VIDEO: Rap video frosty welcome for 2018 Winter Olympic Games
Rap video frosty welcome for 2018 Winter Olympic Games
By Paul Harrison, BBC UGC and Social News
Tae-jun Kang, Pratik Jakhar, BBC Monitoring
A YouTube song criticising the South Korean government over the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics has begun an online national debate.
Volunteers are preparing in Pyeonchang, South Korea, but not everyone is getting in the Olympic spirit
The Regret for Pyeonchang song was produced and uploaded to the video-sharing platform by an account called "Boy Bugs".
The song criticises the South Korean government for turning the Olympics into North Korea's propaganda tool, among other decisions around the Games.
North Korea will send a delegation, including 22 athletes and a group of cheerleaders, to take part in the Games after both nations struck a deal last month.
The four-minute long rap video has been watched almost a million times in the past week. More than 35,000 people liked - and 2,400 disliked - the video.
The term "Regret For Pyeongchang" has been trending on Naver and Daum, two major Korean websites, since Monday 30 January.
North Korean and South Korean women's ice hockey players meet at a training centre ahead of the GamesImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
The song complains about the South Korean national flag being hidden, replaced by the North Korean flag. It says there is no "fairness or hope" for South Korea's women ice hockey players, who will play in a joint team with the North at the games.
The song also replaces the name of South Korean host city Pyeongchang with Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
The song has generated mixed reactions from online users in South Korea, with some agreeing with the lyrics.
Members of the South Korean air force Black Eagle aerobatic team perform above the ski jump venue of the Pyeongchang 2018 winter OlympicsImage copyrightAFP
Adrien Kim, an influential Facebook user with more than 9,000 followers, commented: "I would like to see this song getting more than 100 million views. I wonder why South Korea has to cave in to everything to make North Korea feel better.
"I don't understand why South Korea's women ice hockey players have to make a sacrifice just because the South Korean government is fond of North Korea?"
A Naver user posted: "The song helps South Korean people in their 20s and 30s to gather and voice their complaints about the government's irrational behaviours."
"I agree with every single lyric of the song. It's the best song of 2018. I really want president Moon Jae-in and his supporters to listen to it," said another user.
South Korean protesters burn a North Korean flag (R) and a picture (L) of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un during an anti-North Korea rallyImage copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGES
Fanning the flame - not everyone is a fan...
However, not everyone agrees with the song's message.
Some users have made a petition to the South Korean government's official channel demanding action against the song's producer for defamation and spreading false rumours.
A user who signed the petition said, "there is a difference between freedom of creation and fabricating… the song talks about false information as if it was true."
The Winter Olympics will get under way in Pyeongchang on Friday 9 February.
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