K-pop star Hwasa has found herself in hot water over a controversial performance at Sungkyunkwan University's festival. A video of the performance, which took place on May 12, has circulated on YouTube and various online communities, fueling an intense debate.

Hwasa, who visited the university in Jongno-gu, Seoul on May 12, took to the stage in a black see-through t-shirt, short jeans, and boots. The contentious part of her performance was during the song "Don't Give It to Me," which she sang with Loco. The song, released in 2018, captures a moment of precarious temptation.

In front of her cheering fans, Hwasa performed a dance that involved her squatting, significantly raising the atmosphere. Midway through her performance, Hwasa repeated the squatting action, drawing an excited response from her fans. Following this, she performed a unique move where she wet her finger with saliva and ran it between her legs as she stood up.

Though the entire episode happened in a split second, it contained a distinctly sexual message. Regardless of the heated atmosphere of the venue, this performance was notably over-the-top and discomforting.

As the footage from the event began circulating on various channels, netizens have been voicing their reactions to Hwasa's performance.

Some netizens expressed their disapproval, saying, "It makes me frown and feels vulgar. How can people defend this?" and "She should keep her limits on such public stages, whether she wants to do this at her solo concert with fans is another thing."

On the other hand, there were some who saw it differently, arguing, "Isn't this acceptable because it's a university festival?" and "These are all adults, what's the problem? Everyone has a different perspective, so you can't really comment," and "Oh, everything becomes controversial. Just keep pretending to be wholesome."

Meanwhile, the controversial performance was part of the new variety show 'Dance Singers Brigade' directed by Kim Tae-ho. The show features national tours of top Korean female singers like Kim Wan-sun, Uhm Jung-hwa, Lee Hyori, BoA, and Hwasa.

The first episode will air at 10:30 PM on May 25 (KST) through tvN.