JTBC variety program 'Abnormal Summit,' which invites foreigners onto the show for discussion, issued another apology to address the controversial usage of Japan's anthem "Kimigayo" on the show.
Again, for those who do not know why the song may receive such a negative response, "Kimigayo" was originally the anthem of the Empire of Japan and it has a negative stigma among Korean and Chinese people. During World War II, Japan had forced its colonized countries to sing the anthem, including Korea and China. The anthem was replaced at the conclusion of World War II in 1945, however, it was brought back as the official national anthem later on in 1999.
On November 3, before the broadcasting of 'Abnormal Summit,' the production crew aired a letter of apology saying:
"As we used 'Kimigayo' as the background music for the appearances of the Japanese representatives on 'Abnormal Summit' in the first and seventeenth episodes, we hurt the feelings of the nation and greatly disappointed all of our viewers. We deeply reflect upon this, bow our heads, and apologize. It was the fault of the production crew for not filtering out 'Kimigayo' with the greatest care in the final workups. We take on the full responsibility; the chief producer and director of 'Abnormal Submit' has been dismissed and replaced, and we have annulled the business contract with outside music director, who chooses the music.
'Abnormal Submit' was able to come this far thanks to all the viewers' reprimands and affections. It was a show that we started out of a desire to become friends with a tough and hurting world; our feelings toward that and our direction have not changed, yet we have given great pain to all the viewers by making such a grave mistake. We will try hard to never make such an incident again. We will follow all the viewers' hearts and thoughts through more in-depth and great care. We are really sorry. Once again, we bow our heads and sincerely apologize."
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