Psy has apologized after U.S. media dug up footage from performances in 2002 and 2004 where the rapper expressed forceful opposition to the U.S. military.
U.S. online news service Mediaite said Psy “got into some trouble” after footage surfaced that shows him smashing a miniature model of a U.S. tank during a protest in 2002 after two U.S. soldiers were acquitted after running over two Korean school girls in an armored vehicle.
And in 2004, Psy went on stage during a concert by fellow avant-garde singer Shin Hae Chul and rapped about “slowly and painfully” killing U.S. soldiers and their families as part of a protest against Korean troop support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Mediaite carried English translations of Psy’s lyrics, which soon went viral along with clips of the performances posted on YouTube.
Psy, who is in the U.S., was quick to issue a “heartfelt apology.”
“I understand the sacrifices American servicemen and women have made to protect freedom and democracy in my country and around the world,” Psy said. He explained that the song from eight years ago “was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two Korean schoolgirls that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment shared by others around the world at that time.”
He added, “While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self, I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted. I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words.”
Source: Chosun Ilbo