Singer and musical actor Lee Ji-hoon and his Japanese wife Miura Ayane deleted all their apology posts amid controversy over their parenting views, including the mu-yeom and daycare targeting controversy.
On the 11th, Ayane deleted all posts related to the recent daycare targeting controversy from her personal social media. This included not only the long apology she posted on the 10th but also the text messages saying they were posted with the teacher's permission.
Ayane earlier posted that she found a child candy wrapper in her daughter Ru-hee's daycare bag. In her initial post she lamented, "Ru-hee is still a mu-yeom baby, so I was a little shocked." "Ru-hee is still a mu-yeom baby, so I only gave her rice crackers and didn't give vitamin candies either. Even when she received candy at hospitals or cultural centers, I persuaded her that 'this is not for you yet,' but now it seems she has learned she can eat them, and I was upset," she said.
However, internet users' reactions were cold. They sent criticism rather than sympathy or consolation to Ayane. Many internet users in particular pointed out that Ayane's action of posting what seemed like publicly targeting the daycare over a single candy was inappropriate, and that sending her daughter to daycare while trying to impose her personal educational views made her appear as an abusive, unreasonable parent.
Lee Ji-hoon also stepped forward. On the 9th he apologized once via his personal social media. Alongside posts sharing his daughter's daily life, he added, "After Children's Day and even Parents' Day. The days Ru-hee is experiencing for the first time since she was born are new. They will become memories soon, but day by day I'm always happy and joyful because of you. I love you, Ru-hee. My face increasingly looks like when I was young. Our Ru-hee is mu-yeom (does not dye her hair). Sorry for the fuss," he wrote.
On the 10th, Ayane also left a long post on her personal social media. She first explained the culture in her hometown Japan, where some daycares prohibit candies for children under 3. She clarified, "More than meaning 'did my child eat candy at daycare?,' I was surprised by the point that 'there is a culture of daycares distributing candy.'"
She also said, "I once saw news that candies, jellies and rice cakes were banned at some daycares, and because the packaging said 'candy' I was confused," adding, "I never meant to say that Korean daycares that give candy did something wrong," and "I did not intend to imply that a single candy would cause a serious problem for a child or to express something with a grave meaning. It seems there was a difference between the nuance I intended and how it was received in Korea."
Despite the criticism, Ayane released messages exchanged with her daughter's homeroom teacher. In a conversation through the daycare application, the teacher told Ayane, "When I first saw the articles I was a bit taken aback too, but these days there are so many sensational article headlines, excessive online pressure and harsh comments that I hope you won't be too swayed by that atmosphere. Above all, your heart must have been very heavy, and you also have a baby in your womb, so I hope you don't get too stressed. I know how lovingly you raise Ru-hee, so I have no misunderstanding. Rather, thank you for honestly sharing your feelings and letting me know first. I will continue to take good care of Ru-hee," seeming to communicate amicably.
But internet users criticized even more strongly, claiming the teacher had to work at the daycare over the weekend when the controversy flared. They said the teacher wasted weekend time on unnecessary disputes because of Ayane's careless social media posts.
Meanwhile, a video of Ayane and Lee Ji-hoon eating a fried jjambbong meal kit on their YouTube channel in February was spotlighted belatedly. In the video, Lee Ji-hoon and Ayane seem to intimidate their daughter with spicy food and eventually let her taste the seasoning and noodles, appearing surprised. This led to criticism that mentioning "mu-yeom" over a single daycare candy reflected a typical case of double standards.
Ultimately, after relentless criticism and controversy over multiple apologies, Ayane appears to have deleted both the messages with the teacher and the lengthy apology. It seems they chose not to mention the controversy on social media. Attention is focused on whether Lee Ji-hoon and Ayane, who have shown active moves on social media and YouTube, can overcome this and resume their online activities.
[Photo] Source: SNS and YouTube.
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