In an attempt to come up with new nicknames to use in their new girl group with their “producer”, Jimmy Yoo (Yoo Jae Suk), Lee Hyori suggested a nickname that sparked much online criticism from Chinese fans.
On the show, Lee Hyori asked if she should go with a Chinese nickname to become more global and proposed the name, “Mao.”
And this has sparked heated controversy online leading to hate comments left on Lee Hyori’s Instagram account.
The reason behind the rage is because Chinese fans believe Lee Hyori used the name of the former chairman of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, for comic relief.
Chinese fans are expressing their discontent with comments such as “Don’t joke about the great men of a different country“, “She used the great man of another country to make a joke out of it“, and “You should’ve used someone from Korea instead“.
On the other hand, Korean fans are refuting the hate with comments such as “Why are the Chinese fans censoring the show when it’s a Korean variety show?” and “I feel like they’re overreacting to the name “Mao“.
https://koreaboo.com/news/lee-hyori-attack-chinese-fans-nickname-hangout-yoo/