Stephen Chow's 'Kung Fu Soccer' sparks South Korean controversy over alleged parody of women's football team
En resumen
Stephen Chow Sing-chi's new film, Kung Fu Soccer, has ignited controversy in South Korea, with allegations that it deliberately parodies the country's women's national football team, drawing strong reactions from internet users and a university professor.
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Por qué importa
Stephen Chow Sing-chi's new film, Kung Fu Soccer, has generated significant box office success in mainland China but has faced strong backlash in South Korea.
Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s latest sports comedy, Kung Fu Soccer, has sparked controversy in South Korea over allegations that it deliberately parodies the country’s women’s national football team.
Written and directed by the comedy veteran, the film, widely seen as a nod to his 2001 classic Shaolin Soccer, crossed 1.3 billion yuan (US$1912 million) at the mainland box office on Sunday, just nine days after its release.
Surprisingly, the most intense reaction came from South Korean internet users rather than local audiences.
Three days after the film’s release, Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at South Korea’s Sungshin Women’s University, posted on Facebook claiming the film featured scenes that “appear to disparage the Korean women’s football team”.
Seo alleged that “numerous” such scenes appeared in both the trailer and the feature film, pointing to an opposing team named the “Ewha Women’s Football Team”, which shares its name with Seoul’s Ewha Womans University.
Preguntas abiertas
- How will Stephen Chow or the film's producers respond to the allegations?
- Will the controversy impact the film's release or reception in other markets?
- What is the specific content of the alleged parody scenes?
