5 Ways Netizens Take Small Things WAY Too Far
Netizens can be quite critical of K-Pop idols, as some believe that K-Pop idols need to live up to certain standards. Yet, some netizens take things too far and may criticize idols too easily. Here are a couple of ways netizens sometimes take things way too far.
1. Netizens can sometimes judge too quickly
Something that some netizens seem to do is judge extremely quickly without much thought. One of these instances happened in 2016. UP10TION‘s Kim Wooseok (Wooshin) was maliciously attacked by netizens when they thought he had touched Jeon Somi‘s chest on purpose.
Later forensic analysis showed that Wooseok had not touched Somi at all. Both of their respective companies also gave statements saying they were surprised by the controversy and that no contact was made by the two.
The filming was conducted while the manager was watching and after checking with Somi, Wooshin and the manager there was no such physical contact.
Jeon Somi expressed worry and surprise over such assumptions being made.
We would like to once again state that the accusations being made are not true. We will be careful not to worry fans again. Thank you— YMC Entertainment and SBS MTV The Show
Despite there being evidence that Wooseok was innocent, some netizens still demanded an apology from him and attacked him with malicious comments.
2. Netizens sometimes being too critical about weight
Netizens can be quite critical of idols regarding their weight, but they seem to be quite selective. In 2016, the members of Red Velvet were criticized by some netizens for being “overweight”, and a lot of them decided to attack Wendy.
Some netizens also choose to body shame idols who are particularly skinny. Shin Jimin was criticized for her figure by some netizens when she posted a photo of herself in a swimsuit.
“Elementary schooler”
“Maybe it’s cause she’s a skeleton but I feel nothing from looking at her… Her body’s hard to look at that it’s not even worth getting judged”
“I hate her whiny voice when she raps. Her body’s like a 3rd grader’s too”
“How can a female idol look so unsexy in a swimsuit photo? She’s not cute and she’s not pretty”
“Is she really a celebrity?… She has no curves at all…”
“What is this elementary school kid doing with her kid’s swimsuit”
— K-Netizens
3. Some netizens going against their own words
In some instances, netizens have shown that they want idols to be treated more like humans, rather than robots. However, this can quickly go away once idols show some of their emotions. In 2017, some netizens bashed Red Velvet‘s Yeri for looking sad during an award show. Yeri was visibly sad because it was her first performance since SHINee‘s Jonghyun passed away. Some netizens didn’t seem to care, as they bashed Yeri for showing emotions.
4. Some netizens being too tough on idols for dating
A lot of netizens are seemingly against idols dating, as they feel that idols are “going against” their fans when they date. In the past, netizens criticized Kang Daniel for being in a relationship with TWICE‘s Jihyo, as they felt that he shouldn’t be dating after having debuted for only 2 years.
However, some netizens have also criticized veteran idols for dating. EXO‘s Chen announced that he was going get married, but some netizens still chose to criticize the veteran idol. They left malicious comments saying he abandoned his fans and that he should leave the group.
5. Some netizens criticizing over harmless acts
This is something that happens to all celebrities, not just idols. Some netizens seem to want celebrities to have this “perfect” image and choose to criticize celebrities over harmless acts. Recently, actress Han So Hee was criticized by some netizens for her past photos of smoking and having tattoos. Despite her being an adult and legal age, she was still left with some harsh comments.
