“Boys II Planet” Under Massive Fire For Alleged Xenophobic Treatment Of Chinese Trainee

Mnet‘s K-Pop idol survival show Boys II Planet is facing massive criticism from global viewers after some contestants and mentors were seen treating a Chinese trainee harshly in a clip that has since gone viral.

The clip was from the preview of the show’s upcoming episode, in which He Zhongxing, a Chinese trainee, was seen being ridiculed for not speaking Korean.

He Zhongxing

A fellow trainee almost scolded him, saying, “Even if you don’t know Korean, shouldn’t you at least pretend to listen?”

In the next cut, a vocal mentor briefly lashed out at Zhongxing when he nodded in response to a question, saying,” ‘Yes.’ You should say ‘yes.'” Another mentor then asked him to leave, appearing visibly angry.

The clip has garnered over 6.6 million views on X (former Twitter), drawing explosive outrage from viewers. Many felt that it was unfair of the production to treat Zhongxing this way, given that he had signed up for Planet C, which explained his lack of Korean proficiency. Planet C was supposed to feature trainees primarily speaking Chinese and debut a separate Chinese boy group. But eventually, Mnet decided to merge the two sets of trainees from Planet C and Planet K and debut a single Korean group.

he joined the show to debut in a chinese group and now they're yelling at him for not knowing korean https://t.co/9iJ9nVJnSz

— 😵‍💫 (@firsthookys) July 24, 2025

getting mad at c traines for not being fluent in korean when they originally signed up to debut in a chinese group is so unsettling https://t.co/teTB8yZVqO

— rua (@hanwenie) July 24, 2025

imagine bringing chinese trainees to the show for a china-based group then changing the show's format and bullying them for not knowing korean. make it make sense https://t.co/zjBjd0RhCW

— 👩🏼‍🦳 (@anxinanti) July 24, 2025

Global viewers were appalled by the treatment of Zhongxing as seen in the viral clip, and called out the show for its apparent xenophobia.

I’m sorry but the “you have to say ‘네‘” is rlly pissing me off like how can you expect a foreigner that doesn’t speak your language to keep up with Korean formalities. Convinced Koreans do it to feel superior cuz why are you acting like this is the military https://t.co/RlWPYRNUzb

— Download Honest by Key on iTunes 🩵 (@TakeOnKey) July 24, 2025

Never beating the allegation for being Fking white people of Asia. Why do some Koreans always act like they are superior? Broadcasting Rasicts and xenophobic shit but no one is questioning it? https://t.co/CaN5b6RASp

— Namjoon⁷SexyBrainandThighs (@dfvwfsefsd) July 25, 2025

whoever said "koreans are the white people of east asia" was right https://t.co/NUwZqDQJI1

— beexie¹²⁷ (@beebookwan) July 25, 2025

ok i’m glad i wasn’t the only person that felt this was extremely sinophobic because how are you gonna yell at someone who joined C to debut in a C group for not knowing korean after you fucked up the format of the entire show. https://t.co/oo7c5DraaJ

— ⭐️ (@iwentclubbing) July 24, 2025

However, Korean netizens felt that this backlash was unwarranted.

| Instiz

• “The person who said that was Japanese.”
• “It’s not like he said, ‘Why can’t you understand?’ He was just pointing out his attitude. What kind of xenophobia is that?”

| Instiz

• “They were talking about his attitude.”
• “It’s true though—if a Korean person tried to get a job abroad and said in an interview, ‘I don’t know the local language at all,’ they’d get the same reaction.”
• “They’re pointing out his attitude. Why are people reacting like this? Especially that trainee who said it is also a foreigner.”