[Provided by Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]
[Provided by Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Ko Young-wook, a former member of the group Rula, has weighed in on a viral comparison of Airbnb rooms after Korean and Japanese group guests checked out, sharing a news article about the photos along with pointed commentary.

On Monday, Ko posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account: "And yet when people leave comments online, everyone turns into a moralist. Do Koreans even have the right to criticize Chinese people?" The article he shared included side-by-side photos of two rooms — one left strewn with food scraps and liquor bottles, the other neatly tidied.

The photos were originally posted Friday on the social media platform Threads by a user identified only as A, who said they had been running an Airbnb for 10 years.

A shared two photos described as a comparison of rooms after Korean and Japanese group guests had stayed. One showed leftover cake, pizza, lettuce, peppers, coffee cups and drink bottles left behind; the other showed a room with everything in order.

"I won't say which side is the Korean guests," A wrote, adding: "My one small wish is that guests use the bathroom — not the bed — for their bodily needs." It was not confirmed, however, whether the experience of a soiled bed was related to the guests shown in the photos.

Reactions online were mixed. Some users wrote, "Why do I feel embarrassed when no nationality was even named?" and "The shame is mine to carry," while others pushed back, saying, "Not all Koreans are like that" and "This is a hasty generalization."

The debate over how much cleaning guests should do before checkout has also drawn attention abroad. According to CNN and Euronews, Airbnb updated its rules Wednesday (local time) to bar hosts from requiring guests to strip bedding, wash dishes, do laundry or take out the trash before leaving. The new policy applies to bookings made after Nov. 20.

Guests are still required to leave the property in a reasonable condition, however, and may be held responsible if they damage the space or leave it so messy that excessive cleaning is needed.

Ko debuted as a member of Rula in 1994. In 2013, the Supreme Court handed down a final sentence of two years and six months in prison on charges of sexually assaulting and molesting minors. He was also ordered to have his personal information made public for five years and to wear an electronic monitoring anklet for three years.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com