▲ This photo, provided by C9 Entertainment, shows K-pop boy group EPEX. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Apr. 13 (Yonhap) – K-pop rookie boy group EPEX’s new song "Anthem of Teen Spirit," whose Korean title is "학원歌," literally translated into “Academy Song,” which was released on Apr. 11, has faced a controversy that its lyrics refer to Nazi Germany’s pogrom(Holocaust) in the 1930s, which led the company to change some parts of the lyrics.

According to the music scene on Wednesday, the song contains an impressive melody of unique synthesizer sound that maximizes emotions. It points out and warns of the harm caused by the robotized education system that Korean youths are experiencing.

The problematic parts are the words "crystal" and "night" that repeatedly appear in the lyrics.

The song features several phrases using this motif, such as "Tonight, the crystals that protected us are shattered” and "Crystal Night is coming."

This was followed by criticism from overseas K-pop fans who could not hide their displeasure, saying it reminded them of “Kristallnacht,” where the Nazi leaders unleashed a series of pogroms against the Jewish population in Germany in November, 1938.

Of all things, the group’s outfits used in the stage performances have also been criticized for resembling Nazi uniforms.

The agency C9 Entertainment said that the song is irrelevant to real historical events and it will change some parts of the lyrics that caused misunderstanding.

C9 Entertainment emphasized through its position uploaded on the social media page on Tuesday, “In the lyrics, ‘the night in the crystal’ expresses the realistic life of teenagers, used as a metaphor for the images of children burning in competition in the windows of numerous academies that are lit up brightly like crystal every night, and another expression is from the ‘glass paperweight’ appearing in (George Orwell’s novel) ‘1984,’” adding, “It has absolutely nothing to do with actual historical events. It can also be clearly seen through the title name, <'학원歌' literal translation is ‘Academy Song’ (Anthem of Teen Spirit)>.

The agency added, “We sincerely apologize to everyone in Korea and abroad for not paying attention to the use of controversial content.”

C9 Entertainment also mentioned that it will change a total of 4 parts from the lyrics, including “the night in the crystal” to “Myself in the crystal,” “Tonight, the crystals that protected us are shattered” to “the crystals that protected us are shattered, today, I will,” “I see them burning raw” to “I see them running now,” and “Crystal Night is coming” to “Crystal Light is coming.”

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Kim Sun Min.)



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