ARMYs got to work to clear the comments.
The 2022 Beijing Olympics has barely kicked off but its results have already been facing controversy. When China’s team for short track speed-skating won the gold medal, other teams and fans from all over the world, accused the judges of being biased. As the 2022 Olympics was hosted in China, many claimed the judges were giving favor to the home team.
The Chinese team was originally disqualified from entering the finals for the relay round as they had finished third. However, the United States team, who had originally finished second, became disqualified and China was pushed up to compete in the finals.
Later on, online communities called out a hypocritical fact when the Chinese team had a mis-tap which was a valid cause for disqualification but they still advanced. Teams must make physical contact (ie. tap) with each other before the next skater continues on for the next leg.
Korean online communities became further enraged as video clips of a Chinese speed skater allegedly pushing a lane marker toward their opponent began circulating.
While some believed it to have been an accident, others argued that “the Chinese skater’s hand could be seen grabbing the black marker and pushing it forward with intention.”
Korean netizens were also very upset when a replay of the match involving a Korean and Chinese speed skater seemingly showed the Chinese skater pushing the Korean skater on the knee to seemingly slow him down.
https://twitter.com/b_kongsoon/status/1490666374632718337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1490666374632718337%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.koreaboo.com%2Flists%2Fbts-v-taehyung-funny-moments-comedian-hilarious-best%2F
Korean nationals were also duly upset when they realized that Korean team’s Park Jang Hyuk was injured during the match. According to news outlet Joongang Daily, an Italian speed-skater had crashed into him during an attempt to overtake his components.
Park Jang Hyuk fell from the collision and a Chinese speed-skater who was following from behind accidentally skated over his hand. While no one blamed the skaters for the accident, Koreans were heartbroken at the pain Park Jang Hyuk suffered. He was sent to the hospital and could not play in subsequent rounds.
Park Jang Hyuk getting treated on site for his injury. | Newsis
It’s no surprise that Korean idols and artists would also show their support for the national team hard at work. BTS‘s RM responded in support of the national team. He updated his Instagram with the following stories.
Along with a clip of the Korean team skating, he added emojis of applause and a thumbs up to show his support.
However, it seems that his supportive message to his national team stirred the anger of Chinese netizens. They soon flooded BTS’s official Instagram with hate comments. As RM’s personal Instagram is not open to comments, they chose to express their distaste on the group’s Instagram instead.
They spammed the comments with barfing emojis as well as the “pinching” emoji, which is a derogatory symbol that signifies having a small dick. Previously, MC JaeJae was flooded with criticism when she allegedly did the so-called “anti-male” gesture on the red carpet.
“Nice one, a person who is from a country that steals other country’s culture.”
“F*CK, you’re restricting comments. Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it”
“I’m a Chinese, I won’t stan Chinese-insulting idols.”
“Namjoon’s dick is (small)”
“Kim Namjoon is the ugliest idol ever.”
On the other hand, ARMYs that caught wind of the situation began to flood the comments with purple hearts to show their support. Currently, thanks to ARMYs efforts, the hate comments have been buried.
To read more about the 2022 Beijing Olympics controversy, check out the article below.
