Geoje mayor defends RESCENE member Won-i, says 'museopno' is a South Gyeongsang dialect word

The city of Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province has stepped into the controversy surrounding Won-i (22), a member of girl group RESCENE, who has been accused of using speech patterns associated with the far-right online community Ilbe. The city's mayor personally defended the group's honorary ambassador, saying the expression at the center of the dispute is simply a regional dialect word.

Geoje Mayor Byeon Gwang-yong wrote on Facebook on Friday, "Why is RESCENE's 'museopno' a problem?" He said various opinions had been raised over the expression Won-i used in a YouTube video, noting that the group serves as an official promotional ambassador for the city.

Byeon said Won-i had "consistently introduced her hometown of Geoje through her warm dialect and everyday scenes from the city" on her YouTube channel, winning wide affection for her genuine and unpretentious manner. "The expression in question ('museopno') is a dialect and colloquial form commonly used in the South Gyeongsang region," he said.

He drew a clear line against political readings of the word, saying it was Geoje's official position that "interpreting it as carrying a specific political intent is not appropriate."

He also cautioned against the indiscriminate spread of unverified claims, warning that excessive criticism could cause unnecessary harm to the person involved, and called for a more mature culture of public discourse.

The controversy began July 1, when Kim Hyun-ji, a producer at MBC Gyeongnam who directed the documentary "Adult Kim Jang-ha," posted on X arguing that the expression was characteristic of Ilbe, a far-right online community. The dispute quickly spread to the political arena. Former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Guk criticized the practice of mechanically appending "no" to the end of questions as an "Ilbe-style speech pattern," while Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok pushed back, saying a 22-year-old idol from Geoje had been branded with the Ilbe label simply for using her hometown dialect. As complaints demanding an official city response flooded in through the government petition portal, Geoje issued its statement within a day.

RESCENE's ties to Geoje run deep. Won-i, who is from the city, became an online sensation through a distinctive dialect meme — "Geoje yaho" — featured in her YouTube content, earning the group the nickname "Geojeidol." The group was subsequently appointed as Geoje's official promotional ambassador. Their public profile soared further when "LOVE ATTACK," the title track from their first mini album released two years ago, climbed to No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 chart in a remarkable comeback.