Boys II Planet is facing backlash after Chinese trainee He Zhongxing was harshly treated on-air for not speaking Korean.
A preview clip showed Zhongxing being ridiculed by other trainees and mentors. One trainee told him,
"Even if you don’t know Korean, shouldn’t you at least pretend to listen?"
A vocal mentor snapped at him for nodding instead of saying “yes,” demanding,
"Yes. You should say ‘yes.’"
Another mentor appeared visibly angry and told Zhongxing to leave.
The clip blew up on X (formerly Twitter), hitting over 6.6 million views. Fans slammed the show for unfair treatment and possible xenophobia. Many pointed out Zhongxing joined Planet C, where trainees were supposed to primarily speak Chinese and debut in a Chinese group. But Mnet merged Planet C and Planet K trainees into one Korean group, sparking confusion and backlash.
Fans on X reacted:
"he joined the show to debut in a Chinese group and now they’re yelling at him for not knowing Korean”
"getting mad at c trainees for not being fluent in korean when they originally signed up to debut in a chinese group is so unsettling"
"imagine bringing chinese trainees to the show for a china-based group then changing the show’s format and bullying them for not knowing korean. make it make sense"
"I’m sorry but the ‘you have to say “네”’ is rlly pissing me off like how can you expect a foreigner that doesn’t speak your language to keep up with Korean formalities."
"Never beating the allegation for being Fking white people of Asia. Why do some Koreans always act like they are superior? Broadcasting Racists and xenophobic shit but no one is questioning it?"
"whoever said ‘koreans are the white people of east asia’ was right"
However, Korean netizens defended the show, claiming it wasn’t xenophobia but criticism of Zhongxing’s attitude.
On Instiz, comments included:
"The person who said that was Japanese."
"It’s not like he said, ‘Why can’t you understand?’ He was just pointing out his attitude. What kind of xenophobia is that?"
"They were talking about his attitude."
"It’s true though—if a Korean person tried to get a job abroad and said in an interview, ‘I don’t know the local language at all,’ they’d get the same reaction."
"They’re pointing out his attitude. Why are people reacting like this? Especially that trainee who said it is also a foreigner."
The controversy is escalating as international viewers call out Mnet for mistreating Zhongxing, while domestic fans urge a closer look at context and attitude expectations.
