Korean singer Lee Hyori catches heat from Chinese internet users for Mao Zedong remarks

South Korean artist Lee Hyori (李孝利 Lǐ Xiàolì) is one of the most successful female K-pop singers, with a big following in China. She has come under sharp criticism from Chinese internet users, after saying on a variety show that she would consider using Mao, the last name of Communist China’s founding father, Máo Zédōng 毛泽东, as her stage name because it had “global” recognition.

Lee made the remarks during her appearance on How Do You Play?, a TV program produced and broadcast by South Korean network MBC. In an episode (in Chinese) that aired on August 22, Lee sat down with the show’s host, Yoo Jae Suk, to discuss the prospect of forming a K-pop girl group with other female artists that she liked.

At one point in their conversation, Yoo asked Lee if she had any thoughts about her stage name in the new group, to which Lee replied, “How about a Chinese name, since we had the potential of going global? How does Mao sound to you?”

Soon after the episode aired, someone shared a clip of Lee making the remarks on Chinese social media. The video has been making the rounds on Weibo, drawing a flurry of critical responses from people who slammed Lee for “ridiculing” and “disrespecting” China’s revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.

An angry Weibo user wrote (in Chinese): “This matter deserves more attention! Lee Hyori insulted the great leader who founded our country. How dare she, a Korean entertainer, talk offensively about the remarkable Mao. You shouldn’t call yourself Chinese if you don’t feel the urge to rip her!”

As of today, the hashtag “Lee Hyori insults China” #李孝利辱华# has racked up over 110 million views on Weibo, with most of the comments being negative and accusatory.

Although Mao is a common surname in China, it’s particularly associated with Mao Zedong when mentioned outside of the country. And this is exactly the argument used by many critics on the Chinese internet, who said that regardless of Lee’s real intention, her proposal of the name was an affront to the founding leader of the People’s Republic.

“Her answer might not seem terribly offensive on the surface. But if we put it into another perspective, would Lee feel comfortable with using a former South Korean official’s name as her stage name? Trivializing is a form of insult. Showing no respect is a form of insult,” a Weibo user commented.

There were a small number of people coming to Lee’s defense, but their voices were mostly drowned out by the fierce outrage from nationalistic critics. In a rare Weibo post where the creator tried to analyze the controversy rationally, he pointed out that the rush and tendency to see Lee’s remarks in a negative light was “quite interesting.”

“Normally speaking, when a celebrity names himself after a famous figure, the decision is perceived as neutral by default. In some cases, people see it as a way for the celebrity to pay homage or show admiration to the other person. But for the critics who naturally interpreted Lee’s answer as an insult, they had the presumption that when foreigners mention a famous Chinese person, they are definitely not coming from a place of good intentions,” the person wrote (in Chinese).

In replies to his post, most commentators were in disagreement. “Seems like you don’t have the emotional intelligence to see through her malicious mind,” a person wrote.

In response to the controversy, the show issued a statement on August 24, saying that it “had no intention of alluding to the specific individual mentioned in people’s concerns.” Moreover, to “stop any more misunderstandings from forming,” the controversial comment will be removed when the network replays the episode.

So far, the K-pop star herself hasn’t responded to the criticism as Chinese internet users continue to post trollish comments on Lee’s official account on Instagram, which is blocked in China, as well as on her Weibo page.