K-Content News

BTS' Jin's new song draws protests from Japanese internet users over 'East Sea'

By Lee Hyo-jin

A new song released by Jin of K-pop super band BTS has drawn protests from some Japanese internet users over the use of the words, "East Sea," in its lyrics, referring to the waters between Korea and Japan.

The two countries have long been at odds over the issue of the sea's name, with Korea using "East Sea" for the body of water, while Japan has been calling it, "Sea of Japan."

Jin released his self-written song, "Super Tuna," with a special music video through BTS' official YouTube channel, Dec. 4, to celebrate his 29th birthday.

The catchy song with lighthearted choreography immediately gained huge popularity on social media.

The video has had over 26 million views and has been on the list of the top 10 trending videos on YouTube for over a week, as of Monday. The hashtags, "SuperTuna" and "SuperTunachallenge," on Tiktok have accumulated over 140 million and 48 million posts, respectively.

But some Japanese internet users protested against the lyrics: "Where did my fish go? East Sea or West Sea?"

"It is extremely disappointing that Jin dropped a song using the words, East Sea, instead of Sea of Japan, the one and only name recognized internationally," a Japanese Twitter user wrote.

Another said, "If the lyrics have been confirmed by HYBE (BTS' agency), it means that the company is taking Japan lightly. We should strongly protest the company to modify the lyrics."

On the other hand, Korean internet users argued that it shouldn't be an issue for Jin, a Korean national, to call the waters, "East Sea." Some said the artist simply used the word because, "East Sea" rhymes with "West Sea."

"But whatever his intention was, Jin is promoting the name, East Sea, globally, and we should thank him for that," a Korean internet user wrote in a comment to a news article on Naver.

HYBE has not given any official statement about this issue.

Following the controversy, academic and activist Seo Kyung-duk, who has long been engaged in public campaigns to rectify inaccurate Korean history overseas, commented that the anger of Japanese internet users reflects their fear over the growing influence of Korea on the global stage.

"This incident shows their fear over the global influence of BTS, and increased cases overseas where the names, East Sea and the Sea of Japan, are used concurrently," the professor of general education at Sungshin Women's University wrote on Facebook, Monday.

"This seems to be the best moment for us to promote the term East Sea among the international community," he said, adding that he will soon create related videos for a public campaign.