A Korean Beauty YouTuber Is Under Fire For Using The Wrong Choice Of Words To Address Korea’s Liberation Day

A famous Korean YouTuber received backlash for her thoughtless remark on the National Liberation Day of Korea.

YouTuber Yeonwoo | @me_wooo/Instagram

“Gwangbokjeol,” which is the Korean term for the National Liberation Day of Korea, is a public holiday celebrated every year on August 15. It commemorates the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule in 1945 and the establishment of the Republic of Korea’s government that succeeded the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

On the other hand, in Japan, this day is referred to as “paejeonil,” meaning the day of the end of the war.

Korean people celebrate the nation’s liberation from Japan’s rule. | Rodong Sinmun

On August 15, a beauty YouTuber named Yeonwoo uploaded a video titled “2-Nights, 3-Days” on her channel. In the video, she showed herself packing her suitcase for a three-day trip to Japan. However, in the video, she also referred to Korean Independence Day as “paejeonil.”

| @me_wooo/YouTube

Korean netizens criticized the YouTuber for calling the Korean holiday “paejeonil” and for not properly knowing Korean history. As the controversy grew, Yeonwoo addressed the issue in a community post on her YouTube channel. She first apologized for causing discomfort due to her “thoughtless actions” and explained two reasons why she thought it was okay to call it “paejeonil.”

The first reason was that the video was not meant to be a video focusing on Japan.

The focus of the video was on packing for a 2-night 3-day trip for water activities, not a consumption or tourism video about Japan. I thought it would be okay because in the video, I mentioned that I was traveling to Japan, and the introduction of items followed that context.

— Yeonwoo

Yeonwoo posts pictures of her trip to Japan on Instagram, angering netizens even more. | @me_wooo/Instagram

The second reason was that she believed that it wouldn’t issue because the day marks both Korea’s liberation and Japan’s defeat.

Gwangbokjeol is the day of Japan’s defeat and at the same time Korea’s day to celebrate the restoration of sovereignty, so I mistakenly thought it would not be an issue.

— Yeonwoo

Yeonwoo also clarified that she had no idea that the word “paejeonil” could be problematic, acknowledged her ignorance of history, and claimed that she will study more in the future.

In addition, I didn’t realize that the term ‘paejeonil‘ could be problematic. I didn’t mean it in the sense of Japan being the defeated country. I now realize my ignorance regarding history. I will definitely study more. I apologize.

— Yeonwoo

| @me_wooo/YouTube

Lastly, the YouTuber clarified that her intention was not to undermine the historical significance of the day and admitted that she acted immaturely. She also decided to take down the video and not upload any more videos.

I am not simply trying to avoid the issue, but I have come to realize that it is indeed a problem, even if belatedly. Therefore, I have taken down the video. Furthermore, I have decided not to upload any videos after this incident.

— Yeonwoo

Korean netizens replied to her post with comments, many of them expressing their disappointment in the YouTuber.

| @me_wooo/YouTube

• “I’ve been watching your videos for several years. I’m so disappointed today that I’m considering unfollowing. Take care. A nation that forgets its history has no future.”
• “Most of Japan’s citizens aren’t interested in history! If you go to Japan, you’ll probably fit in very well. Please create a travel vlog in Korea for your Japanese subscribers as a patriotic gesture. ”
• “Go back to your country!! Your comments about Liberation Day are shocking.”
• “Oh my… this statement is truly ignorant. It’s beyond common sense.”
• “It’s surprising to see that you have the perception that Korea’s Liberation Day is recognized as Japan’s defeat day…”
• “During the Japanese colonial period, we achieved ‘independence,’ not ‘war,’ with Japan. The term ‘defeat’ implies losing in a war, but our country has never fought a war against Japan. You can use the term ‘defeat’ only when viewed from a thorough Japanese perspective…”
• “Shocking… There’s no future for a nation that forgets its history…”
• “I’ve seriously never seen a Korean mention ‘defeat day’ before.”
• “I hope this serves as a reminder for you to consider who enables you to enjoy the freedom to travel to ^Japan^… ^^”
• “Calling that an explanation… it’s even more astonishing.”
• “She’s not even that young…”
• “Wow, seriously… This is on a whole different level… I never expected to hear the term ‘defeat day’ from a Korean.”

Yeonwoo has around 284,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and has 189 videos as of this article.