(Source from Reuters/Alamy)
The spark of the territorial dispute between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea has spread to the Korean idol group Black Pink. This is because Black Pink’s Vietnamese concert organizer defended the existence of the “Nine Dash Line” in the South China Sea, which China unilaterally claims and Vietnam opposes. A diplomatic official said, “In Korea, the host company of famous foreign singers in Korea marked the East Sea as Sea of Japan or said Dokdo as Takeshima,” adding, “It touched the most sensitive part of Vietnamese people.” Public opinion in Vietnam is raging and the government has begun an investigation. “Patriotism is more important” Fans are also angry, and if Vietnam’s social networking service (SNS) is combined, voices are growing that they will boycott the performance ahead of the first Black Pink concert in Hanoi on the 29th and 30th of this month. The beginning is an image posted on the website of iME Entertainment, the organizer of the BLACKPINK World Tour and Asia’s largest performance agency based in China.The problem was that there was a map showing nine virtual maritime border “South Sea Gudan Line” arbitrarily drawn by China to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea. China claims that the area is owned by China in the name of managing an island in the South China Sea during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago. According to them, 90% of the entire waters in the South China Sea will be Chinese territorial waters.These include Vietnam’s Hoangsa Islands (Chinese name Sisa Islands) and Splatley Islands (Chinese name Nansha Islands), as well as most of the Southeast Asian countries where China competes for sovereignty. The International Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded in 2016 that the Namhae District Line was groundless under international law, but China has not budged on its claim so far.Vietnam was outraged.
This is because the controversy was viewed as an “infringement of maritime sovereignty.” “If you look at BLACKPINK’s performance, it can be seen as supporting the plan to invade China,” Facebook said. It is argued that he should not go to the concert. BLACKPINK fans also turned their backs. Fans said, “BLACKPINK is good, but patriotism is more important. “I canceled my ticket reservation because I love my country,” he said, joining the boycott. Tickets for the concert were expected to be sold out for 10 minutes, but seats remain until the 9th, the second day of sales. There are also many posts on social media that say they want to resell tickets”You touch the most sensitive part of Vietnamese people”
The Vietnamese government, which is determined to deal with the issue of the Namhae-gu Danseon, has also taken a quick response. The Ministry of Culture has launched an investigation into the iME website.
Asked if the concert could be canceled, Foreign Ministry spokesman Palm Tohang declined to say, “The government is investigating the issue,” but added, “Vietnam has clarified its thoughts on the Namhae Gudan Line.” Promoting and using publications and products related to this is not allowed, he stressed.On iME Vietnam’s Facebook page, articles criticizing the posting of an image of defending the Namhae Gudan Line on the iME headquarters’ website are continuing. Given Vietnam’s precedent of suspending the broadcast of movies and dramas one after another due to the issue of the Namhae-gu Danseon, the controversy is expected to continue for the time being. The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture blocked the screening in Vietnam on the 3rd of this month because a map showing the Namhae Gudan Line was shown in the U.S. Warner Bros. film “Barbie.” In March this year, the movie “Uncharted” was also banned for the same reason, and the service of the Netflix drama “Fine Gap” was suspended in 2021.In 2019, the DreamWorks animation “About Possible” was suspended 10 days after its release due to controversy over the Namhae-gu Danseon, and Vietnam reprimanded the person in charge for poor deliberation and fined 170 million dong (about 9.37 million won) to the distributor. This is why some predict that BLACKPINK’s concert will not be easy to move on quietly. iME apologized belatedly. Brian Chow, CEO of iME, said, “We will replace the image that is not appropriate for the Vietnamese,” adding, “We respect the sovereignty and culture of all countries.” Currently, related photos have been deleted from the website.
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
