Mithra Jin removes foot from mouth, apologizes on air
On May 7, Epik High rapper Mithra Jin issued a public apology on variety show Goldfish for rude remarks made toward Min Kyung Hoon of the ballad group Buzz.
The rapper had hosted a radio show on music portal site Melon, “Mithra Jin’s Music Date,” in a special New Year’s broadcast back in January, after which he was criticized for insulting other artists. Mithra Jin explained that he’d been a little looser than his usual style that night, and should have been more careful when he said:
“The Nuts’ Ji Hyun Woo and singer of 1988 [old-fashioned] ballads Min Kyung Joon… The ones who don’t bow [in greeting] properly are all 1984′ers. You’d think their necks were in a cast.”
Tablo clarified, saying the press had misreported the statements. I’d say they really did, because the first article I read made Mithra Jin out to be rude and abrasive, but a second report printed the full quote, which is much less incendiary:
“The Nuts’ Ji Hyun Woo and singer of 1988 ballads Min Kyung Joon. Why are these kids born in the Year of the Rat so tall? They’re at least 184cm — the kids who don’t bow are all 84′ers. You’d think their necks were in a cast.”
(It’s a little convoluted, but it was meant as a play on words, with 184 cm => born 1984, Year of Rat => 2008 is Rat Year => New Year’s radio broadcast.)
But, Tablo conceded that although the comments toward Ji Hyun Woo weren’t that bad, Mithra Jin had been a bit unfair to Min Kyung Hoon, and DJ Tukutz even extended his own apology as well.
The show put Mithra Jin on the phone with Min Kyung Hoon, and although Min was unable to answer because he was in the middle of his own TV appearance, Mithra Jin apologized, saying, “I made some rude remarks about you in the past, and I want to take this opportunity to apologize directly. I’d like if we could have a drink sometime in the future and talk.”
Bit of a side rant:
I swear, Korean media really needs to get its act together. I’ve always been kind of wary of the press, but sometimes it’s hard to tell just how much liberty the reporters are taking in telling a story. As you can tell above, the simple omission of a sentence can drastically alter the tone of a statement. I’ve read at least four different articles all reporting this same story, and each source has “quoted” Mithra Jin differently. Western press has strict rules on quotations — anything that wasn’t explicitly stated must reside outside the quotation marks or be set off by brackets, so there’s no confusion as to what was exactly stated. But Korean media almost always paraphrases — within quotes, outside quotes, willy-nilly. The same “quote” can have slight wording variations in every source that chooses to quote it. It’s ridiculous. It’s like there are no standards for professional reporting — and perhaps there aren’t.
Via OSEN, and OSEN again
SONG OF THE DAY
Buzz - “약자의 눈물” (Tears of the weak) [ Download ]
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Tags: Epik High, Mithra Jin
