Singer-rapper DinDin has stirred fresh debate by revisiting the "Son Heung-min sniping" controversy from the 2022 Qatar World Cup, candidly sharing how the backlash hit him and what he learned.
On July 7, DinDin appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel Alttalttalhan Chamgyeon. Chatting with Heo Kyung-hwan, Ahn Jae-hyun, and Muzie, he brought up how his comments ahead of the World Cup snowballed into a major controversy.
"Back then, I was often on soccer-related shows," DinDin recalled. "Experts would say on air that we could reach the Round of 16, but once the cameras were off, they'd say, 'It won't be easy.'" Hearing that repeatedly, he admitted he fell into thinking he needed to say something different from everyone else. He even described it as catching a case of the "I must speak my mind" bug.
"Whenever someone asked me something, I felt like I had to deliver a hot take that went against the grain," he said. "What happened during the World Cup season snapped me out of it."
At the time, during a live radio broadcast, DinDin publicly cast doubt on Korea's chances of making the Round of 16. "Why keep cranking up the hope machine? Everyone knows we probably won't make it, so why insist we will?" he recalled saying.
But the fallout spiraled fast. "The next day, headlines said I was 'sniping Son Heung-min'," DinDin said, adding that even friends messaged him things like, "Why would you say something on air that's only for bar talk?"
He also remembered the moment Korea stunned Portugal to clinch a dramatic Round of 16 berth. DinDin, who was isolating at home after testing positive for COVID-19, said, "I was over the moon when the goal went in. But my phone lit up at the same time." He joked that even Super Junior's Kyuhyun texted him something along the lines of, "I can't look at you right now," making everyone laugh.
With time, DinDin says he recognizes his delivery was reckless. "I should've said, 'I hope we make the Round of 16, but it won't be easy,'" he admitted. "My wording was way too strong. I really reflected a lot back then."