Mnet's forthcoming show Girls Planet 999 has landed in controversy even before its launch. The survival show is now facing the wrath of South Korean citizens over some Chinese trainees' pro-China social media posts.
A report on Allkpop claims that some Chinese trainees have endorsed China's military involvement in the Korean war on their social media profiles. The article mentions the names of SNH48 member Wang QiuRu, Wang Yale from Youth with You 2, and Chen Xinwei from DAYLIGHT who hailed their country's role in the war, earlier.
Korean War
It was a war between North Korea, with military support from China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, with the support of personnel from the United Nations. It was kicked off in June 1950 after North Korea invaded South Korea and ended with an armistice in July 1953.
The South Koreans look back at the war with pride. So, the posts of pro-China have reportedly not gone well with the Korean nationalist. Hence, they have slammed Mnet for bringing in those trainees for the show.
The show consists of female contestants from Korea, China, and Japan. Out of 33,000 applications, the organisers choose 13,000 for the auditions. Finally, 99 participants were selected, representing 33 contestants each from three nations.
"The viewers will get to form diverse group compositions with the girls from different cultures. We ask for support for the journey that will begin in August," Korea JoonAng Daily quotes Yoon Shin-hye, the chief producer of the program, as saying.
Girls Planet 999 will be aired from August 2021. Mnet has partnered with the fan-interaction app, Universe. The winners will be decided based on the domestic and foreign fans' votes and the organisers promise to provide a fair and reliable voting system.
