Mnet Girls Planet 999 contestant Chen Hsin Wei in panic after calling host Yeo Jin-goo an “ugly man”

A promo still of Chen Hsin Wei for Girls Planet 999 (Image via Instagram)
A promo still of Chen Hsin Wei for Girls Planet 999 (Image via Instagram)

Girls Planet 999 contestant Chen Hsin Wei was embarrassed when she learned that she had called Yeo Jin-goo an "ugly man" on the show. A recently released clip by Mnet captured the contestant's reaction to the fact that the host of the show would be Yeo Jin-goo.

Actor Yeo Jin-goo, who recently appeared in crime thriller Beyond Evil, was the reason behind this Chinese contestant's embarrassing moment in the premiere episode of the survival program.


Why did Girls Planet 999 contestant Chen Hsin Wei call Yeo Jin-goo ugly?

Girls Planet 999 contestant Chen Hsin Wei, also known as Vivi, tried to respond to a question in Korean. She was asked her thoughts about Yeo Jin-goo and in an excited manner, she called Yeo Jin-goo ugly not once but twice. The smitten look on her face did not match her words and producers who were filming her realized that she had made a mistake.

The Girls Planet 999 contestant realized she had made an error. Unsure what it was, she decided to answer the same question in her native language, and the translation read that she thought Yeo Jin-goo was handsome. She said, "He is a handsome man." Previously, when she had attempted to speak in Korean, she had said, "He is ug-ugly? He is an ugly man…"

Upon hearing this, the crew members burst out laughing before one of the them who spoke Chen Hsin Wei's native language explained what she had done. There is a key difference in Korean that translates more accurately as handsome or good-looking than ugly. Not flattering in looks in Korean is pronounced "mos-saeng-gin" while good-looking is pronounced "jal-sang-gin".

This caused enough confusion for the Girls Planet 999 contestant to make such a mistake. The moment she realized what she had done, she went into complete panic mode.

The video also had fans in splits. She seemed extremely embarrassed and baffled. The Girls Planet 999 contestant's reaction has since been called adorable, particularly as she tried to apologize for the mistake. She said at the time, "Oh my goodness, that could get me into a lot of trouble. Please don’t air this!"