SOUTH KOREA: What started as a tiff over how South Korean followers behaved at a live performance in Malaysia in late January has advanced right into a confrontation that exhibits no indicators of abating.
Three weeks in, the struggle continues to be ongoing and seems to have intensified.
In a single nook is Malaysia, joined by different international locations in Southeast Asia, notably Thailand and Indonesia, and on some platforms, additionally the Philippines and Vietnam. Netizens from these international locations have taken to calling themselves “SEAblings.”
Within the different is South Korea, all by itself.
The way it all started
On January 31, Day6, a band from Korea, held a live performance in Kuala Lumpur. Concertgoers have been particularly advised to not convey giant cameras with telephoto lenses. Nonetheless, some followers from South Korea ignored this and introduced and used their giant cameras anyway.
This upset some Malaysian followers, who took to X to air their emotions, and South Korean followers argued again. They accused Southeast Asians of being overly depending on Okay-pop, as they haven’t any musical id of their very own.
This incensed Indonesian X customers, who jumped into the fray. They argued that not each Southeast Asian is a Okay-pop super-fan and talked about native group No Na, which has extra of an R&B or pop flavour, mixed with conventional parts.
Issues escalated when Korean X customers mocked a music video from No Na that was set in a rice area, as this allegedly confirmed how backward Southeast Asians are. This additional angered Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai, Filipino, and Vietnamese X customers, for whom rice fields are an essential a part of their tradition.
The conflict additional intensified and took an unsightly racial flip when a Korean fan, maybe feeling that they have been being ganged up on, even in contrast the looks of Southeast Asian ladies to orangutans.
Southeast Asians fought again by declaring how dependent South Koreans are on cosmetic surgery.
The conflict has spawned not solely offended and insulting posts but in addition memes and TikTok movies by the dozen, a few of which have gotten thousands and thousands of views, just like the one under.
@isawkwardguy 2026 and we’re nonetheless doing this, embarrassing #southkorea #malaysian #malaysiantiktok #kpop #korean
♬ unique sound – J – J
And when some Korean followers tried to tug Singapore into the fray, Singaporean netizens confirmed they have been on the facet of their SEAblings.
Whether or not the phrase battle and boycott will final for much longer or will fizzle out like others earlier than it stays to be seen, however as for now, the #SEAblings hashtag has remained common on X and Threads, and pictures are nonetheless fired backwards and forwards. /TISG
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