The president of a Japanese terrestrial broadcaster, who caused controversy by broadcasting a scene in Mangwon Market in Mapo-gu, Seoul, where a Japanese comedian dipped food on a store shelf with a toothpick he had put in his mouth.
According to the Japanese media on the 1st, Takashi Sasaki (佐々木卓), president of TBS, held a press conference the day before and said, “I am very sorry for causing great inconvenience to the store and the people involved in Korea and to the viewers.” A high-ranking official from the TBS programming department who was present also said, “The production side is responsible for the program. I think there was a lack of consideration during the production process,” he said, lowering his head.
The controversial program was ‘Love it!’, a morning information program broadcast on TBS on the 2nd of last month. On that day, Yamazoe Gan, a popular Japanese comedian who went on a tour of Korea, stopped at a chicken gangjeong restaurant in Mangwon Market and ate the chicken gangjeong on the display stand with a toothpick he used to put in his mouth. Surprised, the store owner drew a big ‘X’ with his arm and said, “Absolutely not.” Three other Japanese performers who were experiencing the Mangwon market together were also stopped.
However, Yamazoe, who did not care, tried to escape the situation by jokingly saying “Rabbit Soyo,” which seemed to be a forced addition of the program name to the Korean word “delicious,” without a word of apology. Even the Japanese cast members who had been trying to stop them laughed.
In the Japanese TBS TV program ‘Rabbit!’, which aired on the 2nd of last month, comedian Yamazoe Gan (second from the right), who went to the Mangwon Market experience in Mapo-gu, Seoul, is trying to eat the food on the display stand with the toothpick he had put in his mouth. youtube captureThis scene later became controversial in the Japanese media and online. There were also Internet media articles pointing out that Yamazoegan’s behavior was inappropriate. Not a few Japanese netizens pointed out his actions as ‘nuisance’, such as “damaging the image of Japanese tourists” and “having no concept.” In Japan, it is pointed out that posting videos of unsanitary behaviors of oneself in public places on social media is spreading like a trend.
On the 5th of last month, three days after the broadcast, the TBS host expressed regret during the broadcast, and apologized again on the 8th. However, as the controversy did not subside after that, the president personally apologized publicly to the viewers and the store in the Mangwon market.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.