Park Ji-sung has urged Manchester United fans to stop racially abusive chant that hurts Korean sentiment
Speaking to the club’s official podcast ‘UTD’ (h/t Express), former Manchester United star and club icon Park Ji-sung has urged the fans of the club to stop the racially abusive Korean chant.
The South Korean is one of the very few players from his country who made his time in England a fruitful one as he won 13 titles with the Red Devils. Hardworking and technically talented, the attacker was one of the most tireless players of his time and received a lot of love from the fans back in the day.
However, there is still one chant that is not appreciated by Park. United fans often sing a song for the attacker, which went “Park, Park, wherever you are”, and it went on to reference the dog eating culture in South Korea.
It was a chant sung by United fans for Wolves’ new South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan when the two teams faced each other in the league at the end of August. The former United attacker has now come out and urged fans of the Old Trafford outfit to stop the racially abusive chant. He told the club’s official podcast ‘UTD’ (h/t The Express):
“I know that United fans don’t mean any offence to him [Hwang] for that song, but still, I have to educate the fans to stop that word [dog meat], which is usually these days a racial insult to the Korean people.
“That particular word is very discomforting for Korean people, and I really feel very sorry for the younger players who heard that kind of song… I really request the fans to stop singing that word. It causes discomfort to Korean people when they hear that song. It’s time to stop.”
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Cultures often change with time, and the culture of eating dog meat in South Korea is fast changing due to the emergence of the animal rights issue in the country and all over the world. Thus, while the chant is said without any malice, it might be time to put an end to something that is hurting the sentiments of a particular community and culture.