SEVENTEEN’s Hoshi Addresses The Expensive Reality Of Paid Content In K-Pop, Earning Praise From Netizens
As K-Pop has continued to reach a wider global audience, idols have become more accessible to fans through social media, extensive world tours, appearances on international shows, and more.
As with many businesses, Korean entertainment companies have made strategic moves to capitalize off of the increased interest in K-Pop. While some of those moves are necessary for the continued growth of the artist and company, there have been numerous times that companies have been called out by K-Pop fans for price gouging and taking advantage of fans’ loyalty to their favorite artists.
Fan community apps have been on the rise over the past few years. Apps such as Bubble, UNIVERSE, Weverse, and Lysn offer exclusive access to content, but some of the content comes with a price.
Content on most fan community apps is accessible to all fans, but there are also many features and content that are only accessible through paid subscriptions.
SEVENTEEN‘s Hoshi recently went on Weverse to catch up with fans in a live broadcast, where he thoroughly expressed his appreciation for CARATs (SEVENTEEN’s fandom) and addressed the rise in paid content for K-Pop.
Hoshi thanked CARATs for their love, praising them for supporting the groups through fan signs, attending concerts, purchasing their In The Soop videos, purchasing content from the group’s sub-units, and more.
He acknowledged that as the group films for content or participates in numerous photoshoots, it’s in the back of his mind that the cost adds up for fans who want to purchase the content they’re creating.
While he’s aware of it, he shared it’s difficult to do anything about the amount of paid content as it’s ultimately the company’s decision.
Understanding the pressure some fans feel to support all activities, Hoshi thoughtfully assured CARATs that it’s okay if they’re not able to purchase something. He promised fans that SEVENTEEN feels their love and support regardless.
He continued by describing his ideal connection with fans as being closer to a person-to-person connection than a fan-to-idol connection while continuing to express his gratitude to CARATs.
His thoughtful message went viral on a popular Korean online community board, where netizens praised Hoshi for speaking up about the hefty price of paid content and his kind words for CARATs.
- “He’s from my hometown, so I know he made hefty donations to his alma mater. This just makes him a lot more likable.“
- “I’m grateful that he says stuff like this. It makes me splurge even more.”
- “I can’t believe he’s my bias… I have no idea how not to love Kwon Soonyoung.”
- “If only my biases also believed this, I’d be loyal to them forever…”
- “You can tell he really, genuinely cares about his fans… My baby Hoshi!”
SEVENTEEN’s leader S.Coups also recently went viral for his thoughtful actions toward fans. Check out more on that in the article below!
SEVENTEEN’s S.Coups Warmly Offers To Pay For Fans’ Meals At His Favorite Restaurant
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