Singer Harim criticized the condolence wreaths placed in front of Paichai High School after the school baseball team's "May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement mockery controversy," then said it was "comedy" that he was being attacked online as both "Ilbe" and "leftist."
Harim said on the 8th that he posted on his Facebook that on the 6th he mentioned the condolence wreaths in front of Paichai High, and that he received many messages questioning his right to speak, saying, "Who are you to talk?"
He said, "A strange circus has unfolded over a single post of mine," and, "To me, a May 18 bereaved family member, some point and call me 'Ilbe' while others at the same time call me 'leftist.'" He continued, "Thus, I have become, between them, both a May 18 bereaved family member and at the same time Ilbe," adding, "It could not be anything but comedy."
Harim previously said his maternal uncle was assaulted by soldiers during the May 18 Democratization Movement and lived with aftereffects for life before passing away.
Regarding the controversy, Harim said, "You don't need a grand business card to worry about hatred on the street and to mourn those who faded away," adding, "It's not because I am 'someone' that I speak, but because it's a natural right that 'anyone,' if human, can exercise."
He added, "Amid those who are weighing the scales, where I place my small weight is the freedom of a citizen and the duty of an artist."
On the 6th, in a Facebook post titled "Nasty things done with flowers," Harim criticized the wreaths placed in front of Paichai High, saying, "At some point, a bizarre culture emerged of making political attacks with condolence wreaths."
He said, "(Sending condolence wreaths) is a malicious intent to ruin the recipient's mood by evoking death," and pointed out, "From the wreaths lined up along the street, you can't find any joy or vitality that flowers bring. It's nothing but 'flower waste' created by a nasty habit."
He also stressed, "Wreaths of support that try to ride a political issue are the same," adding, "Flowers are not for hitting someone."
On the 29th of last month, at the 81st Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Tournament, players from the Paichai High baseball team sang a cheering chant toward students of their opponents, Gwangju Jeil High School, that said, "We should go to Starbucks." The slogan was interpreted as mocking or belittling the May 18 Democratization Movement, fueling controversy.
Afterward, in front of Paichai High, condolence wreaths criticizing the chant and so-called "counterfire" wreaths rebutting them were placed together.