News that Jessica will appear on 'Sisters Who Make Waves' causes controversy

Singer Jessica [ILGAN SPORTS]

Singer Jessica, a former member of Girls’ Generation, is set to appear in the third season of the Chinese television competition show “Sisters Who Make Waves” (2020-), but the news has been receiving criticism online as she has been introduced as an “ethnic Korean.”

On Sunday, the list of contestants was leaked on Chinese online communities, which showed Jessica’s name.

“Sisters Who Make Waves,” which airs through Chinese media company Mango TV, features 30 female celebrities who are over 30 years old that compete against each other to debut in a seven-member girl group. The series received attention as Fei and Jia, former Chinese members of now-disbanded K-pop girl group Miss A, previously competed on the show.

On the list, Jessica is described as an American, born in 1989, 162 centimeters tall (5.3 feet), who attended Korea Kent Foreign School and a former Girls’ Generation member. However, it also described her as a joseonjok.

Joseonjok refers to Korean descendants that are Chinese citizens. There have been conflicts among Chinese and Koreans that China is trying to "steal" Korean culture using the excuse that they share the same ancestry.

Jessica’s agency Coridel Entertainment told local news outlet iMBC that “it’s true Jessica will appear on the Chinese audition program,” but that they are trying to figure out “if the production team actually did label her as a joseonjok, and why they did so.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]