A Fan Brought Up How LOONA Mimics Indian “Mudras” To Olivia Hye—Here’s How She Responded
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During a recent fan video call event, a fan talked to LOONA‘s Olivia Hye about an issue that’s been circulating around their fandom, and also shared her response to it.
A fan recently took to Twitter to share their video call with Olivia Hye through LOONA’s fan call event titled Orbit Ring, and revealed that during the call, she addressed several concerns about the members of LOONA and their alleged mimicking of “mudras“, that can be seen as insensitive, as well as offensive to Indian culture.
Mudras are gestures or poses that are either symbolic or ritualistic, and while some are performed with the entire body, most are usually performed with the hands or fingers. Mudras are closely tied to many Indian religions (such as Hinduism and Jainism), and are also integral components of several Indian classical dance forms (such as Bharatnatyam and Kathak), and are also used in yoga.
When LOONA announced their comeback as 12 members with the song “Paint The Town (PTT)”, their teasers immediately drew eyes for alleged cultural appropriation of Indian culture, seeing as Blockberry Creative had previously revealed that the song had intended “Bollywood (Hindi cinema)” influences.
Following that controversy, several LOONA members have gained attention for mimicking mudras in a seemingly mocking way, drawing criticism from Orbits [their fandom]. Yves, Hyunjin, Chuu, and Yeojin have been seen employing mudras for humorous purposes…
yeojin mocking mudras and stereotypical bopped her head.
this was after yves got called out as well. pic.twitter.com/jTDEJUDG2T— . (@skyy80s) July 15, 2021
hyunjin mocking mudras too, this is the 3rd time a member is doing it… pic.twitter.com/1c3TE0H4Fd
— . (@skyy80s) July 15, 2021
…and Olivia Hye was seen bobbing her head in a stereotypical manner when their song played.
olivia hye mocking mudras and stereotypical bopping her head while ptt plays in the bg, considering their recent cb was "bollywood influenced" this is straight up disrespectful. pic.twitter.com/zBmARZEnYk
— . (@skyy80s) July 15, 2021
The fan who brought the issue to Olivia Hye’s attention revealed that during their fansign, they prepared a page full of notes about LOONA’s mimicry of mudras, and later uploaded a translated version of all that they said to Olivia Hye.
what i had on paper in korean and what i said to hyeju in english! pic.twitter.com/K1gxx0v1am
— POKEY
(@baesumns) July 25, 2021
The fan then revealed that after she finished saying her bit to Olivia Hye, Olivia Hye reacted positively about the whole conversation, thanking them for giving them constructive feedback!
I understand. Feedback is very thank you [thank you for your feedback].
—Olivia Hye
orbit ring – 210725
i informed hyeju about the mudras and educated her about them!! she was very understanding and said she appreciated feedbackthankfully i had paper ready with korean which she was reading off of ^^@loonatheworld pic.twitter.com/Bl3RT5G3IA
— POKEY
Olivia Hye then clarified that since it’s not a culture they’ve been around too much, and unlike their own, they don’t know everything about it and made mistakes regarding it.
It’s not part of the Korean culture… it’s not ours, so we don’t really know everything about it.
—Olivia Hye
Other fans were very appreciative of the fan’s attempt to bring up an important discussion with the idol, and praised them for all the efforts they took!
thank you so much for doing this !! im glad she understood and you seemed to be so polite and helpful in your approach <33
— sazan ✧.* (@minjitxpia) July 25, 2021
so i'm glad she is atleast aware now! i'm hoping all the other members are aware too and that this never happens again. hopefully we also get a formal apology from bbc but i think that will happen.
— STREAM PTT – LOONA | son supremacy (@yeriberr1) July 25, 2021
thank u for informing her abt this, its rly hurtful to see them doing it, so im happy that hyejoo understood
— juhi (@atsushislvrr) July 25, 2021
Fans hope that with this conversation that was brought up to a member directly, and the positive response from them, the group as a whole will now be more careful and aware of their actions, and how they can be perceived.
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