Five years after a video of him erupted on social media, Jackson Wang finally got to explain his side of the story.
Speaking on the YouTube talk show Daebak Show released yesterday (March 11), the Hong Kong-born pop star, who turns 31 later this month, recounted the situation to Korean American singer Eric Nam.
“There’s this clip on YouTube or whatever where I said I am Chinese. I only knew this two years after it happened. I didn’t know what it was and people were telling me it popped up randomly [on social media], I think it happened in Rome or somewhere in Europe,” said Jackson, who made his showbiz debut as a member of South Korean boy band Got7.
He added that he understood the clip went viral with many people criticising him.
In 2019, a short fancam of Jackson reportedly attending a fashion event in Europe was uploaded on YouTube. In the video, he is seen standing outside a building and someone greets him in Korean.
Jackson looked in their direction and responded mildly: “I’m Chinese, okay?” as laughter is heard from behind the camera, seemingly from other fans.
His response drew criticism from South Korean fans, who felt that he was unfriendly and ungrateful to the country that made him famous.
Recounting the situation, Jackson told Eric: “Do you think I’m a person that when people say ‘annyeonghaseyo’ or ‘bonjour’ to me, I wouldn’t accept that? I was like, ‘When did I do that?’ and when I looked back, that was when I remembered.
“I was walking on the street to my hotel or wherever, and this person asked me like, more than 10 times. I had said ‘annyeonghaseyo’, ‘bonjour’ and ‘konnichiwa’ to everyone there because there was an international audience.”
After he had greeted everyone in multiple languages, that person asked him why he didn’t speak Korean.
“And I am like, ‘Because I’m Chinese’,” Jackson explained to Eric.
He said he didn’t remember this incident until he heard the criticisms that were directed at him because of it.
Jackson added: “Where am I supposed to say I’m from?”
Looking into the camera, he quipped: “Hey, I’m Singaporean.”
As Eric laughed, he added: “I’m not, you feel me? Where am I going to say where I’m from? I just think this is ridiculous and the crazier thing is I only knew this after two years.”
While he was surprised that his response had become an “issue”, Jackson also wondered if he should address it.
“But it would be random too if I have to bring it up again and talk about it,” he said.
He also revealed: “Whoever was asking that (in the video) wasn’t even Korean.”
Reflecting on this, Jackson believed that popularity and fame are like “bubbles” and “doesn’t mean anything” because something might happen one day and end an artiste’s career.
“I am just gonna be me; if you like it, you do. If you don’t, you don’t,” he concluded.
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