Group Seventeen officially apologized after controversy arose over an album teaser video featuring the Great Wall of China in the background.
On the 24th, Seventeen's agency, Pledis Entertainment, said through its official SNS (social network service), "We produced content that reminds us of chamomile flowers against the backdrop of the Great Wall of China, a representative cultural heritage symbolizing China." “Fans pointed out that there was a lack of understanding and respect. We quickly deleted it.”
He added, "We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our fans. We will pay more careful attention in the future," and added, "We will strive to create content that fans from various countries, regions, and diverse cultures can enjoy together."
Previously, Seventeen released teaser videos for their new song set in various locations around the world. Among these, the Beijing version's teaser video became a problem. The video was produced with the Great Wall of China in the background.
Some Chinese fans raised concerns about the fact that the video was filmed against the background of China's cultural heritage. Accordingly, Seventeen accepted the issue raised, deleted the video, and bowed their heads.
Below is Pledis Entertainment’s full statement.
hello. This is Pledis Entertainment.
We would like to inform you about the Beijing teaser video for SEVENTEEN's 11th mini album 'SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN'.
On September 23rd at 2:14 PM local time in China, we released a teaser video for the Beijing version of 'SVT RIGHT HERE', one of the promotional contents for SEVENTEEN's 11th mini album 'SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN'. I did.
The Beijing version was produced with a chamomile flower in the background of the Great Wall of China, a representative cultural heritage symbolizing China, but after the video was released, fans pointed out that there was a lack of cultural understanding and respect for the Great Wall of China.
Accordingly, the Beijing version of the video was quickly deleted. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our fans, and we will pay more attention in the future.
In the future, we will strive to create content that fans from various countries, regions, and diverse cultures can all enjoy together.
Reporter Junho Yoon, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr