Boycott of Korean Artists in Taiwan Following 2010 Asian Games

On Monday, The China Times reported that anti-Korean sentiment following the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou has led to boycotts and an event cancellation in Taiwan.  Specifically, there has been a rise in the boycotts of albums by Korean artists, and an event at which SNSD and the Wonder Girls were slated to perform on December 2 has been canceled.

The discontent is most likely due to the disqualification of a Taiwanese athlete during the 49-kilogram women’s taekwondo match at the Asian Games.  With twelve seconds left in the round, Yang Shu-chun was disqualified due to having extra sensors in her socks.  Sensors are worn by taekwondo athletes to record points.  In Yang’s case, the extra sensors had been approved before the match.

There were no Korean judges present at the match, but the final decision to disqualify Yang was made by World Taekwondo Federation Vice President Hong Seong Chun, who is Korean.  His decision was believed to cause the rise in anti-Korean sentiment in Taiwan.

SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, who represent SNSD and the Wonder Girls, have refrained from commenting on the issue.

Source: JoongAng Daily