Xdinary Heroes’ Junhan sparks backlash over controversial racial comments on fan chat
Xdinary Heroes’ Junhan is facing heavy criticism after making questionable race-related remarks during a conversation on the fan chatting platform Bubble on June 28.
Junhan’s messages began innocuously, responding to a fan’s mention of research by discussing PCR, a DNA amplification technique.
But things took a sharp turn when Junhan claimed, “Black people are said to have more cells in their ears, which improves their hearing and makes them good at music.” He added he was “really jealous.”
He went further, hypothetically suggesting the idea of combining traits from different racial groups:
“Is it possible to bring together the advantages of different racial groups? Like [combining] the ability of white people to break down sugars, the physical strengths of black people, and the intelligence of Asians/Indians (literal translation: yellow and Indian people).”
Junhan also touched on stem cell research, calling experimentation “unethical” but did not clarify or apologize for his earlier comments.
A translation account shared these messages, quickly sparking outrage online. Netizens slammed Junhan for echoing dangerous eugenics ideas — a debunked and racist study used to justify human rights abuses, most infamously by Nazi Germany.
Critics pointed out Junhan’s remarks relied on harmful racial stereotypes with a painful history, including the notion of Black physical superiority used to rationalize the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Fans and observers expressed shock and disgust:
“this is genuinely so ignorant and gross. kpop idols promoting eugenics and race science to their audience like it’s some game” — Twitter user little gay girl
“Genuinely tired of idols being so disappointingly ignorant, it’s this kind of rhetoric that still fuels racial disparities in healthcare to this day. black people aren’t superhuman, we receive subpar care in hospitals bc of these stereotypes and to share that on bbl is… wow” — Twitter user xen + xdiz
Another pointed out Junhan’s separation of “Asians and Indians” as inaccurate and insensitive.
As of now, Junhan and Xdinary Heroes’ agency have not issued any statements addressing the controversy. Fans and netizens continue monitoring the situation.
