New K-Pop group ABO have been called out on social media because their name is a racial slur against Australian Aborigines. Other social media users have noted that ABO is also short for erotic fan fiction. The name of the group means “At the beginning of originality”, according to IST Entertainment.
The group was announced after the final of the singing competition on May 7 The origin – A, B or what? and will include seven of the show’s ten finalists. Jeong Seunghwan, Oh Junseok, Seok Rakwon, Ryu Junmin, Bae Hyunjun, Yang Donghwa, and Kim Yeonkyu will join the group, reports Soompi. IST Entertainment is the same talent agency behind girl group Apink and boy group The Boyz. The first ABO recordings will be released later this year, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
not to spoil the joke (1) but there’s another reason why they shouldn’t do this (2) (that’s an insult) pic.twitter.com/zJlzWfybtz
— ☘️ charlie 🍀 (@voidspell) May 8, 2022
After the name was announced, those not in South Korea commented on how awful the name is. In Australia, “Abo” is an offensive name used as a reference to Australian Aborigines. It has been compared to the “N-word” in the United States and there has been outrage when public figures have used it. As recently as Monday, Australian broadcaster Channel Nine announced it would be exposing NSW One Nation party member Mark Latham MP for tweeting the insult during a televised debate between party leaders. The debate was moderated by journalist Sarah Abo. Latham later told the The telegraph of the day his tweet was misinterpreted by the “outrage industry”.
“Mark Latham’s tweet last night is disgraceful, racist and totally unacceptable,” Channel Nine executive Darren Wick said in a statement to News.Com.Au. “Sarah Abo is an exceptional journalist and handled the robust nature of a debate of this magnitude with intelligence, composure and professionalism. That cannot be said for Mr. Latham’s tweet. We will report his comments to the authorities.”
Other social media users pointed out that ABO also had a very NSFW meaning. It is an abbreviation for a controversial genre of online erotic fanfiction. “Are the entertainment companies completely clueless or what? Is it hard to do a simple search before naming a band? ABO?” a Twitter user wrote. “1. It’s an insult and 2. A fanfic genre, which involves 10/10 times [sex]. They’re going to be a laughing stock as long as they carry that name.”
“There’s a new K-pop boy group about to debut called ABO…what an unfortunate name to have LMAOO,” one Twitter user said. wrote. “All Australians immediately railed against the name because we know it’s an insult. It’s not the best name,” another person said. commented.
Comments are closed.