Three NCT members apologise for joking about earthquake alert during livestream

Three members of K-pop boyband NCT have shared written apologies for their reactions to an earthquake alert during a recent livestream.

• READ MORE: NCT 127 – ‘Favorite’ review: a sweet spot amidst controlled chaos

On the evening of December 14, the boyband held a live broadcast on YouTube to count down the release of the NCT 2021 album ‘Universe’. During the livestream, an emergency earthquake alert was issued could be heard, coinciding with the 4.9-magnitude earthquake that had struck off the coast of Jeju Island at about at 5:19pm KST.

As the alarm was sound, three members of the group – Mark, Doyoung and Johnny – starting to sing the NCT 127 song ‘Earthquake’, from their recently released album. The trio soon quietened down after members of the group told them to “stop joking around”.

According to The Korea Herald, the earthquake had caused “panic” due to it being one of the strongest in recent South Korean history, with reports of objects being “violently shaken”. No significant damages or fatalities have been reported.

Following the broadcast, Mark, Doyoung and Johnny took to their personal Instagram accounts to apologise for their behaviour.

“I want to say that I am deeply sorry for the image that I showed of myself during today’s comeback live broadcast. I am really sorry for misjudging the situation and acting carelessly and rashly,” wrote Mark, as translated by Soompi. “I will reflect deeply on myself and work hard to never show behaviour like this again.”

Doyoung and Johnny also issued apologies, promising to be more careful with their actions and words. “This was entirely my mistake, so I apologise again without excuses,” wrote the former. Meanwhile, Johnny said that he is “really sorry”, adding that he “want[s] to apologise again to those who felt uncomfortable while watching my behaviour,” Johnny stated.

On the same day, NCT had unveiled the music video for ‘Beautiful’, one of two lead singles from their ‘Universe’ album. The album features ten tracks from the various NCT sub-units, including NCT U’s ‘Universe (Let’s Play Ball)’.

In related news, NCT has been announced as part of the line-up of SM Entertainment‘s upcoming online concert, ‘SMTOWN LIVE 2022: SMCU EXPRESS@KWANGYA’. The group will be performing alongside labelmates EXO, aespa, SUPER JUNIOR, SHINee and more.

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