KBS (Korea Broadcasting System), the national public broadcaster of South Korea, is currently the target of immense criticism for its "anti-nationalist" activities on Korea's National Liberation Day, which falls on August 15 each year. 

According to furious online netizens, as soon as the clock struck midnight on August 15 KST, KBS1 began airing an opera special of Giacomo Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly'. 

The opera, set in Japan in the early 1900s, tells the story of a Japanese woman who marries an American naval officer, only to be abandoned by him soon afterward. 

During its signature wedding scene, the opera briefly includes a "Kimigayo", or the national anthem of Japan. 

After learning about the incident, many Korean netizens were furious with the broadcasting station's choice of content, calling it a "pro-Japanese", "anti-nationalist" channel. 

Numerous viewers soon began flooding KBS's online community board with comments such as:

"KBS? More like JBS."

"Kimonos on National Liberation Day?"

"Traitor."

"Why would Koreans want to watch an opera set in Japan with all the characters wearing kimonos on the day we're supposed to celebrate being liberated from the Japanese colonizers????"

"These shady traitors. Just die."

"This pro-Japanese government is ruining the country!"

"I won't sit and watch a national broadcasting station airing this pro-Japanese anti-nationalist sh*t."

"I don't even watch KBS and now I will make sure to never watch any KBS channels ever again."

"Alright everyone, the surest way to bring these suckers down is to boycott everything they're advertising on the channels. Once the advertisers pull out, they're goners."

"Oh, the Japanese Broadcasting Station?"

"Someone please tell me how to not pay taxes that go to this trash broadcasting station."

The "anti-nationalist" accusations did not stop there. 

Also on this day, a weather report aired on KBS showed the national flag of South Korea flipped sideways: 

Finally, to add further fuel to the fire, the broadcasting schedule for August 15 KST indicated that at 11:10 PM KST, KBS1 would air the documentary 'The Origin of Miracles', an independent documentary about South Korea's first president, Syngman Rhee. The documentary is known to have been highly criticized upon its original showing for "romanticizing" the controversial political figure, whose presidencies were considered more authoritarian than democratic. 

Currently, floods of Korean viewers are signing petitions against KBS for the airing of 'Madame Butterfly' and 'The Origin of Miracles' on National Liberation day, with over 10,000 signatures collected. 

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