Jaejoong’s coronavirus joke was a total fail – but K-pop star IU scored with her April Fool’s gag
Amid Covid-19 BTS, perhaps wisely, sat this year’s April Fool’s shenanigans out, but some K-pop stars still cracked jokes – with varying degrees of success
The Korean entertainment industry’s April Fool festivities were a bit quiet this year, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While most idols laid low, one completely missed the mark. JYJ’s Kim Jaejoong originally announced that he was diagnosed with Covid-19 on his personal Instagram account – as his April Fool’s joke, which quickly drew a backlash online. He later edited the original post to apologise for making light of the virus, saying that he wanted to bring awareness to the situation.
“I am also personally aware that it was something that shouldn’t be done. First, over the social media post I wrote, I want to express my sincere apologies to the people who have suffered because of Covid-19 and to the people who were disrupted in their administrative work,” he wrote in Korean. “Bad judgement. I knew that’s what this was.
“The current lack of awareness of response methods and the dangerousness of the virus outbreak. I wanted to convey that message because I hoped that people would be more aware and therefore we could minimise the number of people who suffer because of Covid-19.”
Despite all this, popular singer and actress IU managed to pull off a lighthearted April Fool’s prank with the help of her dad. On April 1, a video titled “Fast And Furious!” was uploaded to her official YouTube channel.
