October 04, (THEWILL) – Park Ji-sung, a former Manchester United player, has asked fans to refrain from repeating a slogan that has racial undertones.
While Park insists the inflammatory songs were not written with malice in mind, he believes they should be stopped because they can make Korean players uncomfortable, referring to Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan following United’s match at Molineux earlier this season.
Park reveals that when he initially arrived at Old Trafford more than 15 years ago, he was “proud” to have his own fan chant because it indicated he was having a positive impact.
However, he has stated that the portion about eating dog meat has always made him “very uncomfortable,” and that he simply accepted it because he was young at the time and did not understand British society.
Speaking with the club’s official UTD Podcast, Park said: “15 years ago, everything changed from Holland to England, I had to adapt and start from zero. So when I heard that song at that time, I felt very proud first because they created a song for me, which is good for a player.
“But when I heard about the lyric – about eating dog meat – it was very uncomfortable for me.
“I was young, I didn’t know the culture here, so it was probably one of the things I had to accept. I never thought the fans created the songs with bad meanings. They always make a song to give some energy to the players. That’s my thought. That’s why I accepted it.
“But time has changed, and it is 15 years later. Probably, last summer, listening to one of the Korean players who joined Wolves, and that time the United fans sang my song, I felt I needed to do something.”
The four-time Premier League champion continued: “Even in Korea it changed a lot. It is true that, historically, people have been eating dog meat. But these days, particularly the young generation, they hate it. It was there before but these days you really can’t find it. So the culture is changing.
“So I’m really sorry for [Hwang] to hear that. I know the United fans didn’t mean any offence to him, but I have to educate the fans to stop that word, which these days is a racial insult to the Korean people. I have to ask the fans to stop singing that word because it’s not cheering up someone anymore, it’s going to be more discomfort when they hear that song.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
