Fans defend IZ*ONE's Sakura's Japan performance against angry KNETZ say "It's supposed to be funny, not taken seriously"

Former IZ*ONE member Sakura has been a trending for the last 24 hours! Several pictures from Miyawaki Sakura's performance in Japan have been circulating on social media and reportedly Korean netizens (KNETZ) are unhappy with the performance.

Knets react to depiction of Korean fans during Sakura's Japanese performance pic.twitter.com/A3UkZz4e20
— Not Pannchoa (@notpannchoa) May 30, 2021

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Who is Miyawaki Sakura?

#新しいプロフィール画像 pic.twitter.com/PtxAs3CboY
— 宮脇咲良 (@39saku_chan) May 30, 2021

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Born in 1998, Sakura is a member of the Japanese group AKB48 and a former member of the K-pop girl group IZ*ONE. Miyawaki Sakura first debuted in Japan as a member of HKT48 in 2011. In 2018, she participated in MNET’s “Produce 48” and debuted as a member of IZ*ONE after placing second. Sakura also has her own gaming YouTube channel.

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Why are Korean Netizens angry at Sakura?

久々のHKTとしてのステージ🥺楽しかったね〜〜😭💗しげちゃんも絶好調でした😂 pic.twitter.com/OjrynyhSou
— 宮脇咲良 (@39saku_chan) May 29, 2021

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On May 29th, a post shared snippets from Miyawaki Sakura's performance in Japan and called out Sakura for mocking Korean WIZ*ONE.

During Sakura’s performance, her close friend Murashige Anna, performed a skit. Acting as a Sakura stan, Murashige followed her around the stage holding a place card saying "I only stan you Sakura, I love you" in Korean. She was later dragged off the stage by bodyguards.

shige acting as a wizone while sakura performs is so funny 😭 pic.twitter.com/0idkX3b0A9
— 🛋 (@ltsizone) May 29, 2021

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Many Korean netizens thought Sakura was mocking Korean fans by writing Korean on the place card Murashige was holding instead of Japanese.

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Fans react to Sakura’s performance

However, many fans have defended Sakura and tried to explain the situation.

Shige was pretty much playing herself....because she's a huge fan of IZ*ONE and is Sakura's biggest fan.....If you have a problem with her skit, then you clearly have ZERO idea what the context was and how JP culture is like.
— bug³⁹ 버그 🌸 // T. (@bugkkura39) May 30, 2021

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Regarding the issue about shige and sakura skit during hkt48 concert. First of all do you guys know what SKIT is? You watch comedians doing things like that every week on national tv live right? It's supposed to be funny not taken seriously 😅 most if you didn't watch it fully.
— Jihye park 🌸🦁 (@parkjihyegi) May 29, 2021

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I think Sakura’s performance is for comedic like skit but I also think it’s sheds light on solo stans that go crazy or someone to even stalk them
— Nelson (@WIZ_Sasen_ONE) May 29, 2021

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I don't see anything wrong. It's part of a skit where Shige plays a hardcore fan of Sakura. It's really tame compared to the ones they shown in their concerts. Some of the qrts do really need to chill. You can see Sakura is really okay with it. https://t.co/eNzylm9U07
— Jade (@Jadewinter_01) May 29, 2021

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She's not depicting a Korean fan but a Japanese one, and it's really just an exaggeration of her own long-documented portrayal as Sakura's biggest fan. And as her best friend. She's making fun of herself. Because she can laugh about herself. You should try it, it's healthy. https://t.co/Ykcl8wIvRP
— xrahmx | 🥶 🍁 | 🇩🇪 (@HT_xrahmx) May 29, 2021

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kpop stans always mock korean fan behavior but its suddenly a issue that sakura does it 😐
— cant put the nicki wig on and then be nicki (@pantystarkeigo) May 29, 2021

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Lol Sakura is getting flack for her WOTA perf with Shigure. Did they forgot that Sakura doesn’t only have Korean izone fans? 🤦‍♀️
— Blank_Stare | Lets go to HEARTFUL CAFE (@jj26_62) May 29, 2021

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Sakura clears up the issue

During a HKT48 event Sakura talked about the skit performed by Murashige. When asked about something that recently made her laugh, Sakura said that Murashige acting like a fan on stage made her laugh.

Yesterday, Murashige put her idol life on the line and did an impression of a...what would you call it...?

Murashige added that she acted like a Japanese fan while performing the skit.

It was an otaku, a traditional Japanese fan. I even made up a rap for it!

In related news, Sakura announced her graduation from HKT48 on May 15th. Her graduation concert is going to be held on June 19th.