이거 JK가 지난 22일, ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’ 공연 도중 백인 관객들에게 인종차별적인 발언을 퍼부은 것에 대해 트위터를 통해 사과의 뜻을 표명했다.
그는 트위터를 통해 “다시 한번 (인종차별 발언에 피해를 입은) 선량한 분들에게 사과합니다”라고 말하면서 자신이 이날 한 행동은 정당화될 수 없다고 말했다.
타이거 JK가 트위터에 올린 글에 따르면 이날 백인관객 중 일부가 계속해서 그에게 싸이의 ‘강남스타일’에 나오는 말춤을 추어보라고 요구했다고 한다.
그는 이에 분노해 “난 당신들을 웃기려고 여기 온 것이 아니다. 춤 추려고 온 것도 아니다”라고 했다고 한다.
타이거 JK는 이후 백인들을 향해 자신이 “미쳐 날뛰었다 (went crazy)”고 적었다. 또한 그는 백인 관객들에게 욕설을 퍼부으며 CNN과 헐리우드 등이 아시아인들을 단순한 “웃기는 소재(comic relief)”로만 여긴다고 비난했다.
타이거 JK는 자신이 “인종차별주의자”처럼 행동한 것에 대해 부끄럽게 여기며, 그러한 차별적 용어를 쓰지 않고도 자신의 의도를 전달할 수도 있었다고 적었다.
그러면서도 그는 자신의 뜻을 굽히지는 않겠다고 강조했다.
Tiger JK apologizes for racial slurs
Korean rapper Tiger JK has posted an apology on his Twitter account for the racist remarks against Caucasians he blurted out during a joint performance on Saturday.
“Once again my sincere apology goes out to all them good peoples, Peace,” he wrote on Tuesday, adding he can’t justify what went on that night.
According to Tiger JK’s recollection, some of the audience repeatedly requested him to dance the “horse dance” from choreography of another Korean rapper Psy’s worldwide hit “Gangnam Style.”
Tiger JK said this infuriated him.
“I told them I ain’t here to make you laugh, not here to dance for you, then it triggered something really dark in me,” Tiger JK said via Twitter.
Then the rapper said he cut all his songs short and went “crazy on all them white folks in the crowd.”
“To Fu** all y’all who think Asians are here to make you laugh by dancing my as*** off,” he said, accusing CNN and Hollywood of making Asians “comic relief.”
The rapper said he is “not proud of being a racist” and that the message could have been delivered without the offensive verbal abuse. But he maintained that he stood by everything he said.
The 38-year-old rapper -- whose real name is Seo Jung-kwon -- is regarded as one of the pioneers who introduced hip-hop music to Korea in the 1990s. He is married to another hip-hop musician Yoon Mi Rae.
The performance, sponsored by Intel and Vice magazine, is a global campaign that supports new and rising artists. While Saturday’s show also featured well-known musicians like Tiger JK and girl group 2NE1, the lineup consisted mostly of underground or alternate musicians.
By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
