Korea Felt Insulted

I suppose these xxxxx stand for “kid Jong-il”

wow… I can understand why Koreans may be upset, because initially I had felt that the clip was a bit insulting. But really, I think it’s more directly related to a miscommunication. American satire, or “western” satire, is not very well-known in the east. Many people in Korea may have thought it was a verbal attack, but you have to realize that Colbert is a satirist. Compared to his other clips (like his White House speech), this one is actually a bit complimentary. One way or another, appearing on the Colbert show is giving Rain a lot more attention in the U.S. now.

ummmm. i agree! i guess they dont understand SATIRE.
i can understand why they would be offended but then again the “insults” that colbert would normally do is not really there.
and it is for a most part a complement on rain.
ehh. i dont know how to say it.

koreans pple don’t like to yell? not sure about real life, but all the men in k-dramas yell so much that i need to cover my ears sometimes ^^

at least now korean ppl know who stephen colbert is… ahaha. good publicity for both side ~~ !!

haha i thought it was hilarious! i don’t think he meant it to be insulting at all. he’s a comedian…he was being funny. its just the absurdity of him getting beat by a korean pop singer that no one in mainstream america has ever heard of- its just really unusual to a lot of americans so they found it funny. if anything he introduced bi to millions of american viewers.

I’m 2nd gen Korean American but I understand the language a bit. When I was the SC video, I felt a bit like when S.C. whined about losing the Oscar (?) to Barry Manilo. Mainstream (younger gen?) makes fun of Barry Manilo and I thought it was in poor taste that SC said that…Felt bad for Manilo, felt like SC and the whole audience was laughing at Manilo. While I’m not a fan of Manilo, I am a fan of Rain but I didn’t feel insulted for Rain…I felt insulted for whole of Korea because SC didn’t really make fun of Rain the artist, he was making fun of Korea (by speaking incoherent Korean, Hyundai, bibimbap, Hawkeye & Hotlips???) It’d have been one thing if SC just made fun of Rain’s shirt ripping dances…etc but he was just making fun of anything Korean…Anyways, never was a fan of SC…but now, even less so…

gosh they need to calm down. its not like koreans dont do that either. i remember a video on youtube where they made fun of the german soccer team during world cup.

my friend (that doesnt really like rain) told me about the show and how he mocked rain, she saw it. i was sooo pissed when she told me

well .. i personally found it funny and no where to be insulting … it’s again the cultural issue more than anything .. cuz if u look at it .. most of even Rain’s fans who are living in western countries and got adopted to the culture all found it funny .. and i’m telling u they were all die-hards …. in contrast there was this girl from Singapore in soompi that came out first and said how it was insulting to her .. i’m sure satire that Americans use is totally diff from those of Koreans .. and cultures are totally diff … and if they think this was insulting then wait for Saturday Night Live …. anyone recalls the episode where they made fun of Shakira’s English!!! if anyone has been here with us … that was the main concern we had here … we know how American culture treats celebrities and we are some how familiar with Koreans through their Entertainment ( I always like how se7enfan always says they treat their celebrities like mini Gods, cuz it really seems like it … I have personally gotten under attack b/c of expressing my opinion about these guys) believe me celebrities here are not objects to be praised they are there simply to entertain us … the most dearest pop icons are Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake .. no one cares about them here …. If not making fun of them … it has always been surprising how Korean entertainers are looking up to those ppl …. from what i personally see … if they are really planning to win over the Americans !!!… it’s gonna be really though for these guys to make it … that’s why we kept asking ourselves why they wanna do that in the first place .. we loved them for who they were and their music .. there is no use of breaking through to US market … i don’t wanna see them get hurt … or change … to appeal to Americans cuz they can’t ever be! and i personally was shocked that I found out Koreans found this insulting .. cuz that shows how they are not familiar with American culture and this is hell scary .. cuz they are sending their dearest entertainers over to be made fun of … that’s part of the showbizz here … and the Colbert show was nothing in compression to what will happen when they really get into the industry … may i remind you of our Paparazzi here too!! i’m really sorry and i donno who to pick and say it’s that persons fault … wish Koreans been thinking deeper into this huge decision of breaking into US maeket in the first place … cuz from now on it’s all heartbreaking in our parts people! get ready for worse! ~ Peace! LOL! (it’s a parody to Se7en’s new line lolol)

The joke isn’t even about Rain. Colbert and the audience don’t even know who Rain is, and they don’t care. The joke is the absurdity of the list of most influential people (obviously Rain and Colbert are NOT the two most influential people in the world) and by making a big deal about it Colbert shows how silly the whole thing is. If it had been an American at #1, Colbert would have made a joke about him too. The fact that it was (from the audience’s perspective) a completely random Korean popstar that very few people outside of Asia have even heard of makes it even more absurd.

The second part of the joke is the absurd notion of Colbert, a nerdy white guy, being a Korean popstar. The fact that he was singing about Hyundai and Kimchee drives home the point that he (or more correctly, his character on the show) doesn’t actually know anything about Korea, which makes the idea even more rediculous. The audience isn’t laughing at Rain, they’re laughing at the idea that Colbert (whose entire show is based on him playing a character that is an obnoxious know-it-all who thinks he’s smarter and better than everyone else) is so wonderful that he could really do anything, including being a Korean popstar.

