YouTuber Free Zia's labeling of Kimchi as Pao Chai is controversial, and the agency's side has made a statement.

On January 24th, Free Zia's agency gave a brief statement to Insight, saying, "(Relating to the Pao Chai controversy surrounding Free Zia) I'm sorry. We have nothing to tell you."

This is the content of a post recently circulated mainly on online communities and SNS, 'Free Zia marked Kimchi steamed as Pao Chai'.

According to the article, Free Zia revealed her daily life of taking Chinese classes and eating through the Chinese version of YouTube’s Billy Billy channel in August 2020. At that time, Free Zia said, "I'm going to eat Kimchi steamed like this when I get home," and the scene was subtitled 'Pao Chai'.

Pao chai is a salted vegetable in Sichuan, China, and is a food that is completely different from Kimchi.

Of course, Free Zia may not be doing all of the Chinese subtitles work, but a netizen said, "As a 'celeb' with influence, She had to be careful." Some netizens pointed out the inappropriate expression, saying, "This is more serious than the fake controversy."

Meanwhile, Free Zia received a lot of love for her appearance in the recently released Netflix "Single's Inferno". Its unique visual and cool personality created many male fans as well as female fans.

However, some of the clothes that Free Zia wore on various TV shows and social media were found to be fakes from luxury brands, causing controversy. In response, Free Zia posted an apology.

Source[1]

NewJeans' Minji touched fans' hearts with a handwritten letter on her birthday — even while the group is currently unable to promote due to legal issues.

On May 7, Minji celebrated her birthday by sharing a heartfelt message on the group’s personal SNS account, which the members opened themselves to stay connected with fans.

Minji began her letter with honesty, writing, “I think I’m living a busier life than I expected. When I finally looked up, it was already May, and it was my birthday.”

She admitted that she had a lot she wanted to say, but her thoughts felt “messy.” Still, her message to fans was clear, “I just hope that I, our members, and Bunnies can all be happy. Happiness is the biggest goal in my life.”

Minji then opened up about her personal journey and struggles, saying, “I sometimes think that running toward my happiness by doing what I love might look foolish to others. But isn’t giving up your happiness now for the sake of a future that might not even come… too harsh on yourself?”

Despite everything, she ended on a hopeful note, “I really miss the times when we shared our feelings through the good music we made together. But I always look forward to what’s ahead."

She added, "We didn’t stop here, and we’re not going to stop! It might look like we’re standing still, but I believe we’re growing deeper.”

Her message comes during a difficult time for NewJeans. The group announced last year that they were cutting ties with ADOR, their original agency, after trust was broken. They later began working independently under the new name ‘NJZ’.

However, ADOR responded with legal action — claiming the exclusive contract with NewJeans was still valid and asking the court to stop the group from promoting or signing deals.

The court sided with ADOR and granted an injunction, forcing NewJeans to pause their activities. Their appeal was rejected, and they’ve now filed a second appeal.

Through it all, Minji’s message proves one thing — even when forced to stop, NewJeans' hearts are still moving forward.

Source: [1]