Danielle of NewJeans apologizes for referring to the Lunar New Year as the “Chinese New Year”
On January 19, Danielle questioned her admirers on the fan communication platform Phoning, “What r u bunnies doing for Chinese New Year?”
Danielle was quickly chastised for using the word “Chinese New Year,” as Lunar New Year is a festival enjoyed by numerous Asian countries, not only China. (Because of their lack of understanding of Asian culture, some Western countries refer to the festival as “Chinese New Year,” despite the fact that it is not exclusively Chinese, which can be disrespectful to non-Chinese Asians who celebrate the holiday.)
While Danielle was born in Australia, Hanni, who was also born and reared in Australia, referred to the celebration as “Lunar New Year” in her Phoning messages.
On January 21, Danielle posted the following apology on Instagram:
On Thursday, January 19, I sent a message on Phoning that read, “what r u bunnies doing for Chinese new year?” Although I deleted it as soon as I realized my mistake, my message had already been delivered to many people, and it became impossible to undo.
Because Lunar New Year is a holiday celebrated by many countries and regions, including our country [Korea], my choice of words was inappropriate, and I deeply regret it. I also want to say I’m truly sorry to the Bunnies and many other people who must have been disappointed or hurt by my words.
I will not forget this incident, and I will try to be more careful in my words and actions in the future.
Once again, I apologize.
