A recent Instagram story post by BLACKPINK's Rosé became flagged by some netizens for the use of a controversial 'Ilbe' term.
On January 3, Rosé wished her group member Jisoo a sweet "Happy Birthday" via her Instagram story, writing, "Our eldest cutie pie Jisoonie. I really really wish you a happy birthday. I hope that you will have the happiest day in the world. I love you~~~".
Here, Rosé deviated from the traditional phonetic spelling of the Korean phrase "neomu neomu" to mean "really really", instead writing, "nohhmu nohhmu". However, the use of "nohhmu nohhmu" has previously caused controversies as an 'Ilbe' term allegedly used by extreme conservatives to negatively reference South Korea's former president Noh Moo Hyun.
As a result, some netizens debated Rosé's use of the term in her Instagram story post. Rosé, who seemed to have noticed the issue, decided to edit and repost the story, instead writing, "neooooo-mu neomu".
There's nothing to debate here. She made a simple mistake trying to write it in a cute way and didn't realize it the first time. End of story.
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