Popular American morning show Good Morning America is currently under fire for what many consider to be disrespectful actions towards ENHYPEN.
ENHYPEN | BE:LIFT LAB
Earlier this year, ENHYPEN appeared in the animated Pinkfong film Baby Shark’s Big Movie, voicing a K-Pop band. In addition to their film appearance, the group also released a track for the movie titled “Keep Swimmin’ Through.”
As part of the film’s promotions, the group were invited to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City as guests on the Baby Shark float, where they went viral for their performance of “Baby Shark.”
Fans were left even more excited when it was announced that ENHYPEN would appear on Good Morning America, the most-watched morning program in the US.
TOMORROW ON @GMA: @ENHYPEN take over our Times Square studio with a LIVE performance of “Sweet Venom.” pic.twitter.com/RLDk6fZPnK
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 23, 2023
Unfortunately, multiple moments during the broadcast have left fans feeling angered for the group.
Before their performance on the broadcast, the group were interviewed by two of ABC’s reporters, Juju Chang and Sam Champion. After host Juju Chang briefly introduced the group, she mispronounced ENHYPEN, calling them “ipen.”
the way u can actually hear a member laughing when she called enha ‘ipen’ oh this is so ehuwehehwjsj pic.twitter.com/iFzJQxfBbN
— (@enhacentric) November 24, 2023
During the interview, the group were asked about their US tour and appearing in the Baby Shark film, with Jake and Jay answering, though the latter’s microphone did not work.
At one point, Juju Chang, who is Korean-American, remarks that their “English is so much better than my Korean.”
‘your english is better than my korean’ says it to someone whos spent 80% of his life in australia and talks in a heavy australian accent… gma youre going to hell
— (@enhacentric) November 24, 2023
Juju Chang then says the group’s name incorrectly again while introducing their song, calling them “enpen” this time.
enhypen got a new group name “ENPEN” the “hy” is sulking rn ㅋㅋㅋㅋ pic.twitter.com/ytvsWmbytJ
— ً (@yangwonbear) November 24, 2023
In addition to poor camera work during the show, The Good Morning America X account also incorrectly talked about the group when posting a now-deleted interview clip, mistakenly calling their new album Orange Blood, “Blood Orange.”
“i would give up heaven if I had too”
Camera work… pic.twitter.com/N6QmdaPsku
— 李慧妞 (@Bl0bfishSpand3x) November 24, 2023
GMA DELETED THEIR TWEET???? pic.twitter.com/qZ2WKQVo73
— Chaw (@inikeuworld) November 24, 2023
An ongoing complaint many K-Pop fans have had with Western media coverage of groups is the lack of research that seems to take place. On more than one occasion, television programs have incorrectly reported basic facts about groups that could be found doing a browser search.
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Juju Chang’s comment about Jay and Jake’s English speaking skills also has been called a microaggression. Microaggressions are defined as “a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group, such as a racial or ethnic minority.”
Jay and Jake both grew up in English-speaking countries and the implications of the phrase “your English is so good” are seen as racist or ignorant by some.
| Turner Consulting Group
Fans expressed their disappointment in how ENHYPEN’s Good Morning America debut was handled and have called out the show for its actions.
i hope engenes know that part of making enhypen as big as possible is making sure people see them as legitimate artists that should be taken seriously for the work they do. that starts with us not tolerating disrespect and microaggressions as they’re exposed to new audiences.
— steph (@solaradical) November 24, 2023
watching GMA today really open my eyes about the truly american media lol the implicit racism, disrespect, unprepared, lack of prior research, bad camerawork, literally everything
— sa will see her jongseong soon (@jeongsaengieee) November 24, 2023
You telling a fellow American citizen that their English is better than your Korean is not only ignorant but also incredibly disrespectful. Also, butchering their group name multiple times and failing to do your job in doing a proper interview? Do better @GMA
— HOURLY ENHYPEN (@enhypenhourly) November 24, 2023
Fans are calling for the show to do better.