Kim U-Kwon (김유권), a member of K-pop boy group Block B (블락비), has recently faced a series of controversies. His response to a question about Taiwan in a paid fan chat room drew criticism and a barrage of negative comments from Chinese netizens. In August, a 12-year-old incident from a fan signing event, where he allegedly compared a 15-year-old fan to a 'naked mole-rat,' also resurfaced, making him a trending topic.
According to Korean media reports, a Chinese fan recently posted a message in simplified Chinese in Kim U-Kwon's paid fan chat room, asking, "Isn't Taiwan part of China?" Kim U-Kwon reportedly responded directly: "Why is Taiwan part of China? Please handle it yourself and don't say such things to me, because I am Korean."
As similar comments continued to appear, he reportedly added, "My personality isn't that great, so stop. You can choose not to look, but you don't." His firm stance sparked mixed reactions and led to criticism from some Chinese netizens.
In response, Kim U-Kwon's agency, 5SECONDS COMPANY, issued a statement on the 6th, acknowledging that Kim U-Kwon's chat with fans did not fully consider different cultural backgrounds and regional differences, leading to a miscommunication of his original intent. The agency stated, "We deeply apologize to fans who were troubled by this."
The agency also emphasized that Kim U-Kwon's comments at the time did not represent a specific political stance, but rather a lack of tone and warmth in text-based communication, which caused the misunderstanding. The company revealed that Kim U-Kwon himself is fully aware of the distress and harm his remarks caused to fans, and that they will work with the artist to enhance understanding of different cultures and cross-border communication in the future.
However, amidst this ongoing controversy, a netizen in August also unearthed Kim U-Kwon's "fan signing black history" from 12 years ago. The netizen shared a video from the fan signing event, revealing that they were only 15 years old at the time and attended the event because they were a fan of Block B.
At the time, fans could write questions on sticky notes for the members to answer personally. This fan had written, "What animal do I resemble?" Kim U-Kwon's unexpected answer was "naked mole-rat," bringing this long-forgotten incident back into the spotlight.
The netizen stated that they weren't significantly hurt by the comment and admitted that they knew at the time that Kim U-Kwon had a "bad attitude." However, they couldn't help but quip, "I just thought basic manners would suffice, but I didn't expect such rudeness." They even joked, "That naked mole-rat is still alive and well."
Although the netizen did not reveal the member's name at the time, comments quickly speculated that it was Kim U-Kwon. Unexpectedly, Kim U-Kwon himself later appeared in the comments, effectively confirming his involvement in the incident and stating, "No excuses, I'm sorry." He publicly apologized for his remarks from 12 years ago.
Kim U-Kwon debuted as a member of Block B in 2011, releasing hit songs such as "Nillili Mambo," "HER," and "Toy" with the group. In recent years, he has also pursued solo music and musical theater activities. The resurfacing of past controversies has once again brought his words and actions under public scrutiny.
