The Korean Industry is rarely open to foreign influencers. But due to globalization, they are gradually expanding and have started to accept artists from other nations. However, that doesn't mean that these Non-Korean artists are free from controversies.
1. Amber Liu
Amber Liu was born in Los Angeles to Taiwanese Parents. She debuted with the girl group f(x) in September 2009. She is famous for her outspoken nature, which landed her in trouble in 2019.
She came under fire with a viral video clip showing a police officer in the USA arresting a Black American for, which Amber responded, "I think he deserved it, he was being super disrespectful."
She received backlash online for her comment. Later she apologized for being ignorant about the treatment towards the black community. By the police in the USA, she had been out of the country for a decade.
2. Tzuyu
Chou Tzuyu is a K-pop idol from the girl group TWICE. In 2016, her innocent action caused a massive political scandal in China, Taiwan, and South Korea when she waved the Taiwanese and South Korean flags. In a show featuring all international members of the group. Since Taiwan falls under China's One-State policy, Huang An, a Taiwanese China-based singer, accused Tzuyu of being a Taiwanese independence activist calling her a traitor. The Chinese citizens started boycotting JYP entertainment which resulted in canceling activities of the artist in China.
They forced Tzuyu to apologize and show her support towards the One-State policy. This scandal will stay as one of the Geopolitical issues caused by the K-pop industry.
3. Lisa
Lisa Manoban is the most famous member of the girl group BLACKPINK. She was born in Thailand. She might be the most famous and the most loved member, but she also is a constant victim to death threats by racist netizens.
In 2019, she received death threats from citizens. One said, "Once BLACKPINK has their comeback stage, I'm going to shoot Lisa." Another said, "I will kill Lisa. I have my gun already." The fans reported these tweets to the Thai embassy in Seoul.
YG entertainment reassured everyone that their priority is the safety of their artists. Fans found this very insincere and showed their support by taking it to Twitter with #YGTreatLisaBetter.
4. Sana
Sana is one of the Japanese TWICE members. Korea and Japan had a history where Japan colonized Korea for over three decades. Koreans are still sensitive towards that aspect as it was a dark time for the country.
In 2019, she posted, "I was born in the Heisei Era, so I am sad to see it end. I would say 'good job' to Heisei. Toward the first day of the new Reiwa Era, I will spend the last day of Heisei with a fresh mind."
The citizens found this comment insensitive. Even though she is Japanese, she is in a Korean girl group. Hence, the citizens found it offensive as she posted this One post even said, "Better write that in her diary."
5. Lay Zhang
Lay is a Chinese singer, rapper, songwriter who debuted in boy band EXO. In 2019, Lay Zhang faced backlash for his tweet against the Hong Kong protestors.
Hong Kong comes under China's "One-country, Two systems" policy. With the introduction of the eradication bill, there was an outroar of protests on the streets of Hong Kong, calling for a complete withdrawal of the use and investigating the alleged police brutality in Hong Kong.
Lay Zhang's tweet conveyed Pro-China thoughts, for which he faced hate and disappointment among fans.
6. Mina
Mina Sharon Myoi was born in Texas and later moved to Japan when she was a toddler. She is another non-Korean member of TWICE, and she seems to be in the spotlight for trivial reasons. As in talking in Japanese during a live, not wearing makeup, and most recently even being quiet during an interview. In 2019, Mina was diagnosed with extreme anxiety disorder. Due to the constant hate, she received from the netizens due to her nationality.
7. Momo
Momo Hirai is another Japanese member of TWICE. She was in the spotlight for her vocal ability. Fans expressed their opinion on her mispronunciation of the words and plain and lousy voice.
She had revealed that singing didn't come to her quickly and that she would cry out of fear while singing, but she eventually got better. In 2020, fans judged her skills during the "More and More" concert, where the members were seen not performing in the chorus.
8. Rosé
Roseanne Park was born in New Zealand to immigrant South Korean parents. In 2019, fans were outraged after learning that Rose was the most mistreated member of BLACKPINK. The controversy stirred up very subtly.
It all started when Rose' liked a few sad posts on Instagram, and so did her father, who is known as Park Mason. The fans assumed that she was hinting at her poor treatment at YG entertainment. Soon after her schedule, she was seen disturbingly lost for a while. YG entertainment never commented on this issue.
9. Jackson Wang
Jackson Wang, born in Hong Kong, is a rapper, singer based in China, and a member of the boy band GOT7.
Earlier this year, Jackson Wang was one of the many celebrities to cut ties with Adidas. Due to the alleged forced labor in Harvesting cotton in Xinjiang, China. He faced backlash from fans when an old video resurfaced where he said "Annyeong" and followed by "I am Chinese." Resulting in netizens questioning the idol for actively promoting labor in Korea when he said he was "Chinese."
10. Jessi
Jessica Ho was born in New York, raised in New Jersey, and moved to South Korea at 15. Jessi is known for her bold, funny, and outspoken personality. She has been a hot topic among netizens for many reasons, but one of the controversies she was involved in was when an American woman named Ms. Choi, accused Jessi of assault in 2015. Jessi, however, denied all accusations and expressed that she was only trying to stop the fight between her friend and Ms. Choi. There was no evidence found.
