There is back-and-forth over the claim that girl group Riesen's member Won-yi (real name Jeong Won-yi, 22) saying "Museopno" is so-called "Ilbe-style phrasing," and the rebuttal that it is simply a Gyeongsang Province dialect. As politics joined in and the clash intensified, a related inquiry even reached the National Institute of Korean Language.
On the 6th, a question asking about the general interpretive scope of the sentence-ending 'no' was posted on the National Institute of Korean Language's Online Ganada. Citing the fact that Our Word Dictionary, the institute's open Korean knowledge dictionary, explains 'no' as a Gyeongsang dialect sentence ending, the questioner asked the day before about its interpretive scope.
The inquiry asked whether expressions without an explicit interrogative, such as "Museopno," can be included in the dialect, and whether expressions like "Eodino" and "Mwohano" are used naturally in the Gyeongsang region. It appears the inquiry was made as the expression "Museopno" came under scrutiny.
◇ 'Ilbe controversy' over a word from a girl group member from Geoje
The controversy began over a video Won-yi, who is from Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, uploaded to her YouTube channel on the 28th. In the video, as Won-yi was looking around the hometown house of Japanese member Minami, the supervising PD asked, "Museopno," and she answered, "Museopno. Even the lighting is scary."
Some argued that this evoked the speaking style used on the far-right online community Ilgan Best Archive (Ilbe). On Ilbe, they have used the sentence-ending 'no' while ridiculing the late President Roh Moo-hyun.
However, rebuttals followed that it is a dialect used naturally in the Gyeongsang region. On online communities and social media (SNS), reactions poured in such as "Are you even censoring dialect from people from Gyeongsang?" and "A far-fetched controversy that ignores context."
◇ Politics joins in, amplifying the controversy
As politics stepped in, the controversy snowballed. Former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk said on his SNS on the 5th, "There are people who defend Ilbe's use of adding 'no' at the end of a sentence to mock President Roh Moo-hyun, saying it is also used that way in Busan and Yeongnam," adding, "From my observation, Ilbe mechanically attaches 'no' after standard Korean."
Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok said, "They are trying to test ideology based on a single sentence ending," and pointed out, "A 22-year-old idol from Geoje, South Gyeongsang, was branded Ilbe because she said 'Museopno' in her hometown dialect." People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun also said, "Branding even everyday exclamatory or self-talk dialect contexts as mechanical Ilbe phrasing is shocking."
Despite the growing controversy, it is unclear whether the National Institute of Korean Language will provide an answer on the general interpretive scope of the sentence-ending 'no.' Previously, in a similar inquiry, the institute said, "Detailed usage of 'no' can draw various opinions depending on scholars, so it is hard to conclude," and, "The correct use of regional dialects and the academic basis for them fall outside the scope of answers provided by Online Ganada."
◇ Unending 'Ilbe controversies'… producers exercise caution with phrasing on set
Controversy over Ilbe phrasing has appeared repeatedly. In May, on the official YouTube channel of the Lotte Giants of professional baseball, subtitles reading "Infinite applause" were placed next to player Noh Jin-hyuk's name, drawing a flood of criticism that it evoked Ilbe-style phrasing.
The club edited the video and apologized, saying, "We did not fully recognize the possibility that the expression could evoke that association during filming and editing," and said it would strengthen its review procedures. The partner company employee who added the captions was said to have resigned.
Past Ilbe allegations against writer Park Tae-joon, who is the executive producer of SBS's drama "Manager Kim," which broke an 18% viewership rating by its third episode and is a hit, have also been reignited. The reason is that direction in Park's webtoons, such as "5 minutes 23 seconds" and "Rock Owling," is said to evoke the late president's death date (May 23, 2009) and the site of the fall (Bonghwasan Owl Rock).
When suspicions arose in the past that a particular meal scene in his work mocked the late president, Park denied it, saying, "No matter how lacking I am, I am neither the sort of person nor have the courage to do such a thing with a deceased person's photo."
Due to the debate over the expression "Museopno," production sites for content voiced difficulties. Because standards are unclear on what to regard as hate speech, and how to distinguish actual regional dialect, internet culture, a user's intent, and context, the issue can flare up at any time.
A PD A (30) at a domestic variety show production company said, "Captions we once added just to be funny can now be interpreted in multiple ways, so we conduct internal reviews more meticulously," adding, "Even if there is no intent, scenes that could spark controversy are removed, and we try to avoid such phrasing as much as possible."