A controversy that began over a girl group member's use of the expression "museopno" (meaning "how scary") is spreading across politics and the broader cultural world. The debate is intensifying as critics who argue that Gyeongsang Province dialect is being excessively censored clash with those who insist that the social context of "Ilbe-style hate expressions" must be considered.
The "-no" Controversy That Began With an Idol's Remark
The controversy spread to political circles following a social media post by Cho Kuk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party. On the 5th, Cho wrote on Facebook that "Ilbe mechanically attaches 'no' after standard Korean words," arguing that the "na" and "no" of the Yeongnam dialect are distinct. He then noted that cases of young people attaching "no" to the end of questions are increasing, raising the issue that since this is an Ilbe-style expression mocking former President Roh Moo-hyun, its use should be avoided.
The starting point of the controversy was a video uploaded on the 28th of last month to the YouTube channel "Hello, This is Won-i, Nice to Meet You." Won-i, a member of the girl group Lisenne from Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, appeared in content visiting the Japanese home of fellow group member Minami. When the production crew said, "What is this, museopno (how scary)," she replied, "Museopno. It's scary starting with the lighting."
Afterward, some online users raised the question of whether Won-i's expression resembled the speech style of Ilbe (Ilgan Best Storage), a far-right community. This is because Ilbe has used expressions attaching "no" to the end of sentences as a way of mocking the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.
Cho Kuk: "Eradicate Ilbe-Style 'No'"…Lee Jun-seok: "Stigmatizing"
Cho later took issue with young people's usage as well, saying, "We must make it known that attaching 'no' to questions is not a matter of Gyeongsang Province dialect usage, but a wrongful act that mocks and disparages the late President Roh Moo-hyun."
However, regarding the Ilbe suspicions surrounding the original webtoon of the SBS drama "Kim Bujang," he drew a line, saying, "Unfair Ilbe misunderstandings must be corrected." In the past, suspicions were raised that a background sign in webtoon artist Park Tae-jun's "Lookism" could be read as "Rock Owling," evoking Buchamawi (Owl Rock), where the former president died, but he introduced the interpretation that it actually reads "hanwon rock bowling." At the same time, regarding the "5 minutes 23 seconds" scene in the work, he added, "The reason for using 5.23 is questionable." Park had previously explained that he "had absolutely no intention of mocking the deceased."
In response, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, countered, "A 22-year-old idol from Geoje, South Gyeongsang, said 'museopno' in her hometown dialect, and for that reason she was stigmatized as Ilbe." He added, "Even when linguists explain that in the Southeastern dialect 'no' is used not only for questions but also for exclamations and monologues, the stigmatizing does not stop."
He continued, "I hope we don't make people avoid 'no,' the Gyeongsang dialect sentence ending, through pihwi (omitting part of a word or replacing it with a different character that conveys the meaning)," arguing that "we should not force sensitivity, memory, and solemnity regarding former President Roh Moo-hyun on the younger generation."
People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun also criticized what he called a "suffocating surveillance society." He said, "Do we have to sow division by even bringing up the dialect of an idol who is about 20 years old?" adding, "It is appalling to see even a dialect being stigmatized as a mechanical Ilbe expression."
"It's Dialect" vs. "It's an Ilbe-Style Expression"
The controversy over the "-no" expression has spread beyond political circles to the broader cultural world.
Kim Hyun-ji, an MBC Gyeongnam producer who directed the documentary "Elder Kim Jang-ha," wrote on social media, "I was upset that a female idol and a producer were amicably exchanging 'no no.'" She pointed out, "The choice one makes upon learning that an expression is rooted in hate speech is a matter of attitude."
In response, broadcaster Kim Si-deok, from Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, wrote on social media, "Why is the world so scary (museopno)?" countering that "Lisenne Won-i's 'museopno' is indeed an interrogative sentence-ending suffix." Netizens from Gyeongsang Province also expressed the view that the Ilbe witch-hunt was excessive, saying, "Expressions like museopno, jalhaetno, and waikano are actually used in daily life," and "Even within Gyeongsang Province, usage differs by region."
As the controversy grew, an inquiry asking about the usage of the "-no" suffix was also posted to the National Institute of Korean Language. The institute responded, "In 'Urimalsaem,' 'no' is interpreted as a Gyeongsang regional dialect, a sentence-ending suffix used in questions containing interrogatives," while adding, "Detailed usage is difficult to determine conclusively because views differ among scholars."
The "Ilbe Code" Debate…How and to What Extent Should We "Censor"?
This controversy is not simply an issue over the single suffix "-no." The argument that stigmatizing even regional dialect as hate speech is excessive clashes with the view that the history of certain expressions being consumed as actual hate codes online cannot be overlooked.
On the 6th, People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won stated on her social media, "A censorship society that dictates even ideology and dialect, where you can't even go to Starbucks or use dialect freely." She added, "It seems like watching totalitarian Red Guards."
Jung Min-chul, deputy chief of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee and author of "The Teens and Twenties Far-Right Are Coming," argued, "A four-panel algorithm of mockery → getting caught → apology statement → safely ending is all there is to the Ilbe game." He said, "The apology becomes not remorse but a smoothing-over procedure, and the moment that smoothing-over works, the game wins."
A similar controversy recently arose at the Chungnyonggi National High School Baseball Championship. Some players on the Baejae High School baseball team shouting "We should go to Starbucks" during a game led to controversy that it was an Ilbe-style cheer, and the Korea Baseball Softball Association imposed a six-month national competition suspension on the school. Afterward, criticism emerged from conservative circles that the disciplinary action was excessive.
However, some in the linguistics field hold the view that it is difficult to conclude that the use of "-no" is an Ilbe-style expression. Ahn Tae-hyung, a professor at Dong-A University's College of General Education, explained in a past interview that "the '-no' of the Southeastern dialect is an interrogative suffix, but it is also widely used to express exclamation, such as in soliloquy, lament, and monologue." Given that the same expression can carry different meanings depending on the context and intent in which it is used, the debate over the boundary between dialect and hate speech appears likely to continue for some time.
