Block B were in Thailand recently, apparently with every intention of sabotaging their careers there, as the members crossed the line between amusing trolling and outright disrespect.
The interview begins with the members still getting settled with the interview, with one member even sprawling himself across the coffee table. Then at 3:40, Block B was asked about the origins of their group name. After leader Zico explained, he turned to the translator and stated, “You know this!”
At the 9:15 mark, the interviewer asked, “What separates you from other Korean hip-hop artists?” Zico then said, “If you look at hip-hop artists, they’re very ugly. But we feel confident in our technical abilities.” The other members burst out laughing at Zico’s response, and P.O slid back on the couch, pushing his legs up into the air and clapped his hands and feet together in unison. Zico continued, “And sometimes we have crazy clowns like him.” U-Kwon continued laughing and suddenly stood up and started dancing around, followed by a loud monkey imitation as he swung his arms and screeched.
What has really gripped the attention and anger of viewers was the group’s commentary on the recent flooding in Thailand. At the 12:32 mark, the interviewer brought up the crisis, to which Zico replied, “I know that many people have it hard due to the flood. With this monetary aid, we hope that you will feel better. The only thing we have is money.” To this, another member chimed in, asking how much money Zico had, to which the leader answered, “About 7000 won?” which is roughly $6 USD. The other members laughed again.
As you can imagine, 2PM was not happy, as Nichkhun is a citizen of the country*.
*Then again, he should know about making insensitive comments about a natural disaster, right?
The issue has received so much attention that Nichkhun, Junho and Chansung of 2PM took to Twitter to comment on the matter.
A Thai citizen himself, Nichkhun tweeted, “As a Thai, I’m offended by those who talk about the flooding in Thailand without thinking. If you come to Thailand, rather than acting without thinking, please respect this country and only behave with a proper attitude.”
In response to Nichkhun, hip hop legend Drunken Tiger tweeted, “Not everybody like that bro. Keep speaking the truth tho #prayers!”
Junho retweeted Nichkhun’s post then commented, “I won’t say who, but those behaviors and attitudes make me ashamed as a fellow Korean. I wish they would learn that one bad action doesn’t just affect them, but also creates a dirty mess for those around them. I say this as a person and a sunbae.”
Chansung tweeted, “Even if carelessness can seem inevitable even if you’re trying your best to avoid it, if you’re absent-minded and hurt others then act like you’re the best, that’s being careless. This is more than a mistake and proves that you’re that kind of person.. Shame on you.”
Let me just say that I’m a fan of Block B, particularly Zico. I’ve always found their trolling and honesty to be refreshing, and I believe Zico is probably the best idol rapper out there at the moment.
Unfortunately, that just made reading and watching this even more of a gigantic disappointment. There’s no way around this for Block B fans or anybody else, they fucked up and they know it, as all of them released apologies.
I do think that the people blaming them for shaming Korea as a country is ridiculous, as while I recognize that individuality is looked at differently in Asia, anybody who thinks an idol group represents an entire country’s views is an idiot to begin with. Nobody thinks Kanye West or Lady Gaga represent all Americans and nobody should, because it’s ridiculous.
Still, as they said, there’s a line between being a fun interview and just being an asshole, and they were certainly the latter in this case. In particular, casually dismissing a question about a natural disaster that ruined the lives of so many is just flat out bullshit.
I’m not sure where their future goes from here, but judging from the public comments, they are up shit creek without a paddle. They weren’t that popular prior to this, but they seemed to be gaining momentum with their latest release. Now though? Now I would argue that there are more antis than fans.
Can’t say it’s not justified either.
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Prior to the saga, i don’t even give a damn to this group. Who the fuck will called themselves Block B..But the must be happy now, gaining such recognition in such a short time.
And the best part? It makes my trolling at allkpop the more fun.
The name block b sounds better than myname, boyz, twi.light, and teen top.
Think the name is cool, actually.
Doubt they did this as a media stunt.
I was just starting to like them, though.
Sucks what they said. I really didnt appreciate it myself. But I wont say they shamed korea cause if thats the case korea was shamed a long time ago by other idols such as suju teen top even Khun. And im sure plenty others. The boys were dead wrong about this. But im still gonna listen to their music. I hope they learn from this.
I feel like new artist should definitely be more groomed in public speaking and eloquence before they are launched. Nevertheless I do think that there music is progressive.
I think there’s too much standard bullshit and not enough honesty, but knowing where the line is…I dunno if you can teach that or if you just have to be aware.
Ture, you just have to be aware. Especially when your in another country promoting your work.
Hottests are petitioning for disbandment. FML.
I really like them and I am such a fan but they were dead wrong in what they did. I know the Thailand part was mistranslated at first but the rest weren’t and their behavior were inexcusable. I know they’ve had that image/behavior ever since pre-debut but lol they’re still idols and they should get their shit together.
All of them apologized and I’m so feeling sorry for the members that didn’t even do anything. Such a pity that an issue like this came out as they clearly were gaining more interest in their latest release. I hope hottests won’t act like banas but I highly doubt that.
That disbandment stuff is utter bullshit.
http://zeeaco.tumblr.com/post/18007498151/bbcs-or-non-bbcs-just-read
No cited sources but I can say that about half of it is true from what I’ve seen. Donations have always been a private and unpublished thing to lesser known groups but it may be true as well
They haven’t hit it there and yet they’re being arrogant.
Too bad. I was starting to like their music cuz they’re different and doesn’t make me want to throw up for acting cute and 17 (Heck, even normal 17 yr olds here don’t act like that here). But they definitely crossed the line and was totally disrespectful and rude to a country who’s recovering from a disaster. Maybe the 7000 won was some kind of inside joke but it was the wrong place, wrong time. I hope they’ll be able to get their act together and learn from this.
Reminds me of Tiffany joked about Sichuan earthquake.
I like Block B’s music, but i never liked most of them, esp Zico. i feel bad for the other members who have to go through this shit because of the 1 or 2 assholes in the group.
Oh well. One less k-pop group to worry about.
This whole fanwar thing has been going on since yesterday.
This issue wouldn’t be as big as it was if Nichkhun didn’t say what he said. He could have kept it lightly, but no. I understand him being offended and all but he shouldn’t have.
There is always something with Block B for some reason though.
Meh, I’m Thai and I’m not THAT offended. They were just joking for a bit too long.
Also pretty sure the people who are shitting on Block B don’t even give a damn about Thailand sadly.
No, they only care about how it looks for Korea.
:o
Wow, I can’t believe I even registered for this. I’m not a big fan of Block-B, but I really love their music and their talent. And it’s sad to see people *cough*and those damn hottest *cough* butchered these boys like they just killed a guy while drunk driving.
Hopefully, their career won’t be destroyed. Jay Park had the same controversy yet he’s still in this industry.
First, there were translation issues about the interview. I don’t know which one is true but basically Zico want to mock that they’re a financially poor group since they’re new and all. Although I don’t like his remark about “I/we knew but we pretend that we didn’t” though. Dunno what his meant by that.
What’s bugging me is none other than that hypocrite bastard Nickhun. I know that he’s entitle to his opinion but he should know his comment would gang up Hottest to assaults Block-B.
They even start a petition to disband Block-B for this while I know they don’t give a fuck about the true issue. They just don’t like BB pissed off their oppar and now they’re on a rampage.
Funny though since Nickhun also made same remark but nobody give a damn and let him off the hook easily.
PS. In case you don’t know what Nickhun did, he tweeted that Japan Earthquake is similar with rearranging furniture, you take one and throw one away.
Korean media is not going to hold him accountable for disparaging marks about Japan though.
Sadly, that’s to be expected.
The BB leader, Zico shaved his head as his apology.
And it made me respect him even more.
Many idols simply give written apologies when they make mistake. Some doesn’t sound sincere but Zico take action since action speaks louder than words.
Funny how this incident made me like Block-B even more.
Srsly, that talentless Nickhun needs some dicks in his mouth !
As I was reading the article, I thought they dissed the Thai king or something. Thats like suicide.
These idols are ambassadors to South Korea in a sense when they go to foreign countries.
An aspect of their responsibilities put on them by the ambitions of the Korean government that I’ve always felt was unfair.
Piling that shit on the plate of teenagers? Bleh.