4 K-Pop Groups Who Received Backlash From Malicious Netizens Before They Even Debuted

Malicious netizens are quite harsh on K-Pop idols, as they have criticized idols for some absurd reasons. There have even been some cases where K-Pop idols received malicious comments before they even debuted. Here are four K-Pop groups who received backlash from malicious netizens before they debuted.

1. iKON

Before iKON debuted, some netizens decided to protest against their debut due to former member B.I‘s father. At the time, B.I’s father was facing immense backlash due to his past crimes of business embezzlement.

However, this didn’t faze YG Entertainment, as they decided to let B.I debut with iKON.

2. Honey Popcorn

When Honey Popcorn debuted in 2018, they were comprised of members Yua Mikami, Miko Matsuda, and Moko Sakura. However, they faced a lot of criticism right before their debut. The reason was that these three were involved in the Japanese adult film industry before their debut with Honey Popcorn.

Despite the amount of backlash they received, Honey Popcorn decided to continue with their debut.

Then, in late 2018, member Miko Matsuda announced that she was going to leave the group.

The group then went through some big changes, as in 2019, three new members were added, which were Nako Miyase, Ruka Tajima, and Sara Izumi. Honey Popcorn released their song “De-aeseohsta” not long after becoming a five-member group. However, the group has been relatively inactive since then, as they haven’t released a song since 2019.

3. IZ*ONE

Before IZ*ONE debuted, some malicious netizens claimed that their debut was going to “fail”. The reason was that IZ*ONE was going to be competing with some of the most popular artists in K-Pop, such as EXO.

“But even if EXO didn’t make a comeback, aren’t they a failed group anyway?”

“They’re probably gonna pretend they failed because they chose the wrong timing. Even though they would’ve failed no matter when the debuted”

“They’re probably thankful they could blame EXO’s comeback”

— Malicious netizens

However, these malicious netizens ended up being wrong, as not only did IZ*ONE end up getting multiple music show wins with their debut song, “La Vie en Rose”, but they’ve also broken multiple records throughout their career.

4. BIGBANG

Before BIGBANG debuted, YG Entertainment decided to reveal the members to the public, and they received lots of malicious comments. A lot of malicious netizens left comments saying that BIGBANG was going to fail due to them being “too ugly”.

“In my opinion, it looks like they are wasting their time. They look like they will fail.”

“Mr. Hyun Suk what are you doing. They are obviously going to fail. Just look at their faces. They have faces that are meant to fail.”

— Malicious netizens