K-Pop singer Sunmi apologized to Indians; but where was the mistake

The South Korean singer Lee Sun-mi, popularly known as Sunmi, found herself in hot waters when she recently uploaded a video on TikTok, enacting dance steps on a popular Indian song Tunak Tunak, sung by veteran singer Daler Mehndi.

In the video, Sunmi, along with two female friends, was seen imitating hand gestures made by Daler Mehndi in his original music video and bobbing their heads to the tune.

The 28-year-old K-Pop singer may have had loads of fun making this TikTok video but little did she anticipate that she would land herself in trouble for something which was meant to entertain people.

Netizens unhappy with Sunmi's TikTok video

Many people, especially Indians, began trolling Sunmi for disrespecting Indian culture and making a mockery out of it. "People who are asking why it is insensitive Face with cold sweat I'm not even Indian but this obviously looked very wrong and offensive. Who tf sees this and does not get offended by how they're mocking the dance? I mean fr poeple," one Twitter user expressed his feelings.

Another Twitter user said, "For those of you wondering what happened with Sunmi:
Please respect the opinions of your Indian mutuals and try to support them in this. So many Kpop idols are culturally insensitive and refuse to learn about different cultures even though they have access to the internet."

Support pours in for Sunmi

However, there were many people who came out in support of Sunmi saying that the K-Pop singer did nothing that could be called as insensitive. They even normalised Sunmi's actions in the video as most people could relate to it while having fun with their friends.

"This music has been going around in circles for months and months. After a while it is logically used as a meme and therefore also on TikTok, this music has become really known in the world, there is no offense, just 3 girlfriends having fun with each other," said a Twitter user.

Sunmi apologises for hurting Indian sentiments

After facing a massive backlash, Sunmi posted a heartfelt apology to those who got offended by her TikTok video.

"There is no reason or intention for me to mock the culture of other countries. It's because of my ignorance of the culture. I apologize for being ignorant about the culture of other countries. And I'd like to say that I am truly sorry to those who have been hurt by my ignorance," Sunmi tweeted.

It didn't much time for Sunmi to apologise and accepting the fact that she was unaware of culture of other countries. Her apology garnered her immense support from her fans who chose not to accept her apology since it didn't offend them. However, people advised her not to repear her mistakes and push herself to a position where she would have to apologize publicly for something she wouldn't know about. 

Take a look at Sunmi's TikTok video and let us know in comments what you think of it: