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K-pop group under fire for Nazi-like uniforms

November 14, 2014
K-pop girl group Pritz is under fire for outfits that resembled Nazi uniforms. (Courtesy of Twitter)

K-pop girl group Pritz is under fire for outfits that resembled Nazi uniforms. (Courtesy of Twitter)

A new girl group has sparked controversy after wearing a symbol that many said looked like a Nazi swastika flag.

Pritz, a little known, four-member group, performed at a horse racetrack earlier this month, wearing red armbands with a black “X” inside a white circle.

Netizens criticized the group with comments such as, “They wore the flag of war crime,” and “Maybe the agency is trying to grab attention even if they know it’s problematic.”

The group’s agency, Pandagram, told the Wall Street Journal that the “logo was inspired by traffic signs for speed limits,” explaining that the white circle of a street sign is “wrapped around by a band of red.”

The black arrows were intended to symbolize the group’s ambitions “to expand without a limit in four directions.”

Online criticism of the group was not limited to the odd accessory.

Some pointed out that the group’s name rhymes with the word “Fritz”, a term typically used by Americans in World War II when referring to a soldier of the German army.