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K-pop stans need to change.

Earlier this month, giant K-pop entertainment company SM Entertainment announced the return of RIIZE member Seunghan, who had been on a ten-month hiatus due to controversy surrounding his predebut life. Two days later, they announced he would not be rejoining the group and would actually be leaving. His crimes? Being a normal teenager and dating someone. 

His departure came after months of harassment from “fans,” who supported him leaving the group and RIIZE becoming six members instead of seven. When the announcement that he would be rejoining the group came, hundreds of Korean BRIIZE, RIIZE’s fandom name, sent funeral wreaths to be placed outside of the SM Entertainment building, essentially death wishes. What’s awful is the fact that anyone could look out the window of the SM Entertainment building and see these wreaths, and Seunghan saw them. This definitely impacted his decision to leave the group permanently. 

Fans harassing and bullying their idols is not uncommon in the K-pop industry. Earlier this year, aespa member Karina was revealed to have been dating actor Lee Jae-wook. Although many fans celebrated her being in a relationship and congratulated her, many fans sent her massive amounts of death threats and hate. Protest trucks were sent to her company, which also happens to be SM Entertainment, with signs that stated the “fans’” disappointment. How are you so selfish? Is the love you receive from your fans not enough for you? read one. Karina ended up writing a hand-written apology letter to fans, something she never should have had to do. The couple ended up breaking up a month later. 

The original line-up of Fifty Fifty, the group who made “Cupid” which later became the most popular song on TikTok in 2023, was met with unreasonable amounts of hate after filing a lawsuit against their agency, Attrakt. The three now former members, Saena, Sio, and Aran, still face large amounts of hate for their decision to leave the company, and original member Keena and four new members Chanelle Moon, Yewon, Hana, and Athena also receive large amounts of bullying. Opinions are divided over the case, however, the amount of hate is not justified, and the former and current members have suffered tremendously. 

When sixteen-year-old Kim Garam debuted in LE SSERAFIM on May 2nd, 2022, she only got to live her dream for two weeks. After being revealed as a member, a former classmate accused Garam of being a school bully. Garam was soon hit with one of the worst witch-hunts in K-pop history. Two weeks after debut, Garam went on hiatus, and in August of 2022, she left the group. She was later proven to be innocent. K-pop stans didn’t wait for more evidence to be released and instead jumped to conclusions about Garam, spread many damaging and hurtful rumors about her, sent her death threats, and spread misinformation about the case, all for Garam to end up being innocent in the end. Her dream as an idol was destroyed because K-pop stans jumped to conclusions and saw her as an easy target. 

K-pop stans have also led to the deaths of idols. Jonghyun was a member of the boy band SHINee and was preparing to release his solo comeback when he committed suicide in 2017. In 2019, after years of online bullying and hate comments, f(x) member Sulli also took her own life. Weeks later, her best friend, KARA member Goo Hara, also took her own life due to online bullying and hate. 

K-pop stans said that Jonghyun’s death should be a precedent to be nice to and protect your idols, but K-pop stans have consistently failed at this as every day they harass and bully idols. Their entitlement to be at the center of the idol’s daily life and the notion that their idol has to thank them for their career is toxic. As a K-pop fan, I’m disappointed by my fellow fans. Have we learned nothing? These toxic “fans” give the actually good fans a bad name. Most of us are here for music and to make friends and memories. I think that it lingers in the back of every fan’s mind: the fear that we may wake up and another idol is horrendously harassed to the point of leaving their group – or worse. They’re people, too, let’s treat them as such. 

Your idol does not have to revolve around their fans every day, and they shouldn’t. Don’t guilt trip your idol that you’re supposedly a “fan” of into altering their life to please you. Please, respect all idols.