongoing criticism ultimately led them to set the video to private.

On the 29th, the YouTube channel "Kebaksu Original" released a pre-release video of "DonSeonTae Success Era" titled "First Official Statement, Why Am I on the News?!" The video featured former Chungju city official Kim Seontae, as well as Laisenne members Wonyi and Minami.

The controversy arose more from the way it was promoted than from the content of the video itself. The original thumbnail prominently featured Woni's face alongside the phrase "What's scary?" with the last syllable "No" highlighted in a different color, which heightened the controversy. YouTube channel "Kebaksu Original"

The controversy arose more from the way it was promoted than from the video content itself. The initial thumbnail prominently featured Wonyi's face along with the phrase "What are you scared of?" with the word "No" emphasized in a different color, which fueled the dispute. Netizens pointed out that this seemed to deliberately highlight the phrase that Wonyi had previously used, which some suspected was associated with an expression from a particular online community. As the criticism mounted, the production team replaced the thumbnail text with "Look beautifully" and also revised the video title. However, the controversy escalated further when additional hashtags in the video description were discovered.

The hashtags included the names of figures such as President Lee Jaemyung, Assemblyman Han Donghoon, former national soccer team coach Hong Myungbo, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jay-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, and NewJeans—none of whom were directly related to Laisenne or the video content. Some criticized the attempt to use the names of prominent public figures as popular search keywords to drive more exposure to the video.

In the video, Wonyi spoke for the first time about her feelings since what has been called the "What are you scared of" controversy. She said, "I only ever imagined appearing on YouTube or music shows, so suddenly being on the social issues section of the news was really frightening," adding, "I realized I need to be much more careful with each and every word I say." She continued, "It was a phrase I used back home, and 'No' was just an exclamation I tagged on," explaining that, "although I didn't intend anything by it, I was surprised by how it could be interpreted differently by different people."

Kim Seontae consoled her, saying, "While I recognize differences in perspective, I think this was a bit of an 'overreaction'." Wonyi also confessed that she was worried the controversy could have a negative impact on the whole group. However, despite the stated intention of discussing Wonyi's feelings, the production team again made the controversy the focus of the thumbnail and title, sparking backlash from fans. Critics argued that public broadcasting was once again exploiting the subject of a political controversy in order to drive up view counts, despite the toll it had already taken on those involved.

Online, reactions included, "Public broadcasting content is using cyber clickbait techniques," "They expanded the controversy by tagging unrelated politicians and celebrities," and "Forcing the person involved to clarify things and then consuming it again in a sensational way is tantamount to secondary victimization." The production team kept revising the title, thumbnail, and hashtags in an attempt to contain the situation, but as the criticism didn't subside, the video was ultimately set to private. However, up to the point at which the video was privatized, there was no official apology or specific explanation issued.

"DonSeonTae Success Era" is a talk show where Kim Seontae meets with figures from various walks of life to hear about their journeys and experiences of success. Although it is scheduled for broadcast on KBS2 in August, it seems difficult to escape criticism that public broadcasting content lacks a sense of responsibility, given that these issues of sensational promotion and indiscriminate use of keywords erupted with the very first release.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.