'Street Man Fighter' apologizes for gender stereotyping

Poster of Mnet's male street dance survival program ″Street Man Fighter″ [MNET]

"Street Man Fighter" broadcaster Mnet apologized Friday for the gender stereotyping comments made by the program's producers last week.

"Mnet would like to apologize to all those who were disturbed by the comments made by some of the creatives of 'Street Man Fighter' during the show's press conference," wrote the broadcaster on its social media page. "Their comments does not align with the show's intent, which is 'Growth through competition and solidarity.' We regret and fully take responsibility for such comments with tones of over generalization."

On Aug. 23, "Street Man Fighter" chief producer Kwon Yeong-chan and producer-director Choi Jeong-nam came under fire for comments with "sexist overtones" during the show's press conference at the Stanford Hotel Korea in Mapo District, western Seoul.

Kwon said that the new show differed from "Street Woman Fighter" in that the male participants "displayed loyalty and pride more often" than female characters, who showed more "jealousy and greed." Choi commented on differences between the male and female dancers on the shows, saying that male dancers displayed "power that is certainly different."

"Street Man Fighter" is a spin-off of the hit dance competition show "Street Woman Fighter," which aired from August to October 2021. The show got high ratings and is considered to have shed light on street dance, a once-obscure genre in Korea. Its teenage spin-off "Street Dance Girls Fighter" was another hit when it aired between November 2021 and January 2022.

"Street Man Fighter," which premiered on Aug. 23, features eight dance crews which specialize in various dance genres such as hip-hop and krump. The teams are competing to win the title of Street Dance King.

The participants are Bank Two Brothers, Eo-Ddae, project dance crew Mbitious, YGX, 1Million, We Dem Boyz, Just Jerk and Prime Kingz. Judges on the show are veteran singer BoA, boy band Super Junior member Eunhyuk and boy band 2PM member Jang Woo-young. Kang Daniel hosts the show.

"Street Man Fighter" airs every Tuesday at 10:20 p.m.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]