As far as Koreans being insulted…if there is one great universal truth in the world, it is simply: “Anytime anyone anywhere mentions anything even remotely related to Korea, you can be sure that tens of thousands of Korean netizens are going to take offense and complain about the insult to Korea’s honor and reputation.”

It makes no difference the context of the remarks or even whether they are positive or negative or simply neutral. If Colbert had called Rain a great singer then you would have complaints about ignoring Rain’s acting skills, and by extention, all of the skills of all the actors in Korea. If Colbert had said Rain was the greatest actor and singer of all time, then you would hear complaints about him reducing Korea to only shallow entertainment, and ignoring all of the other contributions of Korea to the world. (For another example of the rule that at least some Koreans are always going to be offended about everything, see “Lost” and the Han River Bridge controversy)

Rain should be very happy because the other night a whole bunch of young Americans who never read Time magazine but who do watch Comedy Central just heard about a young Korean popstar with a strange name who somehow made it to the list of the most influential people in the world, and now at least some of them are going to go google his name to see what the big deal is.

Monica lol…that is so funny what you said no matter what you say about Koreans they are going to get offended. The thing is the country always acts so surprised when they are in the middle of a controversy….lolssss

Amen ShenYue! I find this statement true … ( they treat their celebrities like mini Gods, cuz it really seems like it … I have personally gotten under attack b/c of expressing my opinion about these guys)

I guess we’ll be expecting more ‘news article’ from the Korean media if Rain has a chance to make it big here…I can see Saturday Night Live and Mad TV (Bobby Kim) making fun of his accent and stuff already ….

Media is just taking things out of context, but the Korean fans think it’s funny (in their comments on that article).

Some parodies are tolerated and some not in Korea. I read Seo Taiji sued Lee Jae Soo for making a parody out from one of Taiji’s songs.

hahhaha anne, allow me to give the full credit to the “mini God” part to se7enfan she is the one always says that ^^

OMY!!! in that MAD TV … Bobby Kim is in fact Korean!! he is even fluent in Korean .. GOD what a show that would be .. imagine him ripping off his cloths do that crazy dance in his underwear lolol … i wanna see what Koreans wouldn’t find insulting in that !!!!

I love Korea, I’m fascinated by Korean culture, and I’m a big fan of several Korean singers. But there is a significant group of Korean netizens (I imagine it’s a small group who are just really really loud) who are continuously complaining about something, and sometimes (like this) it’s really just plain silly.

When Rain does debut in America, he will actually get real insults from people who won’t like him. And the Korean netizens will probably throw a huge hissy fit. But just because someone doesn’t like your popstar doesn’t mean that they are denigrating your country and culture. We make fun of our own celebrities more than anyone else (we also pay them a huge amount of money to put up with it). Of course, American also make fun of ourselves a lot too. (that’s a big part of Colbert’s show also)

I read somewhere else that Rain saw the video and publicly said he thought it was funny. That’s great news, and I’m glad to hear it. Americans love someone who has a sense of humor and doesn’t take themselves too seriously. That attitude will help him a lot.

So go Rain, I wish him the best of luck in the future. I hope he stays humble. And if he doesn’t know what to do, just smile…he has a killer smile

Bobby Kim is a disgrace. I doubt Korea likes him XP

my…what a long discussion…these celebs should learn to suck it up…it’s a good public relation tho..can’t they just laugh together with other public?

omg you guys if i would have been in that audience they would have arrested me because i would have walked on stage and punched him in the face. i hear enough of people making fun of asians let alone koreans and i freaking it :furious:

if you are insulted by this, it suggests that you are “insecure” of your culture. Accepting this satire means that you are very “confident” of your culture or your enthnic identity. Therefore, you are able to LAUGH AT yourself and at this.

if rain really did laugh at this, it suggests that he is comfortable enough with his identity as a korean facing the US market. =)

I must say, I am Korean, and I was not insulted by Colbert’s words/antics AT ALL. I thought it was comedic. Also, I think it’s great that Koreans are getting attention from the mainstream. Bi is trying to get some exposure in the Western market, and I think that he should feel honored to have been mocked by a current cultural icon such as Stephen Colbert.

hahaha! i’m a rain fan and i thought that was hilarious. if rain’s fans want him to succeed in the u.s. market they’ll have to deal w/ these jokes and the mean/insulting comments from the critics.
in stephen colbert’s defense, he didn’t just made fun of rain alone but he also made fun of himself…yeah, he quoted rain’s motto and said he has an infinite modesty. his tone was sarcastic!

I’m from Singapore and I found Colbert’s comments hilarious (more so than the vid actually). Most of my friends thought nothing of it. It really depends on how exposed you are to American culture. Many many years ago, I loved watching Letterman & Leno. I still do … when I can tear myself away from Rain .

Hahaha..stephen rant again calling Rain a punk…