Popular Korean YouTuber Judungi (real name Choi Ha-young) has apologized for remarks he made about the Japanese manga “Chiikawa” during a livestream, saying he never intended to disparage women or the manga’s fans.
On October 15, Judungi posted a video titled “I apologize to those hurt by the Chiikawa video,” addressing the backlash in person. “I recently received a lot of criticism over the Chiikawa video, and I wanted to explain myself and apologize,” he said.
According to Sports Seoul, the controversy began when Judungi held a joint broadcast on Chzzk with fellow YouTuber Karami (real name Oh Hyun-min). During the stream, they disparaged some of the characters and suggested it was easy to strike up conversations with women using the manga as a topic — remarks viewers took as sexist.
Judungi denied that reading of his words. “I never thought my remarks would be taken to mean I see women as simple beings who can be won over with Chiikawa talk,” he explained. “I had absolutely no intention of demeaning or belittling women.”
He added that he held no hatred toward the characters and that his comments were not meant to mock fans, admitting he had treated “Chiikawa” too lightly as a trend or a joke. He repeatedly apologized to longtime fans who cherish the characters.
Reactions remain split: some netizens argued the apology fell short and that Karami should apologize too, while others defended Judungi, saying an apology was unnecessary.
