Dong-jin Lee's 4-Star Rating for "Hope" Sparks Controversy; "Honorary Brit" Fires Back: "People Who Don't Understand What 'Taste' Means"

[Financial News] As audience reactions to the film "Hope" split sharply, YouTuber Jinkyung Paik, known as "Honorary Brit," criticized people for attacking others' taste in movies.
On the 22nd, Honorary Brit wrote on her social networking service, "People who say the movie 'Hope' is not fun, then insult or attack those who enjoyed it, are people who do not even understand the meaning of the word 'taste' and are afflicted with a disease worse than a control freak, a control obsession."
She strongly criticized them, saying, "If you cannot tolerate the fact that other people's opinions differ from yours and take that as an attack, or if your ego is so inflated that you think your own 'wise opinion' is extraordinarily special, then this is a chronic illness widespread in modern society, so you should definitely get treatment."
Comparing taste to food preferences, Honorary Brit added, "Taste in English is 'taste,' and it is literally the same as having a palate. I do not insult people who like budae-jjigae just because I do not like it."
Earlier, film critic Dong-jin Lee gave "Hope" a 4-star rating. He left the one-line review, "A bold sprint through a bizarre mess, the entire film is one giant crescendo," and later held a discussion and commentary session with director Na Hong-jin at CJ CGV's 'Dong-jin Lee's Untact Talk' and at a guest visit event.
As audience reactions after the release split widely, some viewers raised suspicions that Lee had given the film a high rating because of his personal ties or interests with director Na Hong-jin. In the process, abusive comments also escalated beyond acceptable limits.

As the backlash spread, Dong-jin Lee posted a lengthy explanation on his blog on the 20th. He said, "No matter how tiring and tedious it may be, I decided I had to say this once again," and explained that he has no personal ties or interests with Na Hong-jin and that his evaluation of "Hope" was based solely on his own impressions.




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