Netizens Come To BLACKPINK Rosé’s Defense Over Her Accidental Use Of An “Ilbe” Slang

BLACKPINK‘s Rosé found herself in a bit of controversy over her use of a word that is affiliated with the controversial far-right community, Ilbe.

On January 3, the BLACKPINK member wrote on her Instagram story in which she congratulated fellow member Jisoo on her birthday.

Our cutie head-unnie Jisoonie. I wish you a ‘very, very’ happy birthday. I hope you have the best day ever. I love you.

— Rosé

According to a news report, Rosé had intentionally misspelled the word “very very” (너무 너무) to emphasize the word (which is common). The idol instead wrote 노무노무 which sounds similar (numoo numoo vs. nomoo nomoo) and is stylized in a way that is commonly used between Koreans who are close and want to show affection (Think “lubby-dubby” vs. “lovey-dovey”).

Controversy arose, however, when it was revealed that the word 노무노무 (nomoo nomoo) was a term associated with the controversial far-right online community Ilbe. According to reports, “Nomoo Nomoo” is a term used to insult the late progressive Korean President Roh Moo Hyun (pronounced as No Moo Hyun in Korean). Rosé has since edited her story to replace the controversial term.

Netizens, however, were quick to come to the defense of Rosé, as the mistake is an easy one to make. Also, netizens considered the fact that Rosé was not born in Korea and, therefore, most likely had no idea what Ilbe even is.

• “For f@ck sakes. Do you think she knowingly used that? LOL.”
• “Wasn’t that originally just a cute term on the internet that was changed because of Ilbe? Seriously, you guys are criticizing her for what?”
• “There is no way Rosé is an Ilbe user. You guys are just chasing clout.”
• “Rosé is an Australian or a New Zealander, remember? LOL. Do you think she really used the term knowingly? There are so many psychos.”
• “Of course, she used it by accident. Rosé was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, so she doesn’t speak Korean perfectly, so please come back with something that makes sense. What are you doing? She doesn’t even know that site exists. As a matter of fact, isn’t the people who can recognize the term the real Ilbe users? Even I found out about the term today.”
• “Do you guys really think Rosé knowingly used the term?”
• “Wow, this post had a thousand replies? LOL. I thought it was weird that it even got a hundred. LOL. I bet Rosé’s response to the controversy was so cute and funny.”
• “I didn’t know either… How would normal people know what Ilbe users do or say?”
• “At this rate, people are going to say that 너무너무 (numoo numoo) is also an Ilbe slang.”
• “Do you think she used it knowingly? LOL.”

This isn’t the first time that the word was mistakenly used by celebrities. Previously, former idol group Crayon Pop and popular YouTube channel Workman were also mired in controversy for using the word.

Ilbe is a controversial far-right extremist community. The community is often described as the most-hateful online community in Korea, and many have called for the community to be shut down.

Inside “Ilbe”: What Exactly Is This Korean Website And Why Has It Become So Problematic?