RESCENE's Won confronts 'scary' controversy head-on, hometown
RESCENE's Wonhee has directly addressed the 'Museopno' controversy by clarifying it was her hometown dialect, 'Masitno'. We bring you the official explanation from Geoje City and news regarding the members moving to a new dorm.
Woni's Savory Dialect: Moving Past the 'Ilbe Terminology' Misunderstanding
Woni, a member of the group RESCENE, has directly confronted the controversy surrounding her. In a video titled 'Learning a Yankee's Day' released on the YouTube channel 'Hello, I'm Woni, Please Treat Me Well' on the 10th, Woni appeared dressed as a Japanese delinquent, depicting a date with Japanese member Minami.
The scene where Woni takes a spoonful of soup and exclaims "Massit-no" (It's delicious) is being interpreted as a move intended to address the recent controversy. While speaking Japanese, Woni maintained her characteristic Gyeongsang-do accent. It was a new Japanese character performance following her previous 'Gyaru' concept.
The controversy began late last month when Kim Hyun-ji, a PD at MBC Gyeongnam (a broadcaster in the Gyeongnam region), raised an issue regarding Woni's use of the expression "Museop-no" (It's scary) in a YouTube video, labeling it as an 'Ilbe-style expression.' The debate even spread to the political sphere. The impact grew larger when former Cho Kuk Reform Party leader Cho Kuk posted a message that seemed to sympathize with the controversy on the 5th.
Lawyer Cho Su-jin, a director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, reversed her initial opinion that it was indeed an 'Ilbe-style expression.' Lawyer Cho stated, "My understanding was insufficient regarding the language of the younger generation, which involves many omissions. I am worried that my remarks may have hurt the artist, and I would like to offer an apology."
Yoon Do-young, a star instructor from Busan, also defended Woni. Yoon said, "Since the current generation uses very abbreviated language, they might omit parts of phrases like 'Wa iri' (Why like this). If I hadn't seen 'Dosi-no,' I wouldn't have answered that 'Museop-no' was Ilbe slang," adding, "Common sense dictates there is no reason for a rising idol to do such a thing."
The Linguistic Reality of 'Museop-no' Analyzed by Experts
Academics and experts placed weight on the fact that the expression is a 'dialect.' Professor Shin Ji-young of the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Korea University explained, "It is not an interrogative sentence but more like an exclamatory one; in the Gyeongsang-do dialect, the '-o' form is used for exclamations. If it can be replaced with '-ne,' it is an exclamatory sentence." Professor Shin added that the PD in question does not appear to be a dialect speaker and likely misunderstood Woni's repeated use of 'Museop-no' as playing a 'No-No game."
Comedian Kim Si-deok, who is from Gyeongsang-do, also spoke up. Kim said, "The 'Museop-no' used by RESCENE's Woni is indeed an interrogative ending. I don't know since when using a dialect makes one branded as Ilbe. I responded by saying, 'What are you saying? Why are you being like this? It's not Ilbe.'"
Official Position of Geoje City and News of RESCENE's Dormitory Move
As the controversy spread, Geoje City, Woni's hometown in Gyeongnam, stepped in directly. In a statement released on the 10th, Geoje City stated, "The expression in question is a dialect and a colloquial expression commonly used in the Gyeongnam region." Mayor Byeon Kwang-yong emphasized that it is inappropriate to interpret this as an expression containing specific political intentions.
Geoje City urged a mature communication culture, stating, "The indiscriminate spread of unverified information and excessive criticism can cause unnecessary harm to the party involved." RESCENE was appointed as ambassadors for Geoje City last May.
Recently, RESCENE appeared on the YouTube channel 'Sool-bitneun Yun-jumo' and shared news that they had moved to a larger dormitory. Member Jena revealed, "We moved today and came after organizing our belongings," noting they moved to a dormitory with a total of five rooms, including the manager's room.
The previous dormitory structure, where members shared rooms in pairs, has changed to a system of 2, 2, and 1. Accordingly, the leader Woni will now have her own 'single room,' though it is slightly smaller. Live and Minami will share a room, decorating their space with mood lights.
RESCENE recently released their remake single 'Pretty Girl.' Woni, who gained attention through the 'Geoje Yahoo' meme and was selected as an ambassador for Geoje City, is continuing her group activities by directly overcoming the controversy through her dialect.
