K-pop Group Wears Nazi-Like Uniforms, Controversy Ensues [Update]

This is Pritz. They’re a South Korea pop group. And during a recent performance at a horse track, they wore outfits that drew comparisons to Nazi uniforms.

Update: The group’s newest video, which was released after this initial controversy, features the Nazi-like get-ups. You can watch it below.

According to
Realtime Korea, the group’s management, talent agency Pandagram, says that was never the intention, saying, “the thought never occurred” that the outfits could be compared to Nazi uniforms.

[Photo:
C-Studio]

Online, Korean net users were quick to point out the Nazi comparison, calling the outfits offensive. As pointed out by tipster Sang, some Korean commenters were worried that Westerners would find out about this, while others couldn’t believe how ignorant the group was.

Some even wondered if this was a publicity stunt to raise the group’s profile. Pritz has a
new single coming out today, and the foursome are hardly a household name.

[Photo: Jim Vallee@Shutterstock]

Pandagram is quoted by
Korea Realtime as saying the armbands were not inspired by Nazi armbands (above). Rather, the spokesperson said the logo was inspired by a traffic sign, and the directional arrows represent the group’s desire “to expand without a limit in four directions.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FVFn22skfg

One Korean Twitter user compared the design to the Hungarian
Arrow Cross Party’s flag (pictured below), which featured a directional arrow. The Arrow Cross Party pushed for racial purity during its brief rule in 1944, and its leaders were later tried as war criminals. Though, it actually looks closer to the Nationalist Movement‘s Crosstar.

[Photo:
Vatera]

The group doesn’t wear the armband all the time. For example, in this
late October live show, there was no armband. But this month, it has worn the armbands in another performance, besides the previously mentioned racetrack event.

[Photos:
험하게컸다]

Pritz’s management is currently looking into the possibility of changing this logo,
Korea Realtime adds.

[Photo:
C-Studio]

Update: As pointed out by tipster Sang, the group’s newest video was released after this story was originally published.

[Video: Official Pritz (프리츠) CH@YouTube]

[141102] Pritz(프리츠) 부산 렛츠런 파크 공연 무대 멘트 직찍 [C-Studio Thanks, Sang!]

걸그릅 의상.ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ(有) [Vav]

K-Pop Band Draws Criticism for Logo’s Similarity to Nazi Symbol [Korea Realtime]

Top photo: C-Studio

